Rebecca Nelsen
Soprano
"Her timbre balances warmth and brilliance in
all registers that she delivers with ease."
Behind the Diva
Become acquainted with Rebecca Nelsen
Operatic soprano, Rebecca Nelsen, does not shy away from challenging roles, having recently performed Lulu, Violetta, Konstanze, Rosina, Marilyn Monroe, Susanna and Countess Almaviva as well as roles like Pamina, Gretel, Clara in Porgy and Bess - Operetta roles like Laura in Der Bettelstudent, Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow - and even forays into the Broadway repertoire with lead roles in musicals like Kismet, Vivaldi the Musical, and Brigadoon, as well as concert repertoire like Carmina Burana, Beethoven 9, and Mozart's Exultate Jubilate. Rebecca is also a specialist in modern opera and has performed lead roles in many critically-acclaimed European and world premieres.
Press Quotes & Reviews
a beautiful, distinctive voice
technical security
exceptional coloratura
dramatic intelligence
natural acting
charisma
"Rebecca Nelsen doesn't just play Violetta
- she lives her. In every phrase,
every pianissimo, every movement."
Der neue Merker
“A dazzling presence, confidence, humour and the
courage for self-irony, and a beautiful voice which,
when required, possesses considerable radiance.”
Der Standard
Upcoming
Beyond Opera
Rebecca Nelsen pushes beyond the boundaries of Opera and Classical Music.
American soprano Rebecca Nelsen makes her debut at Teatro alla Scala in spring 2027 as Anne Trulove in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, conducted by Riccardo Chailly and directed by Kasper Holten.
Her performance in the title role of Berg’s Lulu at Oper Leipzig, conducted by Ulf Schirmer and directed by Lotte de Beer, earned her the cover of Opernwelt. She then toured Europe with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen in Berg’s Lulu Suite. In 2025 she made her debut at the Philharmonie de Paris with the Orchestre de Paris under Omer Meir Welber, as Bubikopf in Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis.
Violetta in La traviata, which she has sung more than fifty times, has taken her to Teatro La Fenice, the Semperoper Dresden, Malmö Opera and the Royal Danish Opera, where she made her house debut in 2024. She has sung Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the Daughter in Hindemith’s Cardillac at the Semperoper Dresden and the Staatstheater Braunschweig. As Hanna Glawari in Die lustige Witwe she has appeared at Oper Frankfurt, Theater Dortmund and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, in a performance broadcast across China. In 2025 she covered the role at the Glyndebourne Festival, and in January 2026 she made her debut at Grand Opera Florida as Adele in Die Fledermaus.
At the Volksoper Wien her roles include Pamina, Violetta, Hanna Glawari, Adele and Rosina. With Neue Oper Wien under Walter Kobera she created Eva in the world premiere of Peter Eötvös’s Lilith – Paradise Reloaded in Vienna and Budapest, later released on CD, and sang Wolfgang Rihm’s one-woman opera Proserpina.
Born in Texas, she came to Vienna as a Fulbright scholar to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts.
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Capturing the Magic of Performance
