Monday, December 12, 2005

DECCA announces exclusive recording contract with Nicole!

Decca is delighted to announce the signing of an exclusive recording contract with Nicole Cabell.

Nicole's debut album will be a disc of arias in Italian, French and English with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis - one of Nicole Cabell's most important musical mentors. The album will be recorded in London at the end of 2005 for a Summer 2006 release.

"One of the most beautiful voices to have emerged recently. Nicole is going to have a wonderful life in music, and I personally look forward to hearing that special sound, many, many times…."
Marilyn Horne, November 2005

"I am extremely honoured and excited to be recording for Decca. When I look at the incredible list of Decca artists I am joining, I feel especially humbled and look forward to this wonderful new collaboration. As a young artist, I couldn't ask for a more amazing opportunity!" Nicole Cabell


"We are thrilled that Nicole has agreed to join the Decca family. She has style, beauty, class and what a voice!" Costa Pilavachi, President Decca. "When I heard Nicole I was immediately seduced by her glorious voice and stature. She is a major artist" added Chris Pope, Vice President A&R Decca who signed Nicole to the label.

Nicole Cabell shot to international stardom in June with a stunning performance which earned her the title BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2005. Press reaction to her triumph at the competition was unanimous in its praise:

"… already has a faultlessly gleaming soprano, a technique with no loopholes, and bags of confidence. It should do no harm that she is also tall, slim and glamorous … whatever this soprano chooses to sing, her voice makes wonderful music with it"
Richard Fairman, Financial Times, 22 June 2005

"… when Cabell opened that great smiling mouth, what we heard was liquid gold: the real thing."
Hilary Finch, The Times, 21 June 2005

Born in California, Nicole Cabell's first serious vocal studies were at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where her teacher was John Maloy (his previous students include Renée Fleming and Ben Heppner). It was her intention to continue her studies at the Juilliard School when she discovered she had been accepted into the training programme of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Cabell has recently completed three years at the Lyric Opera's Center for American Artists where her teacher was the Director of Vocal Studies, Gianna Rolandi.

Music Director of the Lyric Opera, Sir Andrew Davis, was one of several people in the company who thought of Cabell for a variety of roles — all of which helped her to develop as an all-round artist, giving her valuable stage experience and the opportunity to work with established stars. She entered the Lyric as an extremely promising vocal talent and has emerged as a genuine World-class singer.

The BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition (founded in 1983) is now regarded as among the most important competitions in the World, with the final broadcast live to a global television and radio audience. Past prize winners include Bryn Terfel, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Karita Mattila.

In the first rounds of the competition Nicole Cabell sang works by Bellini, Mozart, Menotti, Ravel, Obradors and Dvorák, and went on to perform arias from Mozart's Idomeneo, Tippett's A Child of Our Time and Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini in the final — none of this typical competition fare. The selection of repertory alone is an indication of Cabell's integrity as a singer and of her musical maturity.

So far Cabell has sung a variety of roles in both opera and concert repertory that range from Handel to Mahler, Beethoven to Ravel and beyond. She recently made her Chicago Orchestra Hall debut in A Child of Our Time (with Andrew Davis); her European debut was in Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem in Rome when she sang alongside Thomas Hampson with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia under the baton of Antonio Pappano; and at the Ravinia Festival she has sung in Le nozze di Figaro with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Very recently a concert at Millennium Park in Chicago drew rave notices:

"Can any of today's name-brand divas bring such exquisite legato phrasing to 'Depuis le jour' as soprano Nicole Cabell?"
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, 12 September 2005

Since her victory, the offers of further engagements have poured in. The coming season will see her as Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Musetta ( La Bohème), and in concert repertory including Poulenc Gloria, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mahler's Fourth, and Britten's Les Illuminations.

Before Cardiff Nicole Cabell had already planned an audition tour of European opera houses and she herself welcomed this as an opportunity for further study of European languages and cultures. This is clearly one intelligent singer who, despite hitting such dizzying heights in Cardiff, has her feet firmly planted on the ground.

Photo Credit: Devon Cass

1 comment:

Ian said...

Great!