For details, tracklisting and other information, see this pageWednesday, January 03, 2007
Idomeneo at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin
“The only singer who excelled was the young American Nicole Cabell as Ilia, a princess in love with Idamante. Her sound was delicate and agile, her phrasing intelligent and secure, and her stage manner touching. Against the background of this particular production, Cabell's success was all the more impressive.”
Warwick Thompson,
Bloomberg,
December 19, 2006
“Nicole Cabell was the star of the evening, an appealing Ilia whose love for Idomeneo's son helps lead to redemption. She was lithe and evocative in voice, movement and facial expression, a perfect partner to Mihoko Fujimura, cast as Idamante, her love.”
George Jahn,
Associated Press,
December 18, 2006
“… And immediately, Nicole Cabell appeared on stage; she is a young soprano that one is more than willing to describe as an up-and-coming star. […] Mihoko Fujimura and Nicole Cabell then sing about life, about the precedence of love over the inexorable consequence of holy decrees. They sing with such glowing intensity that they could convince people contemplating suicide that life has a meaning. […] Enthusiastic applause greeted the singers, first and foremost Nicole Cabell.”
Harald Jähner,
Berliner Zeitung,
December 20, 2006
“Furthermore, there was Nicole Cabell’s enchanting Ilia, whose rosy timbre and secure soprano voice lent the evening its only ray of light.”
Christine Lemke-Matwey,
Tagesspiegel,
December 20, 2006
“Only Nicole Cabell as Ilia brought vocal glamour to the stage.”
Axel Brüggemann,
Frankfurter Rundschau,
December 20, 2006
“Nicole Cabell, as the Trojan princess Ilia, displays a beautiful timbre.”
Julia Spinola,
Frankfurter Allgemeine,
December 18, 2006
Warwick Thompson,
Bloomberg,
December 19, 2006
“Nicole Cabell was the star of the evening, an appealing Ilia whose love for Idomeneo's son helps lead to redemption. She was lithe and evocative in voice, movement and facial expression, a perfect partner to Mihoko Fujimura, cast as Idamante, her love.”
George Jahn,
Associated Press,
December 18, 2006
“… And immediately, Nicole Cabell appeared on stage; she is a young soprano that one is more than willing to describe as an up-and-coming star. […] Mihoko Fujimura and Nicole Cabell then sing about life, about the precedence of love over the inexorable consequence of holy decrees. They sing with such glowing intensity that they could convince people contemplating suicide that life has a meaning. […] Enthusiastic applause greeted the singers, first and foremost Nicole Cabell.”
Harald Jähner,
Berliner Zeitung,
December 20, 2006
“Furthermore, there was Nicole Cabell’s enchanting Ilia, whose rosy timbre and secure soprano voice lent the evening its only ray of light.”
Christine Lemke-Matwey,
Tagesspiegel,
December 20, 2006
“Only Nicole Cabell as Ilia brought vocal glamour to the stage.”
Axel Brüggemann,
Frankfurter Rundschau,
December 20, 2006
“Nicole Cabell, as the Trojan princess Ilia, displays a beautiful timbre.”
Julia Spinola,
Frankfurter Allgemeine,
December 18, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
Nicole's Berlin "triumph"
“One could have expected to see the General Director [Kirsten Harms] appear in front of her audience at the Deutsche Oper in the darkest of moods in order to announce the sad news that the star-singer of the evening, Angela Gheorghiu, would not be taking part in the concert, as she had canceled literally at the last moment due to illness. Yet Ms. Harms appeared to be beaming - and quite rightly so. She had been able to secure the services of Nicole Cabell for the role of Juliette for this concert performance of Gounod's ‘Roméo et Juliette’. This turned out to be happy news. Miss Cabell came, sang and triumphed - and this in every respect. One does not just listen to Nicole Cabell with pleasure; she is also a joy to behold.”
Klaus Geitel,
Berliner Morgenpost,
December 9, 2006
“One forgot quickly that Angela Gheorghiu canceled at the last moment, as the American Nicole Cabell knew, after a timid start, how to fill with her voice the large space of the Deutsche Oper. Cabell, who is at the start of a world-class career and already has a contract with Decca and a debut at the Met, is still quite young and sang Juliette with the same wide-eyed innocence and pleasure in her (vocal) power of seduction that Claire Danes had in spades in Baz Luhrmann’s film.”
Wolfgang Fuhrmann,
Berliner Zeitung,
December 10, 2006
“The young American Nicole Cabell triumphed as [Angela Gheorghiu’s] replacement with a warm and high-placed soprano.”
Frank Kallensee,
Märkische Allgemeinde,
December 9, 2006
Klaus Geitel,
Berliner Morgenpost,
December 9, 2006
“One forgot quickly that Angela Gheorghiu canceled at the last moment, as the American Nicole Cabell knew, after a timid start, how to fill with her voice the large space of the Deutsche Oper. Cabell, who is at the start of a world-class career and already has a contract with Decca and a debut at the Met, is still quite young and sang Juliette with the same wide-eyed innocence and pleasure in her (vocal) power of seduction that Claire Danes had in spades in Baz Luhrmann’s film.”
Wolfgang Fuhrmann,
Berliner Zeitung,
December 10, 2006
“The young American Nicole Cabell triumphed as [Angela Gheorghiu’s] replacement with a warm and high-placed soprano.”
Frank Kallensee,
Märkische Allgemeinde,
December 9, 2006
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Nicole steps in for Gheorghiu
Once again, Nicole has been asked to save the day!
Angela Gheorghiu (left), who was scheduled to sing Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Deutsche Oper Berlin called in sick a few hours before the performance. Nicole had just finished singing Adina in L'elisir d'amore in Montpellier. She was due to fly to Berlin to start rehearsals for the forthcoming production of Idomeneo later in December. The Deutsche Oper management requested her to take over from the sick Gheorghiu and Nicole obligingly accepted.
Fortunately, the role of Juliette is in Nicole's repertoire. Those of you who are regular readers of this blog will recall that she sang the Shakespearean heroine in a production at Spoleto's Festival in May-June of this year - to great critical acclaim. Partnering Nicole in Romeo is the American tenor Neil Shicoff. The conductor is Frédéric Chaslin.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Nicole replaces ailing Broadway star
Broadway star Audra McDonald (left), scheduled to headline Cincinnati Opera's gala fundraiser called Some Enchanted Evening on Saturday, November 4, 2006 cancelled because of illness, the opera announced Friday and Nicole Cabell stepped in at the last minute.
Cincinnati Opera's artistic director Evans Mirageas predicts that Nicole will be "the next Renee Fleming." Nicole, who was in the middle of a run of concert performances of Gorecki's 3rd Symphony with the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis, flew in to Cincinnati to replace Ms McDonald for the gala. After the performance, she flew back to resume the Gorecki concerts in Minneapolis.
Cincinnati Opera's artistic director Evans Mirageas predicts that Nicole will be "the next Renee Fleming." Nicole, who was in the middle of a run of concert performances of Gorecki's 3rd Symphony with the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis, flew in to Cincinnati to replace Ms McDonald for the gala. After the performance, she flew back to resume the Gorecki concerts in Minneapolis.
Gorecki: "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" Reviews
The young soprano engaged by Vänskä for these performances, Nicole Cabell, displayed Thursday night at Orchestra Hall not only a remarkably rich sound that was firm and full, from the low notes of the second movement all the way up to high G, but also a close identification with the text, which speaks so tellingly of mortality and redemption.
Michael Anthony,
Star Tribune,
November 3, 2006
“But Vanska, the Minnesota Orchestra and soprano Nicole Cabell - the winner of last year's high-profile BBC "Singer of the World" competition - made it clear that this is a work best experienced in concert.
There are few deeper sorrows than that of a mother in mourning, and it is such sadness that suffuses Gorecki's piece. While Cabell's rich voice was ideal for its demands - dark, yet hopeful, immersed in its mood yet transcending it - this was as much a showcase for orchestra as soloist, particularly during the hypnotic closing of its first movement, when the cellos and basses whispered of loss and grief.”
Rob Hubbard,
Pioneer Press,
November 3, 2006
... it was Nicole Cabell who held my full attention as her melodious soprano voice sang the haunting notes of Henryk Gorecki's "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs." Composed in 1976, the Polish writer's three hymns bring together a 15th century lamentation, a 20th century prayer written on a prison wall by an 18-year-old, and a poem based on folk poetry using part of a church hymn. It is hard to describe the power of these three movements. Whatever Gorecki intended, Cabell (under the direction of Osmo Vanska) teased out deep sorrow from the notes on the page. Her repetition (in Polish) of the line, "He lies in his grave and I know not where though I keep asking people everywhere," was enough to bring tears to your eyes.
These songs were pieces of maternal pain in which mothers and children create a bond, despite the horrors and deep wounds that separate them. I have stood at the bedside of parents saying goodbye to dying children and even wept at the loss of a daughter stillborn with my wife. But Gorecki somehow has managed to capture in the combination of words and music the deep searing pain of a child taken too soon. Cabell, who won the 2005 BBC World Singing Competition in Cardiff, was like no singer I've heard yet in Minnesota. She pulled me into the music in a way I rarely have been before and reminded me of the power of music to capture human emotion, desire, and deep sorrow.
Brian T. Hartley
Michael Anthony,
Star Tribune,
November 3, 2006
“But Vanska, the Minnesota Orchestra and soprano Nicole Cabell - the winner of last year's high-profile BBC "Singer of the World" competition - made it clear that this is a work best experienced in concert.
There are few deeper sorrows than that of a mother in mourning, and it is such sadness that suffuses Gorecki's piece. While Cabell's rich voice was ideal for its demands - dark, yet hopeful, immersed in its mood yet transcending it - this was as much a showcase for orchestra as soloist, particularly during the hypnotic closing of its first movement, when the cellos and basses whispered of loss and grief.”
Rob Hubbard,
Pioneer Press,
November 3, 2006
... it was Nicole Cabell who held my full attention as her melodious soprano voice sang the haunting notes of Henryk Gorecki's "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs." Composed in 1976, the Polish writer's three hymns bring together a 15th century lamentation, a 20th century prayer written on a prison wall by an 18-year-old, and a poem based on folk poetry using part of a church hymn. It is hard to describe the power of these three movements. Whatever Gorecki intended, Cabell (under the direction of Osmo Vanska) teased out deep sorrow from the notes on the page. Her repetition (in Polish) of the line, "He lies in his grave and I know not where though I keep asking people everywhere," was enough to bring tears to your eyes.
These songs were pieces of maternal pain in which mothers and children create a bond, despite the horrors and deep wounds that separate them. I have stood at the bedside of parents saying goodbye to dying children and even wept at the loss of a daughter stillborn with my wife. But Gorecki somehow has managed to capture in the combination of words and music the deep searing pain of a child taken too soon. Cabell, who won the 2005 BBC World Singing Competition in Cardiff, was like no singer I've heard yet in Minnesota. She pulled me into the music in a way I rarely have been before and reminded me of the power of music to capture human emotion, desire, and deep sorrow.
Brian T. Hartley
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Boston’s Bernstein Concert at Harvard Review
... the audience got its first taste of award-winning soprano Nicole Cabell, who sang “Kaddish” from Bernstein’s “Kaddish Symphony.” Cabell, who was phenomenal throughout the night, sang this long piece in a consistently high register but never showed signs of faltering. Backed by the women of the Bernstein Festival Chorus, as well as Yoshitaka Yamamoto ’08 on masterful organ and Carrie E. Andersen ’08 on percussion, “Kaddish” revealed the power of Bernstein’s music and left the audience stunned.
Cabell returned to sing the five-song cycle “I Hate Music,” sung from the perspective of a ten-year old. Hearing the prominent soprano sing in a childish style was odd at first, but Cabell pulled it off with flair and ease.
R. Derek Wetzel
The Harvard Crimson
October 15, 2006
Cabell returned to sing the five-song cycle “I Hate Music,” sung from the perspective of a ten-year old. Hearing the prominent soprano sing in a childish style was odd at first, but Cabell pulled it off with flair and ease.
R. Derek Wetzel
The Harvard Crimson
October 15, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Porgy & Bess: Decca CD reviews
"The real find here is Nicole Cabell, a beautiful soprano who twists ‘Summertime’ into the bold opening aria that Gershwin probably hoped for."
Daniel Felsenfeld
Time Out New York
October 5-11,2006
"... Nicole Cabell as Clara and Robert Mack as Sporting Life produce the best performances. "
Andrew Clements
The Guardian
September 22, 2006
Daniel Felsenfeld
Time Out New York
October 5-11,2006
"... Nicole Cabell as Clara and Robert Mack as Sporting Life produce the best performances. "
Andrew Clements
The Guardian
September 22, 2006
Nicole Cabell, Top Cardiff Competition Star, Sings at Barbican
By Warwick Thompson
Sept. 21
(Bloomberg)
Nicole Cabell has the glamour of Shirley Bassey and Nefertiti combined, one critic panted. Throw in a voice like a shimmering rope of pearls, an exquisite legato and an instinctive understanding of French style, and you begin to approach the blistering talent of this Californian soprano.
Cabell, 28, shot to fame last year after a hands-down win at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, and made a hair- prickling debut at the Proms this year singing Britten's Les Illuminations. She's been offered a Decca recording contract.
Tonight at London's Barbican Hall, she sings the role of Princesse Eudoxie in a concert performance of Halevy's La Juive (The Jewess, 1835). The part marks her debut with the Royal Opera. I caught up with Cabell, who was looking chic and soignee, and not a little excited, in a dressing room in Covent Garden.
Thompson: First tell me a little about the role, Princesse Eudoxie. What happens to your character?
Cabell: It's a fantastic part. My husband falls in love with Rachel, a Jewess, and the church condemns them both to death. I have to beg Rachel to say that my husband was innocent, that he didn't seduce her, in order for his life to be saved. You get to see all Eudoxie's passion as she brings herself to this terrible act of desperation, begging a Jewess -- and her rival -- for a favor. But she'll do anything to save the man she loves.
Thompson: There's a famous aria, ``Je l'ai revu'' and quite a few duets. Is it a large role?
Lots of Passion
Cabell: It's a huge sing, really huge, with lots of coloratura and lots of passion -- and it's only a secondary part. I dread to think what's it's like for Rachel, the Jewess.
Thompson: Is it actually a coloratura role?
Cabell: If you give it to a coloratura soprano, it is. I'm a light lyric soprano, so it won't be so typically coloratura-ish, if that makes sense.
Thompson: You're looking absolutely terrific. Do you find there's any pressure to look great?
Cabell: Yes, there is. There are great singers who don't have conventional looks who aren't getting the parts they should. Thirty years ago, they might have had good careers. I should fight it, but actually I'm the one going to WeightWatchers, trying to stay trim.
Thompson: Would you be offended if I asked about your racial background?
African-American, Korean
Cabell: Not at all. Both my grandfathers are African- American, one grandmother is Korean, and one is white. I describe myself as multiracial.
Thompson: Does that have any impact on your career?
Cabell: No, I don't think so, at least not a negative one. Someone once said I'd be perfect for the role of Leila in The Pearl Fishers . I'd be happy if they cast me!
Thompson: You must be earning good fees now. What are you spending on?
Cabell: I'm saving up to buy some real estate, but it's tricky because I love shopping, clothes, haircuts, makeup. I'm a real spendaholic.
Warwick Thompson is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.
Sept. 21
(Bloomberg)
Nicole Cabell has the glamour of Shirley Bassey and Nefertiti combined, one critic panted. Throw in a voice like a shimmering rope of pearls, an exquisite legato and an instinctive understanding of French style, and you begin to approach the blistering talent of this Californian soprano.
Cabell, 28, shot to fame last year after a hands-down win at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, and made a hair- prickling debut at the Proms this year singing Britten's Les Illuminations. She's been offered a Decca recording contract.
Tonight at London's Barbican Hall, she sings the role of Princesse Eudoxie in a concert performance of Halevy's La Juive (The Jewess, 1835). The part marks her debut with the Royal Opera. I caught up with Cabell, who was looking chic and soignee, and not a little excited, in a dressing room in Covent Garden.
Thompson: First tell me a little about the role, Princesse Eudoxie. What happens to your character?
Cabell: It's a fantastic part. My husband falls in love with Rachel, a Jewess, and the church condemns them both to death. I have to beg Rachel to say that my husband was innocent, that he didn't seduce her, in order for his life to be saved. You get to see all Eudoxie's passion as she brings herself to this terrible act of desperation, begging a Jewess -- and her rival -- for a favor. But she'll do anything to save the man she loves.
Thompson: There's a famous aria, ``Je l'ai revu'' and quite a few duets. Is it a large role?
Lots of Passion
Cabell: It's a huge sing, really huge, with lots of coloratura and lots of passion -- and it's only a secondary part. I dread to think what's it's like for Rachel, the Jewess.
Thompson: Is it actually a coloratura role?
Cabell: If you give it to a coloratura soprano, it is. I'm a light lyric soprano, so it won't be so typically coloratura-ish, if that makes sense.
Thompson: You're looking absolutely terrific. Do you find there's any pressure to look great?
Cabell: Yes, there is. There are great singers who don't have conventional looks who aren't getting the parts they should. Thirty years ago, they might have had good careers. I should fight it, but actually I'm the one going to WeightWatchers, trying to stay trim.
Thompson: Would you be offended if I asked about your racial background?
African-American, Korean
Cabell: Not at all. Both my grandfathers are African- American, one grandmother is Korean, and one is white. I describe myself as multiracial.
Thompson: Does that have any impact on your career?
Cabell: No, I don't think so, at least not a negative one. Someone once said I'd be perfect for the role of Leila in The Pearl Fishers . I'd be happy if they cast me!
Thompson: You must be earning good fees now. What are you spending on?
Cabell: I'm saving up to buy some real estate, but it's tricky because I love shopping, clothes, haircuts, makeup. I'm a real spendaholic.
Warwick Thompson is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Great reviews for La Juive at Royal Opera
No less impressive was Cardiff Singer of the World Nicole Cabell as Princess Eudoxie: a shame it's a small part, but she shone in her classy Act III aria, showing dexterity in the demanding coloratura passages, particularly the cadenza.
Dominic McHugh
MusicOMH.com
20 Sep 2006
As Rachel, Marina Poplavskaya [...] was neatly balanced by the bubbles and froth of her more privileged rival, the Princess Eudoxie (Nicole Cabell, in an auspicious Royal Opera debut).
Neil Fisher
The Times, London
21 Sep 2006
Last year's Cardiff Singer of the World winner, Nicole Cabell, was alluring as the coquettish Princess Eudoxie.
Fiona Maddocks
Evening Standard, London
20 Sep 2006
[...] Mark my words, stardom beckons.
It already has for BBC Cardiff Singer of the World winner Nicole Cabell. In the "decorative" coloratura role of Princess Eudoxie, whose "haute couture" vocal lines are as richly embellished as the jewels she craves, Cabell provided the kind of glamour and awareness that wins recording contracts. She just has - with Universal - and company executives were no doubt salivating at the quality of her show-stopping aria in act three.
Edward Seckerson
The Independent, London
23 Sep 2006
... But the real discoveries of the evening, beyond this unjustly neglected score, were the two sopranos both after the same man. In the title role, Russian Marina Poplavskaya proved herself more than ready to take on Donna Anna later this season, while American Nicole Cabell rose to some hypnotic coloratura.
Anthony Holden
The Observer, London
September 24, 2006
... But the big news on Tuesday night was the joint appearance of two young stars-in-the-making, the delightful American soprano Nicole Cabell (the most recent BBC Singer of the World, already armed with a Decca contract), fluting away insouciantly as Rachel’s love rival, Princess Eudoxie, and even more so the sensational Marina Poplavskaya, still a member of the RO’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme, as the Jewess.
Hugh Canning
The Sunday Times, London
September 24, 2006
...excellent performances from Cabell, Poplavskaya, Schmunck, and the chorus...
Anna Picard
The Independent, London
24 Sep 2006
But vocally, it was ladies' night. Nicole Cabell, last year's BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, was a ravishing Christian princess...
Rupert Christiansen
Daily Telegraph
21 Sep 2006
But what gave this performance its class was the casting of Marina Poplavskaya and Nicole Cabell as Rachel and Princess Eudoxie. Both sopranos are on the springboard of a great career. [...] Both communicated a sense of drama. Cabell, confident but not cocky, adorned her coloratura with warmth, intelligence and glorious musicianship.
Andrew Clark
Financial Times
20 Sep 2006
Princess Eudoxie requires a coloratura soprano [...] [She]would be at home in something written by Donizetti. The bell-like voice of the bubbly Royal Opera debutant, Nicole Cabell, excelled as Eudoxie. [She] had sufficient heft to project over a consistently noisy orchestra in the ensemble scenes.
Jim Pritchard
Seen and Heard
Sep 2006
Nicole Cabell tossed of Eudoxie’s elaborate arias with enviable charm and ability.
Robert Hugill
Planet Hugill
September 25, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
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
Friday, August 11, 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.
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.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Nicole in Tulsa
Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor and husband Bill Lobeck recently hosted Nicole Cabell and guests at their home in a fundraising event for the Tulsa Opera.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Monday, July 03, 2006
Ravinia Festival Review
Saturday's pre-Fourth of July concert was an amiable hodgepodge of star-spangled pops and other popular American classics by Bernstein, Copland and Sousa. But its central glory was Nicole Cabell, the extraordinarily gifted young American soprano who was making her first Ravinia appearance since winning the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition last year.
The Lyric Opera's star alumna has it all -- striking natural beauty, a killer smile, a statuesque frame a supermodel would envy, and, of course, that gorgeous voice.
She put her radiant soprano to crowd-pleasing use in a clutch of American musical theater classics from "Kismet," "Street Scene," "Showboat" and other shows, accompanied by the CSO and, in a brief cabaret turn on a darkened stage, by Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman at the piano.
Cabell was best in songs such as "Harlem on My Mind" and "And This is My Beloved," where her artistic poise, absolute sincerity of expression and alluring femininity were at one with the musical material. I would gladly have done without hearing orchestral excerpts from Verdi's "Aida" to have heard Cabell sing a few operatic arias. Maybe next time.
By John von Rhein
Chicago Tribune
July 3, 2006
The Lyric Opera's star alumna has it all -- striking natural beauty, a killer smile, a statuesque frame a supermodel would envy, and, of course, that gorgeous voice.
She put her radiant soprano to crowd-pleasing use in a clutch of American musical theater classics from "Kismet," "Street Scene," "Showboat" and other shows, accompanied by the CSO and, in a brief cabaret turn on a darkened stage, by Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman at the piano.
Cabell was best in songs such as "Harlem on My Mind" and "And This is My Beloved," where her artistic poise, absolute sincerity of expression and alluring femininity were at one with the musical material. I would gladly have done without hearing orchestral excerpts from Verdi's "Aida" to have heard Cabell sing a few operatic arias. Maybe next time.
By John von Rhein
Chicago Tribune
July 3, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Nicole Cabell, Soprano
Nicole Cabell, the 2005 Winner of the BBC Singer of the World Competition in Cardiff and exclusive DECCA recording artist, is fast becoming one of the most sought-after lyric sopranos of today. Miss Cabell’s 2006/2007 season includes many exciting debuts, most notably with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Eudoxie in concert performances of La Juive, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall in Poulenc’s Gloria, the Santa Fe Opera as Musetta in La Bohème, the Opéra de Montpellier as Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore and with Opera Rara in a recording and concert performance of the title-role of Donizetti’s Imelda de’ Lambertazzi. Other notable concert appearances include Carmina Burana and Honey and Rue with the Oslo Philharmonic and Andre Previn, an all-Bernstein evening at Harvard with Judith Clurman, the Gorecki 3rd Symphony with the Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä and a return to the Indianapolis Symphony for Mahler’s 4th Symphony with Mario Venzago. Miss Cabell also looks forward to recitals in London and Hammond, LA. Future projects include debuts with the Metropolitan and Washington Operas, the Teatro Real in Madrid, Opera Pacific and returns to Miss Cabell’s home company, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, all in leading roles.
Nicole Cabell’s past season was filled with debuts, especially in opera with the Palm Beach and Madison Operas for Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, with Michigan Opera Theater as Musetta in La Bohème and, last but not least, with the Spoleto Festival USA for Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. She appeared in recital in New York City as part of Marilyn Horne’s Birthday Gala at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall as well as in Chicago, Buffalo and Bradford, PA. On the concert stage Miss Cabell was heard in Louisville in both the Poulenc Gloria and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Raymond Leppard in both cases, in Milwaukee in a program of Shakespeare-themed pieces with Nicholas McGegan, in crossover concerts with the Pasadena Pops and in Montreal Opera’s annual gala. She also sang in a Classical Christmas program with the Indianapolis Symphony. Later in the season, Nicole Cabell returned to Rome for concerts of Britten’s Les Illuminations and Mahler’s 4th Symphony with James Conlon and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia. In the summer, Miss Cabell made her London concert debut at the Proms in Britten’s Les Illuminations with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis; she returned to the Ravinia Festival for a crossover concert with James Conlon and to the Pasadena Pops for evenings of music from around the Mediterranean.
While a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Center for American Artists, Nicole Cabell had the opportunity to sing the title-role in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen in student matinees as well as to cover the roles of Marzelline in Fidelio and Rita Billingsly in the world premiere of William Bolcom’s A Wedding. Miss Cabell made her extremely successful Orchestra Hall debut with the Chicago Symphony in concerts of Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with Sir Andrew Davis conducting. She also made her European debut in concerts of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Antonio Pappano and Thomas Hampson; she appeared with the Florida Orchestra as the Soprano Soloist in Mahler’s 4th Symphony with the Florida Orchestra and Stefan Sanderling and in Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 with the Baltimore Symphony. Nicole Cabell was heard in recital in Little Rock, AK.
The preceding year she sang Barbarina and covered Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and appeared as Isabel in The Pirates of Penzance at the Lyric Opera, having sung with the same company the role of Crobyle in Thaïs in the fall of 2002. In concert, she made her debut with the Oregon Symphony as the Soprano Soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Carlos Kalmar and repeated Barbarina with the Chicago Symphony and Daniel Barenboim at the Ravinia Festival. In the summer, Miss Cabell was also heard live on A Prairie Home Companion in a celebration of Ravinia’s 50th season and sang the role of Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with the Grant Park Festival.
In concert, Nicole Cabell was a featured soloist in Ravinia's All Gershwin Concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of David Alan Miller, and participated in Ravinia's opening day concert, accompanied by Welz Kauffman. Miss Cabell has appeared as a soloist in Chicago's Grant Park Festival and Lyric Opera Center for American Artists Rising Stars in Concert.
Past roles include La Princesse in Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, La Femme in Poulenc's La Voix Humaine, Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw, Arsamenes in Xerxes, and La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi.
Awards include first place in both the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition and the Women's Board of Chicago Vocal Competition. Nicole Cabell was a semi-finalist in the 2005 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and earned first place in the American Opera Society competition in Chicago. She is the 2002 winner of the Union League's Rose M. Grundman Scholarship, and the 2002 Farwell Award with the Woman's Board of Chicago.
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Nicole Cabell was born in Panorama City, California, USA on 17 October 1977. She studied at the Chicago's Lyric Opera Center for American Artists and the Eastman School of Music. Nicole enjoys writing, working out, collecting music and shopping.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
In 'Romeo et Juliette,' love is colorblind
Casting decisions in two productions at this year's Spoleto Festival USA might put a smile on the faces of some Parisian theater students.
Young actors who attend opera director Jean-Philippe Clarac's talks on the influence of politics on European theater often ask why more actors of color aren't chosen for theatrical roles traditionally played by white actors.
The French students wonder if it is possible for a thespian who is not white to be believed in a European drama set in the Middle Ages, Clarac said.
In theater, where the audience is asked to suspend reality to accept the unbelievable, the answer is usually yes. But with some roles, reality is vital to understanding the part.
The answer was yes Friday as the curtain rose on "Romeo et Juliette" at the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium.
Nicole Cabell, an emerging opera diva who describes herself as multiracial, sings the role of Juliette, which has traditionally been played by a Caucasian. Juliette's cousin, Tybalt, is played by Victor Ryan Robertson, who is black.
And for the second consecutive year, baritone Nmon Ford, who is black, will play the title role in "Don Giovanni" when the Italian opera based on Spanish lover Don Juan opens Thursday on an elaborate set at Memminger Auditorium.
Two decades ago, eyebrows were raised as colorblind casting emerged in American theater. It is still rare to see a black actor in a role written for a white character, but the trend is becoming more widely accepted, said Clarac, who along with Olivier Deloeuil co-directs "Romeo et Juliette."
The stage directors said they didn't make the opera's casting decisions. But they are happy to have Cabell, a soprano, because of the quality of her voice. Her ethnicity fits their updated version of Shakespeare's classic set in America.
While Charles Gounod's score will carry the drama, Cabell's mix of African-American, Korean and European ancestry helps her embody the role of a modern-day Juliette, Clarac said.
"The fact that she is black is not a problem because that is America today. It is a multicultural society," Deloeuil said. "Opera has to speak to the society who attends it. Most of the time, the period setting and period costumes keeps it far away from you. If you see something that looks like your neighborhood, it speaks to you directly, and I think that is most important."
In an operatic performance, Cabell said, the performer's voice is more important than the singer's ethnicity or race. Society, she said, has relaxed the rules that reserve classical roles for whites.
For example, she said, operatic stars Leontyne Price and Marian Anderson "have paved the way to make it possible for people like me to come onto the scene." But the number of black opera performers is still small, she said, making their appearance rare.
Emanuel Villaume, Spoleto's artistic director for orchestral music, said a literal interpretation that the actor who plays Julius Caesar, for example, must look like Caesar, has been "an excuse for discrimination." He added: "Fortunately, this is changing."
Villaume selected Cabell after she won the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World contest last year in Wales.
"People are accepting more and more the idea of an African-American singer for a role that is not originally an African-American role," he said. "After all, Otello was always played by great white tenors who were putting black faces on themselves. People accepted that. So why couldn't they accept it the other way around?"
Unlike their Parisian counterparts, young actors at the College of Charleston have seen colorblind casting in campus productions. For more than a decade, Todd McNerney, chairman of the college's theater department, has put the idea of colorblind casting before new students. Few have been surprised, he said.
Although McNerney said the best available actor should be cast in a role, regardless of race, that comes with one condition. McNerney said colorblind casting should be ignored if the race of a character is important to convey a specific political or sociological message. Colorblind casting fits better with classical pieces that tend to be mythical, unlike a contemporary play that is more realistic.
Art Gilliard, artistic director for Art Forms and Theatre Concepts, agrees.
Gilliard is directing Javon Johnson's play "Hambone," a Piccolo Spoleto production that opened Friday at the Footlight Players Theatre on Queen Street. "Hambone," in part, is the story of a black family's struggle to hide the secret that the lead character, Bishop, was fathered by a white man.
In this play, Delvin Williams, a black man, plays Bishop. It is important that a black actor portrays Bishop, Gilliard said. If not, the play loses its meaning, he said. Colorblind casting "is fine as long as it does not stop the story from being told."
Herb Frazier
Charleston Post and Courier
Photo Credit: Devon Cass
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