Praised for “a lyrical beauty and engaging silver quality to her voice” and “an exquisite skill in expressing the gamut of human emotions”, the Russian-born soprano Nika Leoni is emerging as one of the most promising new generation American singers today. Her performances, marked with a “charming and inviting stage presence” as well as “a beautiful sense of poetry and elegance,” have been enthusiastically received by American and European audiences. Nika Leoni delivers equally impressive performances of opera roles and concert programs.

Nika Leoni’s most recent engagement was in an off-Broadway musical play “Pushkin’s Little Tragedies” by Julian Lowenfeld, in which she played two contrasting roles of Laura and Mary. Previous appearance was in the role of Pamina in Classical Presentations’ new production of Kinder-Zauberflöte in Innsbruck, Austria. Prior, she had toured internationally, performing in Austria as Alcina (Alcina), in Germany as Micaëla (Carmen) and Gilda (Rigoletto), and in the Czech Republic as Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and Oscar (Un ballo in maschera). She also appeared in Opera Gala concerts at the Gasteig Philharmonie in Munich, Berlin Philharmonie, and the City Theater in Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic.

In the United States, Nika Leoni appeared as Mary Lee in Susan Stoderl’s newly composed opera A.F.R.A.I.D. (as reported by Fanny Fern) that had premiered at the 2005 New York Fringe Festival. Other credits include the roles of Dalinda (Ariodante) with Pocket Opera Company in San Francisco, Despina (Così fan tutte), Susanna (Les Nozze di Figaro), and Norina (Don Pasquale) with Opera Domani in New York, Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) with the Opera Company of Brooklyn in New York, Mimi (La Bohème) with Salon Opera in New York, and Giulietta (I Capuleti ed i Montecchi) with Classical Presentations in New York. Ms. Leoni was part of Lake George Opera Festival’s Young Artists Program, where she performed the role of La Cugina (Madama Butterfly) on the stage of the 5,000-seat summer festival theater, as well as covered the mainstage roles of Donna Elvira, Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) and Elisetta (Il Matrimonio Segreto), and appeared as Governess (Turn of the Screw), Mimi, and Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) in the Program’s season closing concert. Nika Leoni has also appeared in operatic concerts as Manon (Manon), Thaïs (Thaïs), Sophie (Werther), Amor (Orfeo ed Euridice), Adina (L’Elisir d’amore), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), and Angelica (Orlando).

On the concert stage, Nika Leoni has demonstrated her versatility as an artist, presenting repertoire that ranges from large orchestral works to more intimate recital programs. Her performance of Glière’s Concerto for Soprano and Orchestra with the Richmond Youth Chamber Collegium won her an invitation to present it in Poland where she appeared with Filharmonia Sudecka in Wa?brzych. Ms. Leoni’s unique programs of Russian Romantic Songs have been praised by the audiences in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, as well as in Germany, Italy, Austria, and the United Kingdom. Her first CD album with one of these programs has recently been released on Larion Records and is now available in stores worldwide.

Ms. Leoni has worked and studied with a number of accomplished artists, including singers Galina Vishnevskaya, Elly Ameling, Maria Spaccagna, and Franco Iglesias, conductors Daniel Beckwith, Georg Tintner, Josef Wallnig, John Axelrod, and Michael Stuart Holmes, composers Lorenzo Martinez Palomo and Albert Markov, and directors and musical coaches Nico Castel, Marc Verzatt, Rudolph Jansen, Daniel Helfgot, and Yelena Kurdina.

Nika Leoni’s artistry was recognized by a number of vocal competitions. She was a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in San Francisco and has received First Prizes and Awards from the East Bay Opera League Competition, the NATS Competition, Contemporary American Art Song Competition, and Santa Clara Art Song Festival.