OPERA | ORATORIO | BAROQUE | CONTEMPORARY | JAZZ
ABOUT SOFIA
Anglo-Venezuelan soprano Sofia Kirwan-Baez is a Kathleen Ferrier semi-finalist, a Josephine Baker Trust artist, a Sybil Tutton Award holder (2022) and a recipient of the Musicians’ Company Award (2023). In 2023-24, she was a Young Artist on the National Opera Studio’s (NOS) Global Talent Programme, generously supported by Lionel and Marylynn Anthony. Operatic roles include Rosina Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Opéra National de Bordeaux 2025), Musetta La Bohème (Longborough Festival Opera 2024), Elle La Voix Humaine, Adina Elisir d’Amore, Eurydice Orpheus in the Underworld and World premieres of works by Jasper Dommett, Marco Galvani and Toby Young. Concert work comprises Handel’s Messiah (Nevill Holt 2022), Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (Birmingham Cathedral, MAC Birmingham), Mahler’s 4th Symphony, Monteverdi’s Vespers (Cadogan Hall), Vivaldi’s Gloria and Handel’s Dixit Dominus (Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford). She made her Wigmore Hall debut in September 2023 as part of their 2023 French Song Exchange.
Sofia began her musical studies with the violin in El Sistema in Caracas (Venezuelan). She later started playing the piano, continuing both instruments in the Périgueux Conservatoire. Sofia studied Music at Oxford University and Vocal Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where she was supported by Rotary International. Sofia was a Huffner Scholar supported by the Sir Gordon Palmer Scholarship in the Royal College of Music Opera School and is a winner of the RCM’s Concerto Competition (2021).
Sofia is also an experienced jazz singer and pianist and can often be found playing piano at the Dorchester or the Savoy Hotels in London. Prior to this, she has performed in piano lounges and cabaret acts around the UK and Europe. She released her debut album in 2021 featuring her own compositions, Take One and a Half, where she plays and sings.
LISTEN
Sofia performs Puccini's 'Quando m'en vo' (La Bohème) at the National Opera Studio, accompanied by Jacob Swindells (2023).
UPCOMING EVENTS
Barbier de Seville *revisited* / Figaro de Bergerac @ Opéra National de Bordeaux
Barbier de Seville *revisited* / Figaro de Bergerac @ Opéra National de Bordeaux
Barbier de Seville *revisited* / Figaro de Bergerac @ Opéra National de Bordeaux
ICONOCLASSICS : Classic Cole @ 1901 Arts Club, London
South American Odyssey @ OSO Arts Centre, London
Kirwan-Baez sang with great intensity and passion. It was a captivating performance.
– Art Muse London | National Opera Studio Showcase (December 2023)