Bio
Hailed as a “rich voiced, expressive mezzo soprano” by San Francisco Classical Voice and “appealingly direct and honest in tone and bearing,” by Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe, Nina Yoshida Nelsen was awarded first place in the Rocky Mountain Region of the 2006 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, held in Denver, Colorado.
In September 2006, Nina began a residency with the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, PA. At AVA in the 2006-07 season, Ms. Nelsen sang Larina in Eugene Onegin, Erika in Vanessa, and Rosette in Manon. She will sing Stephano in Romeo et Juliette at New Jersey Opera Theater in summer 2007.
Engagements for the 2005-2006 season include Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible
with Utah Festival Opera,
Mezzo soloist in Encore! Encore!- a gala concert for Livermore
Valley Opera, and Mezzo soloist with the Magic Valley Symphony Orchestra.
The Magic Valley Symphony concert was the debut performance of "Dances
and Romances" a Pops show for Mezzo and French Horn, featuring Nina
and her husband, Jeff
Nelsen. Ms. Nelsen was a national grand finalist in the prestigious
2005 Loren L. Zachary Society Competition and a National Finalist in the
Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition.
Nina Yoshida Nelsen spent the 2004-2005 season as an Artist-In-Residence
with Orange
County Opera where she performed the role of Marquise de Berkenfeld
in Daughter of the Regiment in their educational outreach program.
Ms. Nelsen made her professional debut with Opera Providence in 2002 as Tisbe in Cenerentola. She subsequently appeared with the company as Dorabella in their English version of Così fan tutte.
In 2003 Ms. Nelsen made her European debut singing the title role in Carmen and the role of Antonia’s Mother in Tales of Hoffmann with Komische Kammer Opera of Munich. Also in recent seasons, Nina was heard as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Livermore Valley Opera and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opera Santa Barbara, with whom she also covered the role of Suzuki.
Other notable roles include Idamante in Idomeneo, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Lulu in Lukas Foss’ The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, all of which she performed with the Opera Institute at Boston University.
In 2004, Ms. Nelsen won first prize in the Performing Arts Foundation Vocal Competition, the Profant Foundation Vocal Competition and the Santa Barbara Foundation Vocal Competition. She was a national finalist in the West Bay Opera Superstar Competition and the Palm Springs Opera Competition.
Ms. Nelsen, a native of Santa Barbara, CA, earned her M.M. in Vocal Performance from Boston University in 2003, where she was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda. Nina earned her B.M. from Boston University in Violin Performance and Psychology, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Ms. Nelsen was recently married and currently resides in Philadelphia.
