Sophie Harmsen

Biography

Born in Canada and raised in South Africa, Sophie Harmsen studied in Cape Town. As a member of the Cape Town Opera Studio, she sang, among others, roles of Prince Orlofsky (J. Strauss: Die Fledermaus), Mercédès (Bizet: Carmen) and Cherubino (Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro). In 2007 she moved to Germany, where she studied with Prof. Dr. Edith Wiens. In 2008 Sophie was a laureate of the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau.
She created the role of Stéphano (Gounod: Roméo et Juliette) at the Landestheater Innsbruck. The Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival called on her for the scenic production of Bach’s St. John´s Passion in 2009 (conductor Rolf Beck, director Robert Wilson). At the Grand Théâtre de Luxemburg she debuted in the role of Dorabella (Mozart: Così fan tutte) and in 2012, she created the same role at the Opéra de Dijon. In 2013 she is guest at the opera houses of Prague, Caen, Dijon and Luxembourg together with the Collegium 1704 and Václav Luks in Myslivečk's L'Olimpiade. In 2014 she can be heard once more in the role of Cherubino (Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro) in Dijon. As a concert singer she has performed, among others, with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Helmuth Rilling (Handel: Messiah), the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (Rihm: Deus Passus), the Helsinki Philharmonic (Handel: Messiah), the Capella Augustina at the Haydn Festival in Brühl (Haydn: Stabat Mater), the Crane School of Music, New York and Helmuth Rilling (Bach: Mass in B minor), the Lahti Symphony Orchestra (Schumann: Das Paradies und die Peri), Les Paladins (Pergolesi: Stabat Mater), the Nürnberger Symphoniker (Bach) and with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Bach: Christmas Oratorio). In 2012 she performed e.g. with Anima Eterna (Mozart: Requiem), at Oregon Bach Festival (Helmuth Rilling and Matthew Halls), at Haydn Festival in Brühl (Andreas Spering), in Dresden (Bach: Mass in B minor), with the Scottish Ensemble Glasgow (Britten: Phaedra) and with the Collegium 1704 and Václav Luks (Bach: Mass in B minor) at Versailles. At he beginning of the year 2013, she participated on the recording of Bach‘s Mass in B minor  with the Collegium 1704 and Václav Luks for the French label Accent.

Update: February 2013