About
Australian soprano Nicole Car has established herself as one of the leading sopranos of her generation and has become a fixture at many of the top houses around the world. Often praised for her beautiful, rich timbre and her unique musicality, Nicole was recently made a Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres de la république de France.
During the 24/25 season Nicole will make four significant role debuts including Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffman at the Wiener Staatsoper, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Matréna in Mazeppa with the Münchner Rundfunk Orchester (to be recorded for the Palazzetto Bru Zane label), and the title role in Dvořák’s Rusalka at Opera Australia. Further on the operatic stage Nicole returns to the roles of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Così fan Tutte and Elisabetta in Don Carlo all at the Wiener Staatsoper, as well as a return to Mimì in La bohéme at the San Francisco Opera. On the concert stage she will be heard in Faure’s La bonne chanson and Chausson’s Chanson perpétuelle with the Ensemble Wien at the Musikverein and returns to Opera Australia for The Verdi Gala alongside her husband, Étienne Dupuis.
Career highlights on the operatic stage include Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes for her recent debut with Teatro alla Scala, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Elisabetta in Don Carlo at Opéra National de Paris, Desdemona in Otello, Blanche in Dialogue des Carmélites and Marguerite in Faust at Wiener Staatsoper, Fiordiligi in Così fan Tutte, Mimì in La bohème and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes at The Metropolitan Opera, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin and Mimì in La bohème at both the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Bayerische Staatsoper, Elisabetta in Don Carlo & Salomé in Hérodiade at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, as well as Contessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and the title role in Luisa Miller at Opera Australia. Concert highlights include Chausson’s Poème de l'amour et de la mer with the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Philippe Jordan and Mimì in La bohème in concert with The Philadelphia Orchestra and The Bravo! Vail Music Festival under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In her home country of Australia, her concert appearances have included Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ah! Perfido, Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, Mahler’s Das klagende Lied and works by Strauss with the Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland Symphony Orchestras as well returning to Opera Australia for a Puccini Gala Concert with the Orchestra Victoria in Melbourne.
Nicole’s discography includes two solo albums The Kiss (ABC Classics) with The Australian Opera & Ballet Orchestra and Heroines (ABC Classics) with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. She has also recorded André Messager’s Passionnément (Palazzetto Bru Zane), Massenet: Songs with Orchestra (Palazzetto Bru Zane) and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem (ABC Classics).
Nicole was the first prize recipient of the 2013 Neue Stimmen Competition and the 2012 Australia Opera Awards and was nominated for Best Young Singer at the 2015 International Opera Awards. She won the Best Female Performer in an Opera category at the 2018 Helpmann Awards. She is currently the co-artistic director of L’Institut Canadien d'Art Vocal (ICAV) alongside her husband, operatic baritone Etienne Dupuis.