Salon Series
Nikola Printz
mezzo-soprano
Joshua Mikus-Mahoney
cello
Baroque Queens
Nikola Printz, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Mikus-Mahoney, cello
Jon Mendle, theorbo & baroque guitar
Zachary Gordin, harpsichord
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Sunday, July 27, 2025 - 4:00 PM
Piedmont Center for the Arts
801 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA
Jon Mendle
theorbo & baroque guitar
Zachary Gordin
harpsichord
Baroque Queens features the music of Monteverdi, Handel, Purcell, and more—composers who shaped the early days of opera with their dramatic musical storytelling. Accompanied by a small baroque banda, Printz’s dynamic artistry will bring to life the voices of legendary heroines, sorceresses, and queens from the past. Set in an inviting salon-style atmosphere there’s also an opportunity to mingle at a reception to follow, where guests can revel in this glorious music and meet the artists who bring it to life. Join us for an evening where music reigns supreme—a celebration of Baroque Queens, interpreted by one of today’s most captivating performers.
​Artistically fluid mezzo Nikola Printz (they/them) uses music to communicate who they are, and not just what they can do. That sense of personal conviction was evident in their recent Schwabacher Debut Recital at San Francisco Opera Center. The Chronicle named the performance one of San Francisco’s Best of 2022, writing, “Listeners reveled in the beauty of Printz’s singing – their lustrously dark chest tones, their elegant phrasing… such commitment and tonal splendor.”
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Following three pandemic-era summers as a participant in the prestigious Merola Opera Program, Printz began their tenure as an Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera in 2023. During SFO’s centennial season, Printz covered Frida in the world premiere of Gabriela Lea Frank’s El ultimo sueño de Frida y Diego as well as singing Imagen #2, and performed Musetta in Bohème out of the Box. Recent performance highlights include the title roles as Carmen in Carmen and Dido in Dido and Aeneas with Opera San Jose, Carmen in Carmen with Festival Opera, L’italiana in Algeri with Opera Memphis, the Grand Duchess in The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein with Pocket Opera, Ermelinda in Freschi’s Ermelinda with Ars Minerva, Orfeo in Orfeo ed Eurydice with West Edge Opera, and Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia with Green Mountain Opera Festival. They have also appeared as Elle in La voix humaine, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, The Fox in Cunning Little Vixen, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, and Aldonza in Man of La Mancha.
American Song Cycles
Portraits of Disquiet &
At the Statue of Venus
Carrie Hennessey, soprano
Daniel Lockert, pianist
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Sunday, August 24, 2025 - 4:00 PM
Piedmont Center for the Arts
801 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA
Carrie Hennessey
soprano
Daniel Lockert
pianist
Festival Opera’s Salon Series continues with a powerful evening of music by renowned soprano Carrie Hennessy and acclaimed pianist Daniel Lockert featuring two magnificent works by American composers. Experience encore performances of Julia Seeholzer’s Portraits of Disquiet, a gripping reflection on our modern world first performed in FO's online recital series during the pandemic, and Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus, a poignant and humorous journey of anticipation and self-discovery which was a part of our 2021 mainstage production. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to be moved and inspired by two extraordinary works performed by artists who bring every note and word to life. Join us for an unforgettable evening of artistry and storytelling through song!
Known for her soaring voice and richly nuanced characters onstage, Carrie Hennessey has sung all over the world. 2023/24 season included Poulenc’s visceral one woman opera set to text by Jean Cocteau La voix humaine, a recital featuring beloved American Composer Ricky Ian Gordon, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Brahms’ Requiem, Gershwin’s Rhapsody with the renowned brass quintet, Spectrum Brass, Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Joaquin Rodrigo’s Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios and numerous recitals, workshops, Master Classes and concerts. Notable highlights include, debuting as Kát’á in Kát’á Kabanová at the Cal Shakes Amphitheater. Ms. Hennessey “in a vivid star turn in the title role…brought a wondrous blend of silvery tone and sinuous phrasing to her assignment…Hennessey’s performance touched perfectly on Katya’s anxiety, joys and uncertainty, all through a surge of Puccinian lyricism.”- Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, As Blanche Du Bois in Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire she “gave us a Blanche that let us burrow into her character’s soul, even into the darkest crevices…Hennessey, using a one-two punch of music and drama, made it resonate in a way that equaled the finest stage performances of the part I’ve seen.” (Fresno Bee) Carrie captivated audiences as Estelle in an immersive production of The Stronger, as Elle in La voix humaine in NYC and tapped into her knack for physical comedy and fearless vocalism in the world premiere ballet by Darrell Grand Moultrie “On the Rocks, Please!”, bringing the Sacramento Ballet house to surprised belly laughter and then to its feet. Ms. Hennessey has sung worldwide with Grand Rapids Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, Duluth Symphony, Houston Symphony, and at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Budapest, Reduta Hall in Bratislava, Rudolfinum Hall in Prague, the International Mahler Festival, the Concertgebouw in Bruges, Ypres, Belgium and at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart.
Shawnette Sulker
soprano
Sara Couden
contralto
Bel Canto Forever!
Famous Duets for Virtuosic Voices
Shawnette Sulker, soprano
Sara Couden, contralto
Zachary Gordin, pianist
Sunday, September 28, 2025 - 4:00 PM
Piedmont Center for the Arts
801 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA​​
Festival Opera’s Salon Series concludes with a thrilling afternoon celebrating the vocal brilliance of the Bel Canto age. Performing the works of Rossini, Bellini, Delibes, and Meyerbeer; experience the magic of Shawnette Sulker and Sara Couden's virtuosic voices as they bring to life the dazzling duets and soaring melodies that define the art of beautiful singing. This salon setting offers a rare opportunity to be up close with the artistry and vocal fireworks that make this repertoire unforgettable. Don’t miss this exquisite musical journey—where voices reign supreme: Bel Canto Forever!​
Guyanese-American soprano Shawnette Sulker has been acclaimed for her “heart-breaking poignancy” and “beautifully tuned soprano” by the San Francisco Chronicle and for her “enchanting vocal splendor” by the Leipziger Volkszeitung. Also described as a singer “…displaying a bright, superbly controlled soprano with perfectly placed coloratura” (The San Francisco Chronicle), she is sought after both in the US and abroad. A consummate performer, she has been a featured artist at San Francisco Opera in their production of Porgy and Bess. Her recently sung roles include the title role in the new opera Bulrusher for West Edge Opera, Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) with Livermore Valley Opera, the soprano solo in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with Mission Chamber Orchestra, and Opera Parallèle and SF Jazz’s double bill production of Little’s Vinkensport/Karpman’s Balls (as Sir Elton John’s Trainer and Susan B. Anthony, respectively), Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea) with both Intermountain Opera Bozeman and West Edge Opera, Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) with Santa Rosa Symphony, and Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) with West Edge Opera. Some noteworthy companies with which Ms. Sulker has performed include Hawaii Opera Theatre, American Bach Soloists, Internationale Opera Producties, Mark Morris Dance Group, Opera Naples, Eugene Symphony, Union Avenue Opera, Winston-Salem Symphony, Opera Memphis, Opera Idaho, Oakland Symphony, Opera San Jose, Natchez Music Festival, Pacific Opera Project (POP), Garden State Philharmonic, Opera Fairbanks, Opera Modesto, Ars Minerva, Festival Opera, Music in the Mountains, and Mendocino Music Festival to name a few.
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Praised for her "unusually rich and resonant voice" (Opera News), contralto Sara Couden is a premiere interpreter of operatic, concert, and song repertoire. Opera engagements for 2024 include Baba the Turk with Lakes Area Music Festival, as well as her San Francisco Opera debut as Rita in The Handmaid’s Tale (and Serena Joy cover). Concerts include Beethoven 9 with Seattle Symphony, Mass in B Minor with Santa Cruz Symphony, Duruflé Requiem with the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, and a concert of art songs and piano chamber music with Jenny Lin and Philip Setzer at the Manchester Music Festival. In previous seasons, Ms. Couden made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Albine in Thais, her Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra debut as Israelitish Man in Judas Maccabaeus, her San Francisco Symphony debut in Beethoven 9, and her Cincinnati May Festival debut as alto soloist in Julia Perry’s Stabat Mater. She toured Japan with Maestro Masaaki Suzuki in Bach's B Minor Mass, and performed Third Lady in Die Zauberflote with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and sang "Urlicht" as the alto soloist in Mahler's Second Symphony with the Santa Cruz Symphony. She has performed numerous Handel roles, including Bradamante, Cornelia, Ino, Juno, Dejainira, Irene, and Narciso. She completed the Lindemann Young Artist Program at the Metropolitan Opera in 2017, and has been a fellow at the Marlboro Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Music Academy of the West, and the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices.
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