阮妙芬在英國接受教育、香港出生的新加坡籍女高音歌唱家，自倫敦皇家音樂學院畢業後旋即獲威爾斯國立歌劇團邀請首次飾演浦契尼歌劇《蝴蝶夫人》中難度極高的主角，自此一鳴驚人。之後世界各地歌劇團的邀請紛至遝來，當中包括英國國家歌劇院、西澳大利亞歌劇團、昆士蘭歌劇團、北愛爾蘭歌劇團、曼谷歌劇團、新加坡歌劇院、1994年新西蘭國際藝術節、1995年巴布達歌劇節及分別於1998、2000及2003年由雷蒙德古貝製作公司監製;大衛費曼導演;於皇家愛爾拔堂舉行的演出。
作為一位資深的歌唱和教育家，阮氏經常到不同的地區教授大師班和講學，當中包括中國四川音樂學院、臺灣國立東華大學、新加坡楊秀桃音樂學院，以及曼谷青年歌劇藝術家計畫等。她曾執導的全套歌劇有《女人皆如此》、《風流寡婦》、《音樂至上》。而選段方面包括《凱撒大帝》、《費加羅的婚禮》、《魔笛》、《藝術家生涯》、《阿依達》、《愛情靈藥》、《弄臣》等。她亦經常出任大型音樂比賽的評判，分別於第59和65屆香港校際音樂節、2013年曼谷歌劇國際歌唱比賽、2009年新加坡歌劇歌唱比賽和2012及2014年澳門音樂節國際聲樂比賽出任評委。阮氏自2013年成為香港歌劇院藝術委員會成員; 自2010年任香港藝術發展局考試官和獨立顧問; 2015年起擔任新加坡歌劇院的第一位名譽藝術總監。她於2003年至2010年二月出任新加坡南洋藝術學院音樂系聲樂部主任。 2010年3月起擔任香港演藝學院聲樂系系主任。
U.K. educated, Hong Kong born Singaporean soprano Nancy Yuen, has made Cio-cio-san (Madam Butterfly) her signature role winning
great international critical acclaim immediately upon graduation from London’s Royal Academy of Music. She made her operatic
debut in this demanding Puccini’s title heroine with the Welsh National Opera and has since repeated the role all over the world,
notably with the English National Opera, West Australian Opera, Opera Queensland, Opera Northern Ireland, Bangkok Opera,
Singapore Lyric Opera, the 1994 New Zealand International Festival of Arts, the 1995 Barbados Opera Festival and the Royal Albert
Hall production by David Freeman for Raymond Gubbay Limited in 1998, 2000 and 2003.
As an educator, Nancy has been regularly giving vocal masterclasses in the region, including Sichuan Conservatory of Music, China,
National Hualien University of Education, Taiwan, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore, Bangkok Opera Young Artists
Programme. As a director of operas, she has staged full productions of Cosi fan tutte, The Merry Widow, Prima la Musica and excerpts
from Giulio Cesare, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, La Boheme, Aida, L’elisir d’amore and Rigoletto. She was the adjudicator of
the 59th and 65th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, Bangkok Opera International Singing Competition in 2013 and
the“Competizione dell’ Opera 2009”in Singapore and Macau Music Festival in 2012 and 2014.
She has been a member of the Artistic Committee of Opera Hong Kong since 2013 and an Examiner and Independent Advisor to the
Hong Kong Arts Development Council since 2010. In 2015 she became the first Honorary Artistic Director of the Singapore Lyric
Opera.
Nancy was the Head of Vocal Studies at Singapore Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts from 2003 to February 2010. She has been the Head
of Vocal Studies of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts since March 2010.
