Assistant Professor of Voice Abigail Nims performs with Boston Baroque on a Grammy-nominated recording of "Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria." Photo by Clive Grainger.
Accolades continue to mount for the College of Music鈥檚 performing faculty. This Monday, Assistant Professor of Voice听Abigail Nims听will wait with bated breath to hear the winner announced in her听at the Grammys.
鈥淚鈥檓 very excited,鈥� says the mezzo soprano. 鈥淚t was definitely a big surprise, but it was a really good cast and a great production, so I wasn鈥檛 completely shocked that we got the nomination.鈥�
Nims and the听orchestra are nominated in the Best Engineered Album and Best Opera Album in the Classical category for their recording of Claudio Monteverdi鈥檚 opera 鈥淚l ritorno d'Ulisse in patria.鈥澨齆ims says though the piece was written nearly 400 years ago and tells the somewhat untouchable story of a queen who waits 20 years for her presumably dead king to return to her, it鈥檚 relatable to modern audiences.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a human element to it. When the king does come back, there鈥檚 a beautiful release for the queen, and that鈥檚 a feeling that would resonate for anyone. It鈥檚 a story about love, devotion and hope,鈥� Nims explains.
Perhaps what makes this recording particularly Grammy-worthy, Nims says, are the crew and performers. Recorded just a week after stage performances of 鈥淚l ritorno d鈥橴lisse鈥� ended, Nims says the recording has a certain freshness to it.
鈥淭hat made the recording special. We were still so wrapped up in the story. We didn鈥檛 have to create something new because we could imagine ourselves on stage, and that brought it to life,鈥� she says.
This version of the opera itself was also a new twist on the 1640 classic.
鈥淭he conductor had redesigned the score, so it felt brand new,鈥� Nims recalls. 鈥淭he voices were so fantastic, the characterizations were great and Boston Baroque played so beautifully. It all came together perfectly.鈥�
Though this is Nims鈥� first Grammy nomination, it鈥檚 not the first time her work has been recognized, nor is it the first Grammy nomination for a College of Music faculty member. Indeed,听the听is also nominated for a Grammy this year.听Nims says the high level of work the college鈥檚 faculty continue to produce is part of what makes music at the University of Colorado Boulder special.
鈥淭he fact that we continue to go out and perform, in addition to our teaching, is unique. It鈥檚 not like that in every university or conservatory, and that鈥檚 really important to us,鈥� she says.
鈥淲e all love making music, and we share that passion with our students. We come back with new ideas that we get from working with other musicians and conductors, and our students benefit from that.鈥�
The 58th Grammys are Monday, Feb. 15, 6 p.m. MST on CBS.
