David Truslove talks to the young, up-and-coming soprano Sofia Kirwan-Baez – one of ten Emerging Artists to appear in Longborough Festival Opera’s new production of La bohème which runs from Saturday 27th July until Tuesday 6th August.
Alongside Elin Pritchard as Mimi, Sofia Kirwan-Baez will be singing the role of Musetta.
Each year, Longborough stages an Emerging Artist production, which gives participants the chance to perform on the main stage. Each production helps performers and other arts professionals to launch their careers or return to the profession in a supportive and meaningful way – on the stage, in the orchestra pit, and in many other aspects of the production.
DT On your website you appear to describe yourself as Anglo-Venezuelan.
SKB Anglo-Venezuelan is the easiest way to summarise a slightly unusual journey growing up. My Dad is from Liverpool and my Mum is from Caracas, Venezuela. I was born in Venezuela, but then moved to Azerbaijan, then London, then back to Venezuela… and then when I was 10 we moved to the Dordogne in France, which is where I spent the rest of my school days. I returned to the UK when I was 18.
DT Where do you consider home?
SKB Home has always been a beautiful but somewhat confusing concept for me and has often ended up being defined by the people who make it. My family home is in France, but many of my friendships and work connections are here. I have loved delving into the UK music scene and am grateful for the education I have received here.
DT How old were you when you joined Venezuela’s music education programme El Sistema, and were you aware then that music was to become a major part of your life?
SKB I joined El Sistema at age 8 for violin lessons and music theory. I definitely wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life. If anything, I often used music as a wonderful way to procrastinate from what I thought I “should” be doing!
Sofia Kirwan-Baez. Photo by @rashkphotography.
DT From El Sistema to studying Music at Oxford University is quite a leap. How did that come about?
SKB The journey probably began earlier with my parents. Alongside being a visual artist, my Mum worked for years as a jazz singer (she still occasionally performs) and my Dad is a fabulous amateur pianist. As a child, they both taught me most of the famous jazz standards. There is footage of 6-year-old me singing “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”. Overwhelmingly, my childhood memories were experienced from an aural lens.
Alongside El Sistema, I was also learning piano with a wonderful teacher called Gulnara Galimchina who heavily contributed to giving me the bug for the instrument. When we moved to France, I continued studying piano (Marie-Frédérique Couzinet) and violin (Marie Claire Larrere) at the Conservatoire Municipal de Périgueux which was a wonderful melting pot for young creatives. It refined my love of music, from weekly theory lessons to jazz workshops, and inspired me to write songs. Practise-wise, piano started overtaking the violin. I started growing in fame at the conservatoire – I was spending most of my time there outside of school – and, when I was around 16, the classical singing teacher there, Julia Brian, offered to give me a trial lesson. She knew I was gigging as a singer/pianist. I thought ‘Opera? That seems hard. Probably won’t be able to do it.’ Little did I know that it would change my life completely.
By the time I went to Lycée (sixth form equivalent) I couldn’t imagine my life without music but had developed a love for literature and didn’t quite know whether piano or singing would be my path. I didn’t even know if I would follow a jazz or a classical route. I Googled ‘best universities for music’. Oxford came up. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if this actually worked?’, so I put together an application, elements of which I used when applying for musicology in various French and UK universities. I was this close to going off to study jazz at Berkeley.
Much reading, writing, and studying later, I open my computer and find an invitation to an interview. Weeks went by, and there was my Oxford acceptance email. There was a lot of celebrating (I didn’t know then how many essays I’d have to write).
DT Who or what were the major influences during this period of study?
SKB I initially thought I would go down either a ‘serious’ composition route, or the pianist route. I realised that both involved a lot of enforced solitude, which admittedly growing up in the countryside made easy. They were not, however, compatible with being part of numerous student productions and choirs.
The choral scene was a huge revelation to me. I had never experienced vocal music in that way, and I remember vividly my first time attending an evensong and being transfixed. I loved the collaborative and meditative environment.
Another huge influence was 20th century French music and University is where I first fell in love with the likes of Debussy, Ravel and Chausson. Later, the Boulanger sisters and Cécile Chaminade (thankfully) appeared on my periphery.
DT When did singing, and particularly solo singing and opera, become a major focus for you?
SKB A combination of inspiring teachers and student productions led me to become more serious about solo singing. Julia Brian was a huge inspiration as a teenager and is still a major part of my singing development. At Oxford, I studied regularly with the wonderful Kathryn Harries (who I miss greatly) and later Glenville Hargreaves. I think overall the many people who gave me a chance throughout my early vocal development, whether in small roles or choral solos, were the catalysts for my becoming serious about it.
DT What led you to choose to study postgraduate singing at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama?
SKB Kathryn Harries was a regular teacher there and she suggested I apply. She sadly left just before I started, but she recommended that I study with the wonderful Suzanne Murphy, who majorly influenced my singing. She is still a huge inspiration. Opera scenes and language/song classes were also a big motivator to apply.
DT Was the Welsh College your first experience of opera?
SKB No – my Mum blasting out “O soave fanciulla” and “Casta diva” in the kitchen whilst cooking is probably my first encounter with opera. My first experience of being in an opera was taking the title role in a production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience when I was 18. I loved every second. I have a soft spot for comedy!
And opera was very much part of my experience at the RWCMD, but not in the same way as it was later at Royal College of Music where we learned full roles. At the Welsh College I was part of both first- and second-year postgraduate scenes (as I was doing the 1-year-intensive MMus), so it was full on! Towards the end of the academic year, I sang in the chorus for Dead Man Walking which was a collaboration between the Welsh College and WNO. I enjoyed being part of that very much.
DT Which operatic roles were you introduced to at the Royal College of Music?
SKB Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Sandmann (Hänsel und Gretel), Tina (Flight), Eurydice (Orpheus in the Underworld) and Feu/Fata Azzurra (double bill of L’Enfant et les Sortilèges / La bella dormente nel bosco).
DT As a soprano soloist you’ve evidently sung repertoire beyond opera. How would you define your soprano voice? Lyric, coloratura or other?
SKB I would say that for now I am a light lyric (with an upper extension). In other words, I like the stratosphere, but I prefer holidaying there rather than taking residence. However, I’m
fascinated how voices change and am eager to discover new things about my own voice in the future.
Regarding my non-operatic repertoire, I’m passionate about oratorio and a massive art song-lover. Highlights of the latter include performing in an Emerging Artist slot with the International Oxford Song Festival in 2023 and being part of the Wigmore French Song Exchange in 2022/23 with mentors Felicity Lott and François Le Roux. I’m also delighted to sing for the inaugural Bailey Concert Singers’ Symposium this year in September, where the focus is entirely oratorio.
I still love performing as a jazz singer and writing songs, and frequently host nights where I accompany myself and take requests. Opera frequently plays a part in these evenings too…
DT You’ve already taken on several different operatic roles. How would you describe the challenges you faced when you tackled Elle (La voix humaine), Adina (L’elisir d’amore) and Eurydice (Orpheus in the Underworld)?
SKB Each of these roles has had its own path, which I suspect will continue. Elle is special to me because I love Poulenc and French literature. The play-like set-up was quite disarming at first. Once the (long!) memorising process was over, the joy of delving into character work and making her believable was a highlight. Learning and performing Donizetti’s Adina was so much fun. I quite like a good rom-com, and I feel L’elisir d’amore has most of the ingredients for being a great one. Various people helped me along the way, especially when trying to tackle some of the technical difficulties with the role, where legato is paired with very fast patter at times. Orpheus in the Underworld is a great piece – Jeremy Sams’ translation at the RCM made it sometimes very hard to keep a straight face when performing Eurydice! A challenge with this role was balancing being funny and singing it well.
DT In what way have these experiences prepared you for Musetta?
SKB Musetta has frequently come to mind when trying to pinpoint a dream role, because of her well-rounded character. The comedy of some of the roles I’ve previously done, like Eurydice, has definitely come into play (especially in the second act!), but the real friendship, the loss and turmoil Musetta experiences throughout the opera are real and require her to be depicted as a real person and not a caricature.
DT If you had a free hand, how would you like to interpret the role of Musetta?
SKB For me, she is as much a part of the Bohemians as Marcello and Rodolfo but has a pragmatism that they don’t always seem to share. I don’t think she is basic or vain. The way her friendship develops with Mimì is beautiful.
DT Is the interpretation of Musetta something agreed jointly?
SKB Absolutely – it has been an incredible pleasure to create this Musetta with Sarah Fahie. It has been a completely collaborative process. Musetta makes sense and avoids becoming a caricature. We’ve given her a wonderful backstory!
DT Outside of Longborough, how do you prepare for the role? Are there particular performances on CD you admire?
SKB I was so excited I would be performing it that I took it to 1001 coaches at the National Opera Studio over the year. I sifted through a huge amount of information; I discovered what is conventionally done, any logistical tips around breaths and entrances (which have been very useful!) mixed with personal opinions. Everyone seems to have a strong reaction to La bohème. Alex Ingram was particularly helpful. I listened to the 1973 Karajan recording with Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni and Elizabeth Harwood. Harwood’s Musetta is glorious.
DT You’re still in the early stages of your career. Is there a particular operatic character with whom you feel a strong affinity or wish to sing?
SKB I would love to sing Mozart’s Susanna, or Donizetti’s Lucia or Marie. They are all quite powerful women in their own individual way. I would love to do Adina and Musetta again, though!
I also think contemporary operas need more limelight. I wish to sing any role which is most likely to move and represent today’s audiences. Perhaps the strongest affinity I will have for a role is for one yet to be written!
DT Do you have a current mentor or singing coach?
SKB Yes – I am in touch with the fabulous Amanda Roocroft who has been my teacher since I started at the RCM in 2021. I also speak regularly with my first singing teacher, Julia Brian, who, to this day, inspires me endlessly. Both are thorough vocal technicians and, crucially, are incredibly supportive.
DT Is there an operatic soprano of the past you revere?
SKB Predictably Maria Callas comes up pretty high. I will never forget the scene in Philadelphia with Tom Hanks listening to her ‘La Mamma Morta’. For anyone who doesn’t know this, it is worth a Google. I have also fangirled Ellie Ameling, Victoria de los Ángeles and Edita Gruberova, among many, many others. With respect to more recent inspirations, I am a huge fan of Angela Gheorghiu’s voice – her Adina is flawless.
DT How did you become involved with Longborough’s Emerging Artist Programme?
SKB I covered a small role in one of their 2023 productions and saw they were doing La bohème in 2024. I thought, ‘It’s a long shot, but I’m going to audition’. Here we are!
22nd July, 2024
Top image: Sofia Kirwan-Baez. Photo by Meyer Studios.
Sofia Kirwan-Baez & Longborough Festival Opera
David Truslove talks to the young, up-and-coming soprano Sofia Kirwan-Baez – one of ten Emerging Artists to appear in Longborough Festival Opera’s new production of La bohème which runs from Saturday 27th July until Tuesday 6th August.
Alongside Elin Pritchard as Mimi, Sofia Kirwan-Baez will be singing the role of Musetta.
Each year, Longborough stages an Emerging Artist production, which gives participants the chance to perform on the main stage. Each production helps performers and other arts professionals to launch their careers or return to the profession in a supportive and meaningful way – on the stage, in the orchestra pit, and in many other aspects of the production.
DT On your website you appear to describe yourself as Anglo-Venezuelan.
SKB Anglo-Venezuelan is the easiest way to summarise a slightly unusual journey growing up. My Dad is from Liverpool and my Mum is from Caracas, Venezuela. I was born in Venezuela, but then moved to Azerbaijan, then London, then back to Venezuela… and then when I was 10 we moved to the Dordogne in France, which is where I spent the rest of my school days. I returned to the UK when I was 18.
DT Where do you consider home?
SKB Home has always been a beautiful but somewhat confusing concept for me and has often ended up being defined by the people who make it. My family home is in France, but many of my friendships and work connections are here. I have loved delving into the UK music scene and am grateful for the education I have received here.
DT How old were you when you joined Venezuela’s music education programme El Sistema, and were you aware then that music was to become a major part of your life?
SKB I joined El Sistema at age 8 for violin lessons and music theory. I definitely wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life. If anything, I often used music as a wonderful way to procrastinate from what I thought I “should” be doing!
DT From El Sistema to studying Music at Oxford University is quite a leap. How did that come about?
SKB The journey probably began earlier with my parents. Alongside being a visual artist, my Mum worked for years as a jazz singer (she still occasionally performs) and my Dad is a fabulous amateur pianist. As a child, they both taught me most of the famous jazz standards. There is footage of 6-year-old me singing “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”. Overwhelmingly, my childhood memories were experienced from an aural lens.
Alongside El Sistema, I was also learning piano with a wonderful teacher called Gulnara Galimchina who heavily contributed to giving me the bug for the instrument. When we moved to France, I continued studying piano (Marie-Frédérique Couzinet) and violin (Marie Claire Larrere) at the Conservatoire Municipal de Périgueux which was a wonderful melting pot for young creatives. It refined my love of music, from weekly theory lessons to jazz workshops, and inspired me to write songs. Practise-wise, piano started overtaking the violin. I started growing in fame at the conservatoire – I was spending most of my time there outside of school – and, when I was around 16, the classical singing teacher there, Julia Brian, offered to give me a trial lesson. She knew I was gigging as a singer/pianist. I thought ‘Opera? That seems hard. Probably won’t be able to do it.’ Little did I know that it would change my life completely.
By the time I went to Lycée (sixth form equivalent) I couldn’t imagine my life without music but had developed a love for literature and didn’t quite know whether piano or singing would be my path. I didn’t even know if I would follow a jazz or a classical route. I Googled ‘best universities for music’. Oxford came up. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if this actually worked?’, so I put together an application, elements of which I used when applying for musicology in various French and UK universities. I was this close to going off to study jazz at Berkeley.
Much reading, writing, and studying later, I open my computer and find an invitation to an interview. Weeks went by, and there was my Oxford acceptance email. There was a lot of celebrating (I didn’t know then how many essays I’d have to write).
DT Who or what were the major influences during this period of study?
SKB I initially thought I would go down either a ‘serious’ composition route, or the pianist route. I realised that both involved a lot of enforced solitude, which admittedly growing up in the countryside made easy. They were not, however, compatible with being part of numerous student productions and choirs.
The choral scene was a huge revelation to me. I had never experienced vocal music in that way, and I remember vividly my first time attending an evensong and being transfixed. I loved the collaborative and meditative environment.
Another huge influence was 20th century French music and University is where I first fell in love with the likes of Debussy, Ravel and Chausson. Later, the Boulanger sisters and Cécile Chaminade (thankfully) appeared on my periphery.
DT When did singing, and particularly solo singing and opera, become a major focus for you?
SKB A combination of inspiring teachers and student productions led me to become more serious about solo singing. Julia Brian was a huge inspiration as a teenager and is still a major part of my singing development. At Oxford, I studied regularly with the wonderful Kathryn Harries (who I miss greatly) and later Glenville Hargreaves. I think overall the many people who gave me a chance throughout my early vocal development, whether in small roles or choral solos, were the catalysts for my becoming serious about it.
DT What led you to choose to study postgraduate singing at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama?
SKB Kathryn Harries was a regular teacher there and she suggested I apply. She sadly left just before I started, but she recommended that I study with the wonderful Suzanne Murphy, who majorly influenced my singing. She is still a huge inspiration. Opera scenes and language/song classes were also a big motivator to apply.
DT Was the Welsh College your first experience of opera?
SKB No – my Mum blasting out “O soave fanciulla” and “Casta diva” in the kitchen whilst cooking is probably my first encounter with opera. My first experience of being in an opera was taking the title role in a production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience when I was 18. I loved every second. I have a soft spot for comedy!
And opera was very much part of my experience at the RWCMD, but not in the same way as it was later at Royal College of Music where we learned full roles. At the Welsh College I was part of both first- and second-year postgraduate scenes (as I was doing the 1-year-intensive MMus), so it was full on! Towards the end of the academic year, I sang in the chorus for Dead Man Walking which was a collaboration between the Welsh College and WNO. I enjoyed being part of that very much.
DT Which operatic roles were you introduced to at the Royal College of Music?
SKB Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Sandmann (Hänsel und Gretel), Tina (Flight), Eurydice (Orpheus in the Underworld) and Feu/Fata Azzurra (double bill of L’Enfant et les Sortilèges / La bella dormente nel bosco).
DT As a soprano soloist you’ve evidently sung repertoire beyond opera. How would you define your soprano voice? Lyric, coloratura or other?
SKB I would say that for now I am a light lyric (with an upper extension). In other words, I like the stratosphere, but I prefer holidaying there rather than taking residence. However, I’m
fascinated how voices change and am eager to discover new things about my own voice in the future.
Regarding my non-operatic repertoire, I’m passionate about oratorio and a massive art song-lover. Highlights of the latter include performing in an Emerging Artist slot with the International Oxford Song Festival in 2023 and being part of the Wigmore French Song Exchange in 2022/23 with mentors Felicity Lott and François Le Roux. I’m also delighted to sing for the inaugural Bailey Concert Singers’ Symposium this year in September, where the focus is entirely oratorio.
I still love performing as a jazz singer and writing songs, and frequently host nights where I accompany myself and take requests. Opera frequently plays a part in these evenings too…
DT You’ve already taken on several different operatic roles. How would you describe the challenges you faced when you tackled Elle (La voix humaine), Adina (L’elisir d’amore) and Eurydice (Orpheus in the Underworld)?
SKB Each of these roles has had its own path, which I suspect will continue. Elle is special to me because I love Poulenc and French literature. The play-like set-up was quite disarming at first. Once the (long!) memorising process was over, the joy of delving into character work and making her believable was a highlight. Learning and performing Donizetti’s Adina was so much fun. I quite like a good rom-com, and I feel L’elisir d’amore has most of the ingredients for being a great one. Various people helped me along the way, especially when trying to tackle some of the technical difficulties with the role, where legato is paired with very fast patter at times. Orpheus in the Underworld is a great piece – Jeremy Sams’ translation at the RCM made it sometimes very hard to keep a straight face when performing Eurydice! A challenge with this role was balancing being funny and singing it well.
DT In what way have these experiences prepared you for Musetta?
SKB Musetta has frequently come to mind when trying to pinpoint a dream role, because of her well-rounded character. The comedy of some of the roles I’ve previously done, like Eurydice, has definitely come into play (especially in the second act!), but the real friendship, the loss and turmoil Musetta experiences throughout the opera are real and require her to be depicted as a real person and not a caricature.
DT If you had a free hand, how would you like to interpret the role of Musetta?
SKB For me, she is as much a part of the Bohemians as Marcello and Rodolfo but has a pragmatism that they don’t always seem to share. I don’t think she is basic or vain. The way her friendship develops with Mimì is beautiful.
DT Is the interpretation of Musetta something agreed jointly?
SKB Absolutely – it has been an incredible pleasure to create this Musetta with Sarah Fahie. It has been a completely collaborative process. Musetta makes sense and avoids becoming a caricature. We’ve given her a wonderful backstory!
DT Outside of Longborough, how do you prepare for the role? Are there particular performances on CD you admire?
SKB I was so excited I would be performing it that I took it to 1001 coaches at the National Opera Studio over the year. I sifted through a huge amount of information; I discovered what is conventionally done, any logistical tips around breaths and entrances (which have been very useful!) mixed with personal opinions. Everyone seems to have a strong reaction to La bohème. Alex Ingram was particularly helpful. I listened to the 1973 Karajan recording with Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni and Elizabeth Harwood. Harwood’s Musetta is glorious.
DT You’re still in the early stages of your career. Is there a particular operatic character with whom you feel a strong affinity or wish to sing?
SKB I would love to sing Mozart’s Susanna, or Donizetti’s Lucia or Marie. They are all quite powerful women in their own individual way. I would love to do Adina and Musetta again, though!
I also think contemporary operas need more limelight. I wish to sing any role which is most likely to move and represent today’s audiences. Perhaps the strongest affinity I will have for a role is for one yet to be written!
DT Do you have a current mentor or singing coach?
SKB Yes – I am in touch with the fabulous Amanda Roocroft who has been my teacher since I started at the RCM in 2021. I also speak regularly with my first singing teacher, Julia Brian, who, to this day, inspires me endlessly. Both are thorough vocal technicians and, crucially, are incredibly supportive.
DT Is there an operatic soprano of the past you revere?
SKB Predictably Maria Callas comes up pretty high. I will never forget the scene in Philadelphia with Tom Hanks listening to her ‘La Mamma Morta’. For anyone who doesn’t know this, it is worth a Google. I have also fangirled Ellie Ameling, Victoria de los Ángeles and Edita Gruberova, among many, many others. With respect to more recent inspirations, I am a huge fan of Angela Gheorghiu’s voice – her Adina is flawless.
DT How did you become involved with Longborough’s Emerging Artist Programme?
SKB I covered a small role in one of their 2023 productions and saw they were doing La bohème in 2024. I thought, ‘It’s a long shot, but I’m going to audition’. Here we are!
22nd July, 2024
Top image: Sofia Kirwan-Baez. Photo by Meyer Studios.