



Mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims is renowned as a musician of integrity and versatility for her performances of repertoire spanning from Bach, Handel, and Mozart to Crumb, Ligeti, and premieres of contemporary works.
On opera stages her past successes include Melanto in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Boston Baroque; Veruca Salt in Peter Ash’s The Golden Ticket at the Wexford Opera Festival and Atlanta Opera; Lazuli in L’Étoile with New York City Opera; Despina in Così fan tutte with Palm Beach Opera and Opera Grand Rapids; Nancy in Albert Herring with Florentine Opera; Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Virginia Opera; Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Opera New Jersey and Opera Grand Rapids; Zefka in “Scenes of Gypsy Life” (Janácek/Dvorák) with New York’s Gotham Chamber Opera; Milena in the world premiere of Martin Bresnick’s My Friend’s Story at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas; Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Princeton Festival; Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti with Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi; Meg in Little Women and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Delaware; and Tessa in The Gondoliers with Opera North.
Abigail Nims is particularly praised for her expressive interpretations and tonal beauty in the concert repertoire. Recent performances include Bach’s Mass in B-minor with the San Francisco Symphony; de Falla’s Three Cornered Hat at the Colorado Music Festival; Bach’s St. John Passion with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico; Stravinky’s Pulcinella, Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, and Crumb’s Night of the Four Moons with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Mahler’s Rückert Lieder at the Colorado MahlerFest; Bach’s Magnificat with the São Paulo Symphony; Handel’s Messiah with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Masterwork Chorus at Carnegie Hall, and the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra; Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été with the Adrian Symphony Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Teatro Municipal (Chile); Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with Yale Philharmonia; Mozart’s Requiem and Octavianin selections from Der Rosenkavalier with the Quad City Symphony; George Benjamin’s Upon Silence and Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater with the New England String Ensemble; Ligeti’s Síppal, dobbal, nádihegedüvel with the Yale Percussion Group; Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival; and J.C.F. Bach’s solo cantata Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug hätte with Westminster Kantorei.
Ms. Nims has presented recitals at Trinity Church Wall Street, New York City; Wexford Festival Opera; the University of Colorado, Boulder; and as guest alumna at Ohio Wesleyan University. In recital she has performed repertoire by Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Berlioz, Schubert, Schumann, Grieg, Brahms, Mahler, Wolf, Debussy, Berg, Bridge, Ives, Ginastera, Argento, and Harbison.
Ms. Nims’ recordings include her performances of Martin Bresnick’s song cycle “Falling,” featured on the composer’s compilation album Every Thing Must Go (Albany Records, 2010) and Veruca Salt in Peter Ash’s The Golden Ticket (Albany Records, 2012). Her awards include second prize in the 2007 Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Competition, the Anna Case MacKay Memorial Award from Santa Fe Opera, an honorable mention in the 2006 American Bach Society Competition, the 2007 Dean’s Prize from Yale School of Music, and finalist in the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation.
Abigail Nims holds degrees from Yale School of Music, Westminster Choir College, and Ohio Wesleyan University. She was a Virginia Adams Fellow at the Carmel Bach Festival in 2009, an Apprentice Artist at Santa Fe Opera in 2007 and 2008, and a Young Artist with Opera North in 2005. Additionally, she has participated in the Spoleto Festival USA, AIMS in Graz (Austria), the Austrian-American Mozart Academy, and the Austria-Illinois Exchange Program in Vienna. Ms. Nims is currently a member of the voice faculty at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Abigail Nims Sings on Grammy-Nominated Album
Abigail Nims sings the role of Melanto in the Linn Records recording of Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Boston Baroque. The album is nominated for Best Opera Recording at the upcoming 58th Annual Grammy Awards.
Source:https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards?genre=5
Chorale, Singers Create Beautiful Harmony with Orchestra
The LancasterChorale, given a workout throughout the piece, was never less than assured in occupying the same sonic space as the orchestra and soloists. Among the individual singers, mezzo-soprano Nims, with her refined, lilting tone, was particularly impressive.
– Peter Tonguette, The Columbus Dispatch – Related Link
‘Peter Grimes’ a high-water mark
“Equally superb dramatic and vocal contributions are made by mezzo Ann Murray, as Auntie, the owner of the local pub; soprano Nikki Einfeld and mezzo Abigail Nims as her precocious nieces.”
– David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle – Related Link
ASO, soloist beautifully perform Beethoven, Berlioz at Croswell
“Nims gave a first-rate interpretation of every one of the songs in the cycle, demonstrating a depth of connection with the music that was quite remarkable. This was the first time she had performed this work in concert, but it was very obvious that she had thought long and hard beforehand about the meaning of the poetry itself. At the same time, she more than proved herself to be a singer of considerable talent, with superb control and vocal range, and sang the French-language lyrics beautifully and clearly.”
– Arlene Bachanov, Daily Telegram – Related Link
Orchestral
-
Adams
El NiñoArgento
Casa GuidiJ.C.F. Bach
Ach, dass ich Wassers g’nug hätteJ.S. Bach
Cantatas
Christmas Oratorio
Magnificat
Mass in B-minor
St. John Passion
St. Matthew PassionBeethoven
Choral Fantasy
Mass in C Major
Symphony No. 9Benjamin
Upon SilenceBerg
Seven Early SongsBerlioz
La damnation de Faust
Les nuits d’étéBrahms
Alto Rhapsody
Liebeslieder Walzer
Zwei Gesange, Op. 91Bridge
Three Songs for Voice, Viola, and PianoBritten
PhaedraChausson
Chanson PerpétuelleCrumb
Night of the Four MoonsDe Falla
The Three-Cornered HatDuruflé
RequiemDvorák
Stabat MaterFaure
La Bonne ChansonHandel
Cantata Lucrezia
Hercules
Messiah
TheodoraHarbison
Mirabai Songs
North and SouthF.J. Haydn
Arianna a Naxos
Harmoniemesse
Lord Nelson MassJ.M. Haydn
RequiemLieberson
Neruda SongsLigeti
Sippal, dobbal, nádihegedüvelLoeffler
Quatre PoèmesMahler
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Rückert Lieder
Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 3Mendelssohn
ElijahMozart
Coronation Mass
Mass in C-minor
Requiem
Vesperae solennes de confessoreRavel
Chansons madécasses
Shéhérezade
Trois Poèmes de Stéphane MallarméRespighi
Il TramontoStravinsky
PulcinellaVivaldi
Gloria
Nisi Dominus
Stabat MaterZelenka
Magnificat
Opera
-
Adamo
Little Women (Jo, Meg)Ash
The Golden Ticket (Veruca Salt)Barber
Vanessa (Erika)Bellini
I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Roméo)Berg
Lulu (Countess Geschwitz)Berlioz
Béatrice et Bénédict (Béatrice)Bernstein
Trouble in Tahiti (Dinah)Bresnick
My Friend’s Story (Milena)Britten
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia)
Albert Herring (Nancy Chabrier L’étoile (Lazuli)Debussy
Pelléas et Mélisande (Mélisande)Gluck
Iphigénie en Tauride (Iphigénie)
Orfeo ed Euridice (Orfeo)Gounod
Faust (Siébel)
Roméo et Juliette (Stephano)Handel
Agrippina (Nerone)
Alcina (Ruggiero)
Ariodante (Ariodante)
Giulio Cesare (Sesto)
Rinaldo (Rinaldo)
Teseo (Teseo)
Xerxes (Amastre)Humperdinck
Hänsel und Gretel (Hänsel)Janá?ek
The Cunning Little Vixen (Fox)Ligeti
Le Grand Macabre (Armando)Massenet
Cendrillon (Cendrillon)
Werther (Charlotte)Meyerbeer
Les Huguenots (Urbain)Monteverdi
L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Ottavia)
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Penelope, Minerva, Melanto)Mozart
Così fan tutte (Dorabella, Despina)
Die Zauberflöte (Third Lady)
Don Giovanni (Zerlina, Donna Elvira)
Idomeneo (Idamante)
La Clemenza di Tito (Sesto, Annio)
Le nozze di Figaro (Cherubino)Offenbach
Les contes d’Hoffmann (Nicklausse)Poulenc
Dialogues des Carmélites (Blanche)Puccini
Madama Butterfly (Suzuki)Purcell
Dido and Aeneas (Dido)Ravel
L’Enfant et les sortilèges (L’Enfant)
L’Heure espagnole (Concepçion)Rossini
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina)
La Cenerentola (Angelina)J. Strauss, Jr.
Die Fledermaus (Orlofsky)R. Strauss
Ariadne auf Naxos (Komponist)
Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian)Thomas
Mignon (Mignon)Walton
The Bear (Popova)
Orchestral
Adams
El NiñoArgento
Casa GuidiJ.C.F. Bach
Ach, dass ich Wassers g’nug hätteJ.S. Bach
Cantatas
Christmas Oratorio
Magnificat
Mass in B-minor
St. John Passion
St. Matthew PassionBeethoven
Choral Fantasy
Mass in C Major
Symphony No. 9Benjamin
Upon SilenceBerg
Seven Early SongsBerlioz
La damnation de Faust
Les nuits d’étéBrahms
Alto Rhapsody
Liebeslieder Walzer
Zwei Gesange, Op. 91Bridge
Three Songs for Voice, Viola, and PianoBritten
PhaedraChausson
Chanson PerpétuelleCrumb
Night of the Four MoonsDe Falla
The Three-Cornered HatDuruflé
RequiemDvorák
Stabat MaterFaure
La Bonne ChansonHandel
Cantata Lucrezia
Hercules
Messiah
TheodoraHarbison
Mirabai Songs
North and SouthF.J. Haydn
Arianna a Naxos
Harmoniemesse
Lord Nelson MassJ.M. Haydn
RequiemLieberson
Neruda SongsLigeti
Sippal, dobbal, nádihegedüvelLoeffler
Quatre PoèmesMahler
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Rückert Lieder
Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 3Mendelssohn
ElijahMozart
Coronation Mass
Mass in C-minor
Requiem
Vesperae solennes de confessoreRavel
Chansons madécasses
Shéhérezade
Trois Poèmes de Stéphane MallarméRespighi
Il TramontoStravinsky
PulcinellaVivaldi
Gloria
Nisi Dominus
Stabat MaterZelenka
Magnificat
Opera
Adamo
Little Women (Jo, Meg)Ash
The Golden Ticket (Veruca Salt)Barber
Vanessa (Erika)Bellini
I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Roméo)Berg
Lulu (Countess Geschwitz)Berlioz
Béatrice et Bénédict (Béatrice)Bernstein
Trouble in Tahiti (Dinah)Bresnick
My Friend’s Story (Milena)Britten
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia)
Albert Herring (Nancy Chabrier L’étoile (Lazuli)Debussy
Pelléas et Mélisande (Mélisande)Gluck
Iphigénie en Tauride (Iphigénie)
Orfeo ed Euridice (Orfeo)Gounod
Faust (Siébel)
Roméo et Juliette (Stephano)Handel
Agrippina (Nerone)
Alcina (Ruggiero)
Ariodante (Ariodante)
Giulio Cesare (Sesto)
Rinaldo (Rinaldo)
Teseo (Teseo)
Xerxes (Amastre)Humperdinck
Hänsel und Gretel (Hänsel)Janá?ek
The Cunning Little Vixen (Fox)Ligeti
Le Grand Macabre (Armando)Massenet
Cendrillon (Cendrillon)
Werther (Charlotte)Meyerbeer
Les Huguenots (Urbain)Monteverdi
L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Ottavia)
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Penelope, Minerva, Melanto)Mozart
Così fan tutte (Dorabella, Despina)
Die Zauberflöte (Third Lady)
Don Giovanni (Zerlina, Donna Elvira)
Idomeneo (Idamante)
La Clemenza di Tito (Sesto, Annio)
Le nozze di Figaro (Cherubino)Offenbach
Les contes d’Hoffmann (Nicklausse)Poulenc
Dialogues des Carmélites (Blanche)Puccini
Madama Butterfly (Suzuki)Purcell
Dido and Aeneas (Dido)Ravel
L’Enfant et les sortilèges (L’Enfant)
L’Heure espagnole (Concepçion)Rossini
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina)
La Cenerentola (Angelina)J. Strauss, Jr.
Die Fledermaus (Orlofsky)R. Strauss
Ariadne auf Naxos (Komponist)
Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian)Thomas
Mignon (Mignon)Walton
The Bear (Popova)
Audio
Arvo Pärt: Es sang vor langen Jahr

Respighi: Il Tramonto

Mahler: Liebst du um Schönheit

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro – Voi Che Sapete

Ash: The Golden Ticket – Veruca Loses Her Nut

Ligeti: Síppal, Dobbal, Nádihegedüvel – Tancdal

Berlioz: Les Nuits d’Été – Sur les lagunes

Brahms: Zwei Gesange – Geistliches Wiegenlied

Bach: Magnificat – Esurientes Implevit Bonis

Documents
Short Biography
Mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims is renowned as a musician of integrity and versatility for her performances of repertoire spanning from Bach, Handel, and Mozart to Crumb, Ligeti, and premieres of contemporary works. Her 2017-18 season solo appearances include Mozart’s Requiem with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, also the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, and the premiere performance of Missy Mazzoli’s newly commissioned opera, Proving Up, with Opera Omaha. Engagements during the 2016-17 season included Handel’s Messiah with the Naples Philharmonic and Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Duluth Superior Symphony, and Dvorák’s Stabat Mater with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park.
Full Biography
Mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims is renowned as a musician of integrity and versatility for her performances of repertoire spanning from Bach, Handel, and Mozart to Crumb, Ligeti, and premieres of contemporary works.
On opera stages her past successes include Melanto in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Boston Baroque; Veruca Salt in Peter Ash’s The Golden Ticket at the Wexford Opera Festival and Atlanta Opera; Lazuli in L’Étoile with New York City Opera; Despina in Così fan tutte with Palm Beach Opera and Opera Grand Rapids; Nancy in Albert Herring with Florentine Opera; Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Virginia Opera; Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Opera New Jersey and Opera Grand Rapids; Zefka in “Scenes of Gypsy Life” (Janácek/Dvorák) with New York’s Gotham Chamber Opera; Milena in the world premiere of Martin Bresnick’s My Friend’s Story at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas; Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Princeton Festival; Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti with Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi; Meg in Little Women and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Delaware; and Tessa in The Gondoliers with Opera North.
Abigail Nims is particularly praised for her expressive interpretations and tonal beauty in the concert repertoire. Recent performances include Bach’s Mass in B-minor with the San Francisco Symphony; de Falla’s Three Cornered Hat at the Colorado Music Festival; Bach’s St. John Passion with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico; Stravinky’s Pulcinella, Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, and Crumb’s Night of the Four Moons with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Mahler’s Rückert Lieder at the Colorado MahlerFest; Bach’s Magnificat with the São Paulo Symphony; Handel’s Messiah with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Masterwork Chorus at Carnegie Hall, and the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra; Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été with the Adrian Symphony Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Teatro Municipal (Chile); Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with Yale Philharmonia; Mozart’s Requiem and Octavianin selections from Der Rosenkavalier with the Quad City Symphony; George Benjamin’s Upon Silence and Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater with the New England String Ensemble; Ligeti’s Síppal, dobbal, nádihegedüvel with the Yale Percussion Group; Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival; and J.C.F. Bach’s solo cantata Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug hätte with Westminster Kantorei.
Ms. Nims has presented recitals at Trinity Church Wall Street, New York City; Wexford Festival Opera; the University of Colorado, Boulder; and as guest alumna at Ohio Wesleyan University. In recital she has performed repertoire by Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Berlioz, Schubert, Schumann, Grieg, Brahms, Mahler, Wolf, Debussy, Berg, Bridge, Ives, Ginastera, Argento, and Harbison.
Ms. Nims’ recordings include her performances of Martin Bresnick’s song cycle “Falling,” featured on the composer’s compilation album Every Thing Must Go (Albany Records, 2010) and Veruca Salt in Peter Ash’s The Golden Ticket (Albany Records, 2012). Her awards include second prize in the 2007 Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Competition, the Anna Case MacKay Memorial Award from Santa Fe Opera, an honorable mention in the 2006 American Bach Society Competition, the 2007 Dean’s Prize from Yale School of Music, and finalist in the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation.
Abigail Nims holds degrees from Yale School of Music, Westminster Choir College, and Ohio Wesleyan University. She was a Virginia Adams Fellow at the Carmel Bach Festival in 2009, an Apprentice Artist at Santa Fe Opera in 2007 and 2008, and a Young Artist with Opera North in 2005. Additionally, she has participated in the Spoleto Festival USA, AIMS in Graz (Austria), the Austrian-American Mozart Academy, and the Austria-Illinois Exchange Program in Vienna. Ms. Nims is currently a member of the voice faculty at the University of Colorado-Boulder.