Nancy Shade

Who is Nancy Shade?

Nancy Shade is a spinto soprano, best known as a singing-actress. She made her formal debut as Leonora in Il trovatore, in Louisville, in 1967. In 1971, she made her first of many appearances at the New York City Opera, as Musetta in La bohème. She also sang there in Mefistofele, Madama Butterfly, Pagliacci, Susannah, and Die tote Stadt.

In 1973, Shade sang the title role of Manon Lescaut at the Spoleto Festival, under the direction of Luchino Visconti. The following year, she sang in a Concert Version of Mefistofele at London's Royal Festival Hall, opposite Norman Treigle in the name part. In 1976 she created the role of Barbara in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's The Hero with the Opera Company of Philadelphia. That same year she made her Covent Garden debut as Giorgetta in Il tabarro, and in 1979, performed the eponymous role of Lulu at the Santa Fe Opera, which was the American premiere of the completed, three-act version of the masterpiece. Also in Santa Fe, she appeared in La traviata, Salome, Erwartung and We Come to the River.