We first heard Nina Mutalifu singing in Italian with Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance.Then we heard her sing in Uighur for the Eurasia Festival and were so impressed that we asked her to sing her Uighur songs at one of our Around the World in Song concerts. Since then, we have heard and admired her singing in Russian and French.
Last night we loved her waltzy "O Paris gai séjour" from Lecocq's Les Cents Vierges, an opera completely unknown to us. There was ample variety in the central section to show off what she can do with her magnificent instrument. (What can't she do!)
--Meche kroop
VOCE DI MECHE
... She is an angel, she is a superstar. Her dark chocolate voice was gorgeous. Her interpretations of Uyghur songs were out of this world. Ms. Mutalifu used her large and splendid soprano voice to great dramatic effect as she expressed the depth of her love. She is a soprano that clearly adds passion and personality to every song she interprets...--Mario Arévalo
Alice Ford was sung and played by Nina Mutalifu and was up to the hi-jinx of her character and used her strong soprano as a saucy barometer of mock sensual sound and deed. Her high notes were impeccably hit and her versatility made out of the commonplace and into the rare. (Stranger in Paradise/Kismet)--Nino Pantano
Opera News
"..as young Uyghur soprano Nina Mutalifu offered a stirring account of his “Imaginary Peace,” sung in alternating lines of English and Farsi. Mutalifu proved herself a real find, with a shimmering lyric soprano voice of fine quality that was graced by well-disciplined, floated top notes. “Marietta’s Lied” from Korngold’s Tote Stadt was capitally done, as was a moving rendition of Rachmaninov’s cradle scene from Aleko." —Mark Thomas Ketterson
Nina Mutalif on Broadway News
------Encouragement award from Opera San José Irene Dalis Vocal Competition
........soprano Nina Mutalifu (Ürümqi, China); and tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven (Lockport, New York) were the six finalists who competed before a live audience on May 21 for nearly $10,000 in cash prizes. They were selected by a panel of distinguished judges from 11 semi-finalists who performed before a virtual world-wide audience on May 18. The Finale judges included world-renowned mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, San Francisco Opera's Head of Music John Churchwell, celebrated opera star Soloman Howard, and Opera San José General Director Shawna Lucey. For the first time in the event's history, the dazzlingly talented line-up of singers were joined by the Opera San José Orchestra, conducted by Opera San José Music Director Joseph Marcheso.
OPERA WIRE
....letter scene from Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Her youthful tones carried excitement as well as apprehension, with Mutalif able to build to passionate emotional heights. Her second number was “Come Scoglio” from Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte,” which saw Mutalif display her lyrical strengths as well as ornamentation in later passages.
---Logan Martell
Aspen Music Festival Review: Falstaff with Bryn Terfel
Having bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in the title role paid dividends in so many ways. .........responding to a flirtatious innkeeper (a silent role played with wicked charm by soprano Nina Mutalifu)...
