Globally acclaimed not only for her “powerful and expressive voice” but for her “electric stage presence” (The Washington Post on her Vitellia with Washington National Opera), Cristina Nassif is establishing herself as one of the finest singing actresses on the operatic stage. Her 2009/2010 engagements include her international debut as Carmen at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Strauss’s Four Last Songs with the McLean Symphony, Countess Almaviva with Opera Delaware, soloist in Opera New Jersey’s Concerts in the Park Series, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Virginia Symphony, LyricFest’s Biography in Music – Shakespeare, Donna Elvira with the Virginia Opera, a solo program of operatic arias with the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut, Lebanon as well as a revival of Carmen at London’s O2 Arena. She is currently performing Donna Elvira with Opera North.
Ms. Nassif’s operatic repertoire also includes Violetta, Nedda, Musetta, Rosina, Alice Ford, Pamina, Despina and Tatiana, among others, with audiences and critics alike praising her performances with the Washington National Opera, London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Opera Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony, Virginia Opera, Shreveport Opera, Piedmont Opera, Opera Tampa, Opera Delaware, Virginia Symphony, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Pan-American Symphony Orchestra, Wichita Grand Opera, Central City Opera, and Opera Theater of Pittsburgh.
Equally at home on the concert stage, Ms. Nassif has been hailed for the distinct quality of her voice, her charismatic stage presence and her innate ability to sincerely communicate music and text. In addition to a Chinese Concert tour, Ms. Nassif has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Zankel Hall, the Concert Hall, Terrace Theater and Millenium Stage of The Kennedy Center, the Austrian Embassy (as part of Washington, DC’s Embassy Series) and D.C.’s Lisner Auditorium, among other places. Among those selected from the Montserrat Caballé International Competition and Masterclasses, Ms. Nassif performed in the closing concert in the Sala Mozart del Auditorio de Zaragoza, Spain. Other concert highlights include Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Lobgesang, Duende!, an all Spanish solo recital sponsored by the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh, PA and most recently Pasión por la Zarzuela at Carnegie Hall, celebrating the beauty of Spain's musical tradition.
Of Spanish and Lebanese descent and the daughter of two musicians, Ms. Nassif began her vocal training with her mother, mezzo-soprano Cristina Herrera de Nassif, and the two have shared the concert stage with father/pianist, Dr. Thomas Nassif. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Maryland and an Artist Diploma from The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. While there, she began working with her current teacher, Bill Schuman.
Her competition credits include the Rosa Ponselle All Marylanders Competition’s Gold Medallion, the Marjorie Lawrence International Vocal Competition’s First Place Prize, the International Vocal Competition of Bilbao’s Critic’s Choice Award and the Gerda Lissner International Competition’s First Place Prize.
