Biography

Artistically fluid mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz uses music to communicate who they are, and not just what they can do. Following three summers with the Merola Opera Program, Printz became an Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera in 2023. Last season they covered Frida in the world premiere of El ultimo sueño de Frida y Diego (as well as singing Imagen No. 2), and performed Musetta in Bohème Out of The Box. In 2022 they made gave a Schwabacher Debut Recital at San Francisco Opera Center. Recent highlights include the title role in Carmen and Dido in Dido and Aeneas with Opera San Jose, L’italiana in Algeri with Opera Memphis, the Grand Duchess in The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein with Pocket Opera, Ermelinda with Ars Minerva, Orfeo in Orfeo ed Eurydice with West Edge Opera, and Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia with Green Mountain Opera Festival. They made their San Francisco Symphony debut at last year’s Holiday Gaiety.

Printz’s first musical homes were in jazz and cabaret clubs, and they are well-versed in crossover styles of singing, including appearances at Yoshi’s, Club 1923, and Boxcar Theater’s immersive Speakeasy SF. An accomplished aerialist, Printz has performed on spinning trapeze in both grand concert halls and smoky cabaret clubs. Offstage, Printz plays several small stringed instruments, rides their bicycle around San Francisco, and pens charmingly bad poetry. They are an advocate for accessibility in the arts and are currently learning American Sign Language.