Mrs. Claus, Alyssa Nielsen says, is full of love. And she would know.
“She is very energetic, and full of joy,” remarked Nielsen, the Aldergrove-based singer-songwriter and actress who has been delighting Christmas audiences as Mrs. Claus since 2019.
“She loves visiting with the children, to tell them stories, to sing to them. I find that a lot of children, if they’re feeling a bit nervous to go and visit, you know, the big guy, sometimes a little visit with Mrs. Claus first will kind of help to alleviate some of their anxiety.”
She credits Geoff Dueck, who is well-known in the local music community, with first suggesting the idea.
“He was looking for a Mrs. Claus [for a show] that maybe was not so much the grandmother representation of her, but maybe a little bit younger, hipper kind of Mrs. Claus. And he wanted me to perform in my own voice and sing Christmas songs. So I came up with a little bit younger Mrs. Claus character, and I did those shows, and then it spiraled from there.”
Christmas season is a busy time for Mrs. Claus, with as many 13 shows booked during a two-week period, as well as her regular holiday story time appearances at Semiahmoo shopping centre, where Nielsen performs other characters the rest of the year.
During one busy Sunday afternoon leading into the Christmas season, as an example, Nielsen first performed at the annual ‘Thank You for Caring Society” high tea charity fundraiser in Langley City, then headed to Aldergrove for the treelighting, a few hours later.
I actually had two costume changes [at the tea],” Nielsen told the Langley Advance Times.
“There were two different outfits [at the tea]. I did a Christmas set and then I did a an ABBA set, and then I went and changed into Mrs. Claus. That was a three-costume day, which was really fun.”
Usually, Mrs. Claus is a solo act, but there have been times when she has shared the spotlight with Santa.
“When we do that, I always say that it’s ‘bring your wife to work day,’ Nielsen laughed.
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Music has been a part of her life since she was four, beginning with singing for family and friends.
By 11, she had her first professional engagement, Oktoberfest for the Newton Lions, where she performed three songs with a live band.
When she was 12, Nielsen was singing the national anthems at “auto racing, kickboxing, minor hockey, all those kinds of things” – including a charity exhibition bout involving Muhammad Ali and Edmonton Oilers enforcer Dave Semenko in the Alberta capital.
Among her many career credits are 10 years touring with the international Abba Tribute Abracadabra, fronting a rock band, a Patsy Kline tribute, and acting in television series such as 21 Jump Street and the Black Stallion, to name a few (more details are at alyssanielsen.com).
Back in the 1990s, she noted, “I had a fairly decent country music recording career,” which included a ‘93 hit single “Rich Man.”
Now that her children are grown up, Nielsen is preparing to resume her previous career as a singer-songwriter, planning to record an album of “primarily my own songs.”
“I always said that once they were both graduated, that I would spend a little bit more time focusing on my myself and my career again.”
After performing as other characters, Nielsen is looking forward to being herself on stage again.
“Now I’m focusing again more on being a solo act of Alyssa Nielsen the performer, doing more of my own thing. It’s been a long career, a really long, good happy career, and I’m excited to re-engage in it fully right now.”
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She does not know what her vocal range is, and that is deliberate, after studying with the late, legendary Seattle voice teacher David Kyle, known as the “Maestro” – whose students included Ann Wilson from Heart, Liza Minnelli, as well as famous Metropolitan Opera singers Marilyn Horne and Jesse Thomas.
“I did have the opportunity to take 10 lessons with this amazing teacher,” Nielsen recalled.
“He was in his 80s when I met him, and I asked him [about her vocal range] and he said he was never going to tell me, because he said, the minute you tell people that, then they think ‘oh I can’t do this or I can’t do that.’ He said, ‘you just enjoy your voice as it is, and we won’t put a label on’.”
She described her sessions with Kyle as “life-changing.”
”He certainly helped to open up my voice. He really did. He spoke a lot about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.”
Both Nielsen’s son and daughter have “beautiful singing voices,” to, she noted,”but neither of them has any interest in actually pursuing entertainment as a career, at this point.”
As chair of the Aldergrove Christmas committee, Nielsen was leading the treelighting, parade, and community party Christmas events as part of what she called a “small but fantastic team.”
“It’s been a really wonderful experience,” she said, noting it is only accentuated by the opportunity to don the red cape and seasonal costume and bring Mrs. Claus to life for the masses.