Nuccia Focile

Born in Sicily, Nuccia Focile studied at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Turin, graduating in Singing and Piano. She made her operatic debut in 1983 as Serpina in La Serva Padrona by Pergolesi, and in 1984 sang her first Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème at Teatro Regio in Turin. In the same year, she won the International Pavarotti Competition in Philadelphia, which launched an international career including her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1995 as Mimì in La Bohème.

She has appeared in leading roles such as Susanna and the Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Desdemona (Otello), Violetta (La Traviata), Elisabetta (Don Carlos), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Madama Butterfly, Katya Kabanova, and many more. Her Mimì in La Bohème has been described as carrying “an almost unbearable poignancy.”

Nuccia has sung at the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, Opera Bastille, La Scala Milan, Teatro San Carlo Naples, La Fenice Venice, Teatro Massimo Palermo, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Teatro Colón Buenos Aires, and the Welsh National Opera, where she has performed many leading roles.

Her recordings include works with Philips, Opera Rara, EMI, and Telarc, covering Le Nozze di Figaro, Così Fan Tutte, Don Giovanni (conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras), Eugene Onegin (Semyon Bychkov), Rossini’s Messe Solennelle (Sir Neville Marriner), and Pergolesi’s Lo Frate ‘Nnamorato (Riccardo Muti). In 2013, she was named Artist of the Year by Seattle Opera for her performance of Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine.

In 2017, Nuccia was appointed Professor of Singing at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she was also elected an Honorary Fellow. In 2020, she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where since 2022 she has been teaching for Vocal and Opera students.