| A
star is born...
It was one evening in June 1996, on the Opening Night of San Francisco
Opera's La Bohème, when Nicolle Foland was called on to
take over the role of Musetta. It turned out to be a "star
is born!" moment.
And San Francisco opera lovers were so dazzled they could not wait to
hear her again. She sang a few more, though mostly minor, roles later
in the season - after all she was just coming out of San Francisco Opera
Center's Adler Fellowship Program. But when in the Fall she performed
in a joint concert with Placido Domingo, she came "perilously close
to stealing" the show from the famous tenor. Of this concert, the
San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "Here is a singer who boasts a beautiful
tone - accurate and clear from a lusty lower register up through the
crystalline high notes - an eloquent way with a melodic phrase, and,
to top it off, a stage presence both elegant and alluring."
Then in April 1997, she "officially" introduced herself to
San Francisco - at her solo recital debut in Old First Church, on the
Schwabacher Debut Recital Series, accompanied by Maestro Donald Runnicles.
Of course by then she needed no introduction. The audience sought instead
a confirmation of her magic, and they got it. She proved to be as magnificent
in recital as in the much bigger setting of the opera house or the concert
hall.
Bay Area audiences got their next big glimpse of her in the summer -
at Walnut Creek's Festival Opera California, this time in a really major
role: Violetta - her very first - in Verdi's La Traviata.Once
again she did not disappoint. By all accounts she was a stunning Violetta,
and the accolades just poured in. The production might have been billed
as "Nicolle Foland Sings Violetta", San Francisco Chronicle's
critic observed as he praised her performance:
"Radiant in tone, technically secure and deeply considered from
a dramatic standpoint, Foland's Violetta... was merely the latest reminder
of how much she is capable of..."
Current and recent seasons...
Today, Nicolle Foland is quickly establishing herself as a leading soprano
in prominent theaters throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Nicolle Foland begins the 2002-2003 season with her debut at New York
City Opera as Kitty Hart in the New York premiere of Dead Man Walking,
the role she sang at the work's world premiere in San Francisco. She
continues at City Opera with performances of the Countess in Le
nozze di Figaro, before taking on Donna Anna in Don Giovanni
with Palm Beach Opera. In the New Year she sings Strauss’
Four Last Songs with the California Symphony before her return
to New York City Opera in the spring for performances as Micaela in
Carmen.
Ms. Foland began the 2001-2002 season with her return to Michigan Opera
Theatre for performances of Micaela. She continued with the title role
of Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow for San Francisco Opera.
Following a solo recital at Stanford University, she sang her first
performances of Mimi in La bohème with Minnesota Opera,
a role she repeated with Boston Lyric Opera later that season. She concluded
the season with further performances of Micaela at San Francisco Opera.
Nicolle Foland has appeared with leading opera theaters throughout North
America. She made a highly-acclaimed debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago
as Violetta, and later she repeated this role for her debuts with Houston
Grand Opera and Michigan Opera Theatre. In summer 2001 she made her
debut with the Santa Fe Opera as Sifare in a new production of Mitridate,
re di Ponto. Ms. Foland has also appeared with both the Opera Company
of Philadelphia and Boston Lyric Opera in performances of the Countess
in Le nozze di Figaro, and with Minnesota Opera in her first
performances of Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello. She made
her debuts with Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, and Baltimore Opera
in the role of Musetta in La bohème. She also appeared
as the First Lady in Die Zauberflöte for Los Angeles Opera,
and made her debut with Cincinnati Opera as Micaela. The soprano’s
debut in Spain was with Opera Bilbao in her signature role of Musetta.
Ms. Foland is an alumna of San Francisco Opera Center’s prestigious
Adler Fellowship program and has maintained a close relationship with
San Francisco Opera. The soprano received critical and popular acclaim
as Musetta in that company’s highly successful 1996 production
of La bohème, and she has since returned there as the
Countess, Donna Anna, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Micaela, Virtue
in a new production of L’incoronazione di Poppea, Rosalinde
in Die Fledermaus, multiple roles in Harvey Milk,
and Freia in Das Rheingold. In addition, she appeared under
the company’s auspices in a joint concert with Placido Domingo.
Nicolle Foland appears frequently with leading symphony orchestras,
including several collaborations with Michael Tilson Thomas and San
Francisco Symphony as well as a recent appearance as featured soloist
in gala concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra. She was featured with
the American Symphony Orchestra at Lincoln Center as Genièvre
in a rare performance of Chausson’s Le Roi Arthus. She
made her Hollywood Bowl debut in an evening of Italian operatic arias
and duets, and she first appeared with the Colorado Symphony as soprano
soloist in Handel’s Messiah.
A veteran of two Merola Opera Programs and two Western Opera Theater
national tours, her Opera Center credits include roles in two John Copley
productions: Adele and Rosalinde in the 1993 staging of Die Fledermaus,
Donna Anna in the 1994 staging of Don Giovanni, and Tina in
the 1996 Showcase production of Dominick Argento’s Aspern
Papers, a West Coast premiere.
Nicolle Foland continues to present recitals throughout the United States.
She can be heard on the CD Faces of Love, a collection of songs
by Jake Heggie on the BMG label, and has appeared at New York’s
Alice Tully Hall and San Francisco’s Herbst Theater alongside
Frederica von Stade, Renée Fleming, Carol Vaness, and Jennifer
Larmore in an evening of music by Heggie.
A native of Des Moines, Ms. Foland received a master of music degree
from the University of Northern Iowa.
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Photo and biographical material courtesy
of Columbia Artists Management, Inc.
Personal Direction: JEFFREY D. VANDERVEEN, Vice-president
ERIC MITCHKO, Associate |
