Liszt at Bard College

"... the concerts highlighted a lesser-known side of the composer, including works he wrote during a stint as a religious recluse.
But long before Liszt opted for the monastery late in life, he had a more serious, contemplative side, demonstrated by the appealing song Die Lorelei, expressively and elegantly sung by the superb young soprano Nicole Cabell on Friday. Listeners were also treated to Ms. Cabell’s velvety voice in the weekend’s final concert, on Sunday, where she sang “Tandis qu’il sommeille” from La Juive , by Halévy. "
Vivien Schweitzer,
New York Times
August 15, 2006




Franz Liszt and his Times

"The first concert included a selection of Liszt's songs, a genre in which he excelled, I believe. His settings are always striking and original, sometimes disarmingly simple and intimate and sometimes grand, employing operatic modes like recitative in a way that penetrates to the heart of the text, here masterfully sung by John Hancock and Nicole Cabell.

As a result, if I ever see a recital advertised with any of these names, I'll drop pretty much anything to go: [...] Nicole Cabell, soprano.... Were there stars? Absolutely. [...] Soprano Nicole Cabell sang Liszt's setting of Heine's "Die Lorelei" with penetrating intelligence and heart-rending expression. "
Michael Miller
Berkshire Fine Arts
18 Sep, 2006

Nicole in 'Porgy and Bess'

Nicole Cabell appears in the first ever recording of Gershwin's original 1935 production version of Porgy and Bess. This brand-new studio recording was made in Nashville following the first performances of Gershwin's revised version for more than half a century. Conducted by John Mauceri whose acclaimed recordings of Broadway classics include The King & I, Candide and a definitive series of Gershwin musicals, Gershwin's most popular score bridges the worlds of grand opera and the Broadway musical.

The recording , produced by Decca, features Alvy Powell as Porgy and Marquita Lister as Bess, with Nicole Cabell as Clara singing Summertime . It is due to be released in September 2006.

Nicole at the Proms II

Nicole Cabell

photographed after her performance

of Britten's Les Illuminations

at the Royal Albert Hall

on August 2, 2006.

Nicole's London Proms Debut

One concert last week stood out for the number of attractions on offer. It was as if a card-player who had been having a poor run suddenly found himself dealt four aces in one hand. [....] The fast-rising American soprano Nicole Cabell, winner of the 2005 Cardiff Singer of the World, made her debut. Cabell is impressive for the technical ease of her lyric voice and her aptitude in a variety of musical styles. In Britten's Les illuminations she sang in good French, projecting enough of the underlying emotional ambiguities to make the songs come alive in this large hall
Richard Fairman
The Financial Times
August 10, 2006

Most impressive, however, was soprano Nicole Cabell, winner of last year's BBC Singer of the World competition. Britten's Les Illuminations has been part of her repertoire for a while now, and her full, rounded tones were perfectly suited to this sultry music, carried effortlessly above Andrew Davis's sensitive string accompaniment. The magical descent with which she ended Phrase was worth admission alone, her projection to the audience exemplary.
Ben Hogwood
musicOMH.com
August 4, 2006

The 2005 Cardiff Singer of the World, Nicole Cabell, found the implicit sex in the "murmurs and visions" of Les Illuminations, plumbing the contradictions between the sound and sense of Arthur Rimbaud's verse, while Evgeny Kissin and a somewhat retiring trumpeter, Sergei Nakariakov, were very much unequal partners in Shostakovich's bipolar Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings.
Edward Seckerson,
The Independent,
August 7, 2006

Nicole Cabell lived up to her 'Singer of the World' reputation with a ravishing performance of Britten's Illuminations. Cabell, with her floaty upper register, made us fully aware of the work's lush sensibilities.
Mark Mortimer

… Nicole Cabell (the luminous, sensual soloist)…
Barry Millington,
The Evening Standard
August 3, 2006

Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony set a suitably light-hearted mood, followed by an expressive and captivating rendition of Les Illuminations by Nicole Cabell.