Biography
Mezzo-soprano and Aerialist
Nikola Printz
Artistically fluid performer Nikola Printz is a second-year Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera, where their assignments this season include New Ofglen in The Handmaid’s Tale, Mercédès in Carmen, and Carmen in Carmen Encounter. Prinz participated in the Merola Opera Program in 2021 and 2022, made their mainstage debut in Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, and also performed as 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 made their San Francisco Symphony debut in December 2022, and last July stepped in on short notice to sing Manuel de Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat with the Orchestra.
Printz first established themself onstage in jazz and cabaret venues and is well-versed in genre bending crossover styles, creating the role of Velma Louise Cole in Boxcar Theater’s immersive Speakeasy SF. An accomplished aerialist, Printz has also developed and performed on spinning trapezes in both grand concert halls and smoky cabaret clubs.
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 made their San Francisco Symphony debut in December 2022, and last July stepped in on short notice to sing Manuel de Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat with the Orchestra.
Printz first established themself onstage in jazz and cabaret venues and is well-versed in genre bending crossover styles, creating the role of Velma Louise Cole in Boxcar Theater’s immersive Speakeasy SF. An accomplished aerialist, Printz has also developed and performed on spinning trapezes in both grand concert halls and smoky cabaret clubs.
