Printz, Nikola

Mezzo Soprano
(Oakland, California)

Known for their “sheer stylistic range … full-throated vocalism and raw emotional honesty” (San Francisco Classical Voice), artistically fluid performer Nikola Printz is a second-year Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera. The San Francisco Chronicle recently named their solo Schwabacher Recital Series debut one of San Francisco’s Best of 2022, writing, “Listeners reveled in the beauty of Printz’s singing – their lustrously dark chest tones, their elegant phrasing… such commitment and tonal splendor.”

This year’s San Francisco Opera assignments include New Ofglen in Poul Ruders and Paul Bentley’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Mercédès in Carmen, Carmen in Carmen Encounter, and covering Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde, the title role of Carmen, and Waitress in Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence.

Prinz participated in the Merola Opera Program in 2021 and 2022, made their mainstage debut in Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten, and also performed Musetta in the Company’s production of Bohème Out of the Box. This past season, they returned to Opera San José for Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Festival Opera for their acclaimed portrayal of Carmen and sang the role of Billie Jean King in Opera Parallèle’s production of Birds and Balls.

Recent career highlights include the title roles of Carmen and Dido and Aeneas with Opera San José, L’Italiana in Algeri with Opera Memphis, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein with Pocket Opera, Freschi’s Ermelinda with Ars Minerva, Orfeo ed Eurydice with West Edge Opera, and The Rape of Lucretia with Green Mountain Opera Festival. They have also appeared as Elle in La Voix humaine, the Fox in Cunning Little Vixen, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Aldonza in Man of La Mancha.

Printz first established themselves onstage in jazz and cabaret venues and are well-versed in genre bending, crossover styles, creating the role of Velma Louise Cole in Boxcar Theater's immersive Speakeasy SF and joining San Francisco Symphony for their annual queer variety show Holiday Gaiety. An accomplished aerialist, Printz has also developed and performed on spinning trapezes in both grand concert halls and smoky cabaret clubs.