Nuccia Focile

Born in Sicily, Nuccia graduated from the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, Turin before making her operatic debut as Serpina in Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona in Spoleto in 1983.

Two more significant debuts followed shortly after: first at the Teatro Regio in 1984 as Mimì in La Bohème and then at the Teatro alla Scala in 1985 as Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera. Later that year, Nuccia won the First Prize in the International Pavarotti Competition in Philadelphia, which propelled her towards stardom and an operatic career spanning 35 years.

During that time, Nuccia has performed leading roles in the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera, Teatro Colon, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro San Carlo, Opera di Roma, Teatro Bellini, the Bolshoi Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Welsh National Opera, New Israeli Opera, New Zealand Opera, Théatre du Châlelet, Opera Bastille, and the Palais Garnier.

She was awarded 'Artist of the Year' by Seattle Opera for her 2013 interpretation of Elle in Poulenc's La Voix Humaine. Nuccia has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Sir Charles Mackeras, Sir Neville Mariner, Semyon Bychkov, and Riccardo Muti on recordings for Decca, Philips, Telarc, Opera Rara, and EMI. She has also performed alongside many of opera’s greatest exponents, including Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Placido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti.

Nuccia was made an Honorary Member of the Academy in 2021 and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2020, institutions at which she has taught since 2017 and 2022 respectively.