Universally acclaimed not only for her powerful and expressive voice but for her electric stage presence, Cristina Nassif is establishing herself as one of the finest singing actresses on the American operatic stage. She lit up the Kennedy Center Opera House in her Washington National Opera debut, bringing her bold soprano and fiery temperament to the role of Vitellia in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito.

Audiences have praised her performances as Bizet's strong and sultry gypsy, Carmen, with Virginia Opera and Washington, DC critics have been no less enthusiastic. The Washington Post's Mark Estren noted, "Nassif's voice has range and power, and the positions from which she can project it are amazing -- stretching, sitting, even lying down." while The Washington Times' T.L. Ponick remarked, "Add this impressive performance to her heartbreaking portrayal of Violetta...and one begins to wonder why the Met has not been knocking at her door." Her Violetta with Wichita Grand Opera prompted critic Bill Blankenship of The Capitol-Journal to conclude that "she possesses a vocal talent that in years to come when she is starring at La Scala or the Met will give WGO audiences a "remember when" moment."

She garnered rave reviews in the autumn of 2005 after her debut as Violetta with Virginia Opera. This success was shortly followed by performances of Carmen for Opera Tampa at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Ms. Nassif began her career as a member of Virginia Opera’s Spectrum Resident Artist program where she sang First Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute and covered Marzelline in Beethoven’s Fidelio. Closing the company's current season, her recent performances as Nedda in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci were met with enthusiasm by DC and VA area audiences and critics. Her spring performances of the title role in two fully staged productions of Carmen with Shreveport Opera and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra were met by equal praise and her triumphal debut with Piedmont Opera in the role of Violetta this October left audiences and critics "calling it their favorite production of Verdi’s beloved opera". Upcoming operatic engagements include her return to Shreveport Opera as Violetta in April 2008.

Ms. Nassif has been both a Studio Artist and an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera in Colorado where she received a Richard F. Gold Career Grant and a McGlone Award and performed Rosa Gonzales in Hoiby’s Summer and Smoke – a role she reprised with the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh – Isabel/Madeline in Mollicone’s The Face on the Barroom Floor and covered Nedda and Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has also performed the roles of Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Zemfira in Rachmaninoff’s Aleko with Bel Cantanti and Rosario in Granados’ Spanish Opera Goyescas with the Pan-American Symphony in Washington D.C. Other roles include Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème, Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff, Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte.

Equally at home on the concert stage, Ms. Nassif has been hailed for the distinct quality of her voice ("displaying the plummy low notes, tangy top and penetrating tone of an old-school Italian spinto-soprano", The Washington Post), for her charismatic stage presence and for her innate ability to sincerely communicate both music ("Her performance of "Doretta's Song," from Puccini's "La Rondine," was close to revelatory", The Buffalo News) and text ("…every interpretation was spot-on, without being histrionic or affected...She indeed lifted the text to a higher level of expression.", The Pittsburgh Post Gazette). Concert appearances include her recent debut in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's "Concert of Operatic Highlights" and in the Ocean City Pops' July 4th "Patriotic Salute". She rejoins the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in March 2008 as soprano soloist in Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

A featured artist in several promotional concerts for both Virginia Opera and the International Opera Alliance (IOA), engagements include her recent debut at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall this February in a Winter Showcase Concert sponsored by the Italian Academy Foundation. Her success that evening prompted her return, this time to Carnegie's Zankel Hall last June. Other promotional concert venues in New York City include the Liederkranz, the Harmonie Club, the Columbus Citizens Foundation/Club and the Greek Mansion for the Diplomatic Community and elsewhere, in Los Angeles – at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. Her upcoming engagements with the organization include her international debut this December in an Operatic Concert Tour in the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Ms. Nassif has premiered Dr. Peter Nocella's “Eight Candles in the Darkness: Nils’ Musical Guide into Our Swedish Heritage” set for soprano, flute, cello, and harp, based on “The Wonderful Adventures of Nils” by Selma Lagerlof and commissioned by the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia, PA. She has also appeared with the Chamber Soloists in Philadelphia in several sacred music concerts entitled "Jubilate", directed by David Lofton, the Virginia Symphony in both Mendelssohn’s Elijah -- broadcast locally on television and radio and on the web -- and Lobgesang and with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in their annual Snowshoe Symphony Festival and spring performances of Elijah. Her concert engagements also include “Duende!” (an all-Spanish solo recital) sponsored by the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh, AVA’s “Opera on the Square” in Philadelphia, the “AIDS Marathon Opera Gala” in Washington, DC and her Embassy Series debut at the Austrian Embassy in a concert devoted to the works of Korngold. She rejoins the Embassy Series for an "Evening of Opera" in January 2008.

The daughter of two musicians, Ms. Nassif began her vocal training with her mother, Spanish mezzo-soprano Cristina Herrera de Nassif, and the two have shared the concert stage with father/pianist, Dr. Thomas Nassif. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Maryland (with Regina McConnell) and an Artist Diploma from The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. While there, she began working with her current teacher, Bill Schuman.

Her competition credits include the Gold Medallion in the Rosa Ponselle Opera Competition, First Prize in the Marjorie Lawrence International Vocal Competition, Regional Award Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Encouragement Award in the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Competition, Audience Choice in the Annapolis Opera Competition, Third Prize and the coveted Critic’s Choice Award in the International Vocal Competition of Bilbao (Spain) and most recently, the Gerda Lissner Foundation's 2007 First Place Prize.