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Nicole Cabell
Ian Stones
“Nicole Cabell is exquisite…her creamy soprano soaring in the sublime Prière”
(BBC Music Magazine, June 2017)
Universally acclaimed for her velvety timbre and finely nuanced interpretations, American soprano Nicole Cabell continues to demonstrate her incredible versatility in repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary on the opera and concert stages as well as on disc.
Cabell’s notable debuts have included Handel’s Alcina at Grand Théâtre de Genève, and Flavia (Eliogabalo) at Dutch National Opera, both under Leonardo García Alarcón, alongside appearances in full lyric roles such as Violetta (La traviata) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and for her debut at Opéra national de Paris. In 2022/23, Cabell performed her first staged Bess in James Robinson’s acclaimed production of Porgy and Bess for English National Opera, conducted by John Wilson. This season, Nicole Cabell will make her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) in a new production directed by Michael Cavanagh under Nil Venditti.
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Recent appearances in the US have included her role debut as Fiordiligi (Così Fan Tutte) at San Francisco Opera, Contessa (Il nozze di Figaro) and Mimì (La bohème) at Pittsburgh Opera, Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) at Cincinnati Opera, Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) at Michigan Opera Theatre under Christopher Allen, and a return to Minnesota Opera as Violetta (La traviata).
On the concert platform last season, Cabell performed George Walker’s Lilacs with London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle in London, Standford, California and subsequently performed the piece as part of BBC Proms 2022 with Chineke! Orchestra alongside Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. Also in 2022/23, Cabell joined NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester and Alan Gilbert for concert performances as Clara (Porgy and Bess). In the US, she joined Seattle Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah; and Atlanta Symphony for Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony. She also gave a solo recital with Cincinnati’s Matinee Musicale and concerts of Barber’s Knoxville, Summer of 1915.
Nicole Cabell was the winner of the 2005 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Her solo debut album, Soprano, was named Editor’s Choice by Gramophone and received the 2007 Georg Solti Orphée d’Or from the French Académie du Disque Lyrique.
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“[Nicole Cabell] possesses a lovely voice of astonishing agility and triumphed over the wide intervals and precipitous leaps from the top and bottom of the opera’s taxing soprano range. Her rendition of the great second act aria ‘Per pietà, ben mio, perdona’ (‘Ah my love, forgive my madness’), gently serenaded by a haunting horn obbligato, was in turn fiercely declamatory and meltingly tender. It served as a showstopping example of her virtuosity.”
“The silken sheen of Nicole Cabell’s soprano gave Fiordiligi an instant allure”
“First among equals was the electrifying Nicole Cabell, a Donna Elvira for the ages in terms of vocal quality and temperament. From her first appearance to the final quintet, she not only sang with an attractive, chestnut-colored tone but pitched every note with absolute assurance, and showed no difficulty with florid passagework”
“As Léontine, Nicole Cabell is by some distance the production’s outstanding performer. With a soprano beautifully cultivated, richly toned, finely focused and perfectly balanced across the entire range, she delivers a performance that is deeply felt. It is unforgettable at such key moments as the wonderful accompanied recitative near the start of Act 2, and the extended ariette ‘Du tendre amour’.”
“Also excellent was Nicole Cabell, whose supple and creamy coloratura soprano voice pirouetted effortlessly through the melismatic vocal role of Juliette”
“Soprano Nicole Cabell, making her role debut, sang a rich, lustrous and glamorous Fiordilig”’
“Nicole Cabell sings Mary, and hers is a voice as fine as any I’ve ever heard on the OTSL stage-pure, clear, strong and beautiful. And she has superb diction. (Her final consonants ping like BBs.) She fills the role with love and with pain. It was wonderful just being so close to such a talent.”
“Soprano Nicole Cabell’s Violetta was full of vim and temperament, and she dispatched the dizzy-making coloratura of her paean to freedom ‘Sempre libera’ with impressive abandon.”
‘Nicole Cabell ’s Bess […] emerges, surely intentionally, as the most ambivalent character. She’s the Carmen figure, elusive and tantalising, and Cabell floats some lovely pianissimo high notes in her solos.’
“Some of the best singing came from velvet-voiced soprano Nicole Cabell, who was especially seductive in Obradors’ ‘Del cabello más sutil’”
“Nicole Cabell gave nobility and vocal richness to the role of Gemmira”
“After her resounding success as Alcina here, the American soprano Nicole Cabell provides pure enchantment as the Countessa, and one can only revel in her elegance and admirable line. After a moving “Porgi amor”, she delivers “Dove sono” full of poignant nostalgia.”
“Nicole Cabell brings her signature warm, amber-hued timbre to the Countess, demonstrating sincere melancholy in the arias and breathing life into the recitatives. Her miraculous intonation in “Porgi amor” retained a sublime moment, and “Dove sono” was moving and sung with true legato. The emotion was palpable, especially in the pianissimi.”
“The true star of the evening was the Contessa of Nicole Cabell: she is radiant onstage, with a warm timbre, very clear text, and a characterisation free of ostentation. Her “Porgi amor” was a true delight with extraordinary line, and perfectly expressing the complexity of the character”
“Cabell sang and acted an impassioned Mimì, her big lyric soprano voice soaring when soaring was needed”
“Nicole Cabell is exquisite in her many contributions, her creamy soprano soaring in the sublime Prière”
“His ill-fated amour, Mimi, was given an engaging portrayal by Nicole Cabell, who employed a rich and subtle soprano voice throughout her ample range.”
“In a star performance, Nicole Cabell delights and intrigues throughout as a lovely Juliet. The scene in which she drinks Friar Laurence’s draught has a breath-taking sense of intensity and clarity.”
“Nicole Cabell gave a fabulous performance in the title role. For a start, she looked superb, thanks to her height and imperious elegance…Cabell also proved an actress of substance, giving precise and unexaggerated expression to the sorceress’s wide-ranging emotions as she found her powers of attraction gradually waning. Above all her singing was admirable, even if it did not conform to the aesthetic that has come to typify Baroque opera: her tone was rounded and silky, projected with ease, immaculately controlled and finely nuanced.”
“Best of all was the Alcina of Nicole Cabell. She is the real thing, a superb lyrical soprano…She phrases generously, was capable of a genuine dramatic presence in her “Ombre pallide,” and was greatly moving in the final “Mi restano le lagrime”.”
“Nicole Cabell’s Alcina was by far the superlative element of the evening: she is ready to make sacrifices to prove her love for Ruggiero, weeping in “Ah mio cor”, her voice carries the text as well as the emotion like no other performer on the stage. Her gaze ignites the stage and fully embodies a woman torn between love and revenge. Her aria “Ah Ruggiero crudel…Ombre pallide” was splendid and, despite her powers, Alcina is still a real woman who feels pain and love’s despair”
“When she first enters, Nicole Cabell’s Alcina strikes a strong figure on stage, bringing a majestic voice and stage presence. With a sensual timbre, this soprano gives her character a variety of colours and a rare intensity.”
“In the title role, Nicole Cabell impresses with a smooth timbre throughout her range and a lovely roundness to the voice (particularly convincing in “Ah mio cor”).”
“Nicole Cabell is a true diva…Thanks to her rich voice, full of colour and convincing stage presence. He “Si, son quella” was full of emotional nuance”
“Nicole Cabell interpreted Alcina masterfully…With her velvety voice, she succeeds in inciting sympathy from the audience for the heroine who brings about her own demise.”
“Soprano Nicole Cabell brought more uninhibited emotionalism to the stage, marrying vocal sweetness and strength in appealing fashion.”
“with a gloriously smoky middle register that effortlessly stretches up to the top extension of her voice.”
“Nicole Cabell, acting up a storm and giving meaning to every word, sings ravishingly and sadly as Giulietta, spinning out Bellini’s long lines, with a voice somewhat grander than one normally hears in this music…we get a gorgeous trill to boot, all delivered in luxurious tone.”
“Cabell clearly enjoys bringing a bouncy girlishness to Adina, enthusiastically embracing the comic spirit that permeates the production. And Cabell glides smoothly around the outer reaches of her register, as impressively rich in her lower range as in her soaring high notes.”