Countess Debuts Swapped

Jennifer Davis is out, owing to illness, Nicole Heaston is in:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 27, 2019) — San Francisco Opera announces a cast change for Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), opening on October 11. American soprano Nicole Heaston will make her Company debut in the role of Countess Almaviva, replacing Irish soprano Jennifer Davis who has withdrawn due to illness. Ms. Davis, who was due to make her American opera debut with this role, expects to make a full recovery but a lingering virus and persistent cough have prevented her from participating fully in rehearsals and therefore she has determined it best to withdraw from the production and recuperate at home.

Praised by the New York Times for her “radiant” and “handsomely resonant voice,” soprano Nicole Heaston has performed recently as Mimì (La Bohème) at Houston Grand Opera; the title roles of Handel’s Alcina and Jommelli’s Didone Abbandonata at Theater Basel; Countess Almaviva at Hamburg State Opera, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Opéra de Lille, Norwegian Opera and Boston Lyric Opera; and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Brahms’ Requiem with the Houston Symphony. Since her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Heaston has appeared there as Ilia (Idomeneo), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Echo (Ariadne auf Naxos). An alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Heaston has a long-standing relationship with that company where she has performed the title role of Roméo et Juliette, Gilda (Rigoletto), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) and the title role in the world premiere of Jackie O.