About this Artist

Nikola, a versatile artist making waves in opera, recently starred as the titular role in Carmen with San Francisco Opera in their Carmen Encounter performance. Carmen is also a role Printz recently conquered with Festival Opera in 2023. During their two-year Adler Fellow tenure, Nikola also sang and covered lead roles at the San Francisco Opera, such as The Waitress in Saariaho’s Innocence, Frida in Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, and Laurene Powell in Mason Bates’ The Revolution of Steve Jobs. Nikola also recently made their UK Debut at the Grange Festival, singing Casta Diva on their trapeze, and opened their summer singing as a soloist at SF Opera’s inaugural Pride Concert. Afterward, they were seen on a summer tour with Vermont Symphony. Nikola will return to the UK in London to do a full orchestral premiere of Laura Karpman's Balls with London Philharmonic under the baton of Marin Alsop and can be seen singing Nuits d’été in February with Vallejo Symphony.

Printz gained acclaim for the titular roles Carmen and Dido with Opera San Jose in the 21–22 season, returning in 2023 to sing Rosina in The Barber of Seville. Printz was hailed by Opera News for their “opulent tone and clear high register.” Nikola also created the role of Billie Jean King in Laura Karpman’s Balls (Opera Parallèle). They've also performed such lead roles as Oreste (Astiannate), Elle (La Voix Humaine), Orfeo, Duchess (Le Grand Duchess de Gerolstein), Lucretia, Dorabella, Cherubino, and Isabella (L’italiana in Algeri).

No stranger to the symphony stage, Nikola returned to SF Symphony the summer of 2024 to sing the mezzo solo in De Falla’s El Sombrero Tres Picos as part of their Spanish Favorites concert. Nikola sang the alto solo in Das Lied von der Erde with SF Ballet and Vallejo Symphony. Nikola returned to the SF Symphony stage for the third year to perform their trapeze variety act for The Holidays Gaiety. Nikola will make their debut in the summer of 2025 with Vermont Symphony in their Summer of Love tour. Also an accomplished curator and recitalist, Nikola won the 2021 Schwabacher Debut Recital Award, impressing audiences and critics. Nikola is also an incredibly accomplished and innovative recitalist, having been lauded for their Schwabacher Debut Recital in 2022 with SF Opera, as well as their March Madness Q-Lab recital at the National Center for Queer Arts (The Chan Center) in spring of 2025.

Beyond opera, Nikola is a skilled aerialist, designing, choreographing, and performing acrobatic opera performances with both piano and orchestra. They also enjoy composing, playing piano and guitar, cycling, film photography, activism, and subverting gender norms. An advocate for arts accessibility, they're currently learning American Sign Language. Find out more at www.nikolaprintz.com