Nikola Printz, a versatile artist making waves in Opera, Concert, and Recital, is noted for performances that are “heartrending, musically resplendent…and thrillingly fierce” (San Francisco Chronicle) and praised for possessing a “richly colored and flexible voice, complemented by a powerfully expressive physicality” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Noted American journalist Joshua Kosman reflects:
“Marvel at the career trajectory of Nikola Printz, who has recently made an artistic sprint from apprentice to star in what feels like the blink of an eye.”
Nikola Printz makes their London debut in autumn 2025, performing under the baton of Marin Alsop in a concert presentation of Laura Karpman’s opera Balls at the Royal Festival Hall with The Philharmonia. Printz portrays tennis legend Billie Jean King in the groundbreaking work, which dramatizes the historic 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” match. Karpman - an Oscar-nominated composer known for her acclaimed scores for American Fiction, The Marvels, and Kung Fu Panda 2 - is a leading advocate for equality in the film industry. She wrote the role of Billie Jean King specifically for Printz, who originated the part in the world premiere staged production by Opera Parallèle.
Highlights of the 2025–26 season include performances of Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été with the Vallejo Symphony, as well as Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, singing the role of Jade Boucher and covering the lead role of Sister Helen Prejean in Leonard Foglia’s compelling production, conducted by Patrick Summers. The artist also covers the role of Kundry in a brand-new San Francisco Opera production of Parsifal, directed by Matthew Ozawa and led by Music Director Eun Sun Kim. Additional appearances of the season include a debut at Opéra de Lille in a production of Philip Glass’ Les Enfants terribles and a titular role debut as Handel’s Alcina with the Bay Area’s Festival Opera.
At San Francisco Opera - which Nikola Printz considers their “home company” – performance highlights include the titular role in Carmen Encounter, as well as featured roles during their two-year Adler Fellowship in Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence, Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, and Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Additional engagements include the role of Carmen with Festival Opera in the Bay Area, a UK debut at the Grange Festival, Peter Lieberson’s haunting Neruda Songs with Edwin Outwater conducting the Symphony of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a tour with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in Summer of Love—a vibrant program spanning global genres and featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, and John Williams, alongside classic pop songs made famous by Nat King Cole and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
In recent seasons Nikola Printz has brought to life a diverse range of operatic characters including Dido (Dido and Æneas), Elle (La voix humaine), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), and the title role of Orfeo ed Euridice. No stranger to the Symphony stage, the artist has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony in performances of Falla’s El Sombrero de Tres Picos and Mahler’s iconic Das Lied Von der Erde with the San Francisco Ballet and Vallejo Symphony.
A cosmopolitan curator and magnetic recitalist, Nikola Printz is the recipient of a 2025 Richard Tucker Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation and the 2021 Schwabacher Debut Recital Award. They have impressed both audiences and critics alike, earning acclaim for their 2022 Schwabacher Debut Recital under the auspices of San Francisco Opera. Printz also was celebrated for their “March Madness” program—an exhilarating descent into identity, reinvention, and musical rebellion—featuring songs made famous by The Pixies, Elliott Smith, Kurt Weill, Nina Simone, and Nina Hagen, as well as Kate Soper and Donizetti performed at the Chan National Queer Arts Center.
Nikola Printz is an accomplished aerialist, distinguished for designing, choreographing, and performing acrobatic opera productions in grand concert halls and smoky cabaret clubs across North America and internationally. Beyond their operatic and acrobatic work, they enjoy composing music, playing piano and guitar, cycling, practicing film photography, engaging in activism, and exploring the subversion of gender norms through art and performance.
Offstage, Printz plays several small stringed instruments, rides their bicycle around San Francisco, and pens charmingly bad poetry. They are an advocate for accessibility in the arts and are currently learning ASL.
