San Franciso Opera Continues "First Kiss" Series With Stars

San Francisco has a second installment of their video series "First Opera Kiss," asking singers to recall their inaugural stage smooch. This round includes Diana Damrau, Ailyn Pérez, Ellie Dehn, Mary Dunleavy, Simon O'Neill, Nadine Sierra, and Karen Slack. Click here for the first set of videos. Watch the new videos after the jump. 

Nicole Car Wins Neue Stimmen Vocal Competition In Germany

"Australian soprano Nicole Car has won joint first prize in Germany’s Neue Stimmen vocal competition. She takes home 15,000 euros. The American soprano, Nadine Sierra was the co-winner amongst the women with Russian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan placed third. Nicole, who can be seen next year with Opera Australia as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Mimi in La Bohème and Desdemona in Otello, was in excellent voice....Nicole, who received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Melbourne in 2007 was awarded the title Symphony Australia Young Vocalist the same year. Her debut as Donna Anna at Victorian Opera followed in 2009. Since 2011 Nicole has appeared as Donna Anna, Mimi and Micaëla with Opera Australia in Sydney....The televised competition held in Gütersloh is billed as the world’s biggest and has previously thrown up names such as Nathalie Stutzmann, Kristīne Opolais, Vesselina Kasarova and René Pape. This year’s jury included such vocal luminaries as Anja Silja, Siegfried Jerusalem and Francisco Araiza." [Source] Watch an interview video about the soprano after the jump, as well as a stupendous rendition of "Caro nome" by Nadine Sierra.

Florida Grand Opera Announces Nadine Sierra For 2011-12

La Sierra in Louboutins
(Photo: Kenneth Edwards)

"Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is proud to announce West-Palm-based soprano Nadine Sierra’s debut with the company in Rigoletto’s leading female role as Gilda next season. 'It has always been an important part of FGO’s mission to foster and further young talent in South Florida. We have a long and proud history of showcasing promising artists at the dawn of their careers and it is our honor to do so once again with such a fresh, yet refined voice as Nadine Sierra,' said Bob Heuer, FGO’s general director and CEO. The rising 23-year-old soprano debuted with Boston Lyric Opera last season in what the Boston Globe called 'a beguiling Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She later returned to Palm Beach Opera as Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice with 'a bright, weighted instrument [bringing] effortless personality to the stage...' according to South Florida Classical Review. Closing the Sunday Afternoons of Music Series this past June, Sierra performed a recital at the University of Miami’s Gusman Hall, which yielded repeated standing ovations. South Florida Classical Review described her performance as a 'creamy soprano voice...gleamed and weighted, rich and full through its range, used with an agility and theatrical sensibility that brought arias to life.' It was at this recital that she announced her upcoming debut at La Scala in Milan, Italy, as Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff, realizing a life-long dream that began at the age of 10 with a VHS recording of the Metropolitan Opera’s Madame Butterfly." [Source]

See more photos of Nadine Sierra's fashion photo shoot with Uptempo magazine after the jump.