Sophie Harmsen

Sophie Harmsen was born in Canada to German diplomat parents and spent her formative years in South Africa where she began her studies and graduated with Honours. During her time in Cape Town she was a member of the Cape Town Opera Studio, where she sang many roles including Orlowsky in “Die Fledermaus”, Mercedes in “Carmen” and Zweite Dame in “Die Zauberflöte” in a joint production with La Monnaie Brussels under the direction of William Kentridge. In 2007 she moved to Germany and completed her studies with Prof. Dr. Edith Wiens in 2009. Sophie is a laureate of both the International Robert Schumann Competition and the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang.
Chamber singer Brigitte Fassbaender invited her to the Landestheater Innsbruck for the role of Stephano in “Romeo et Julliette”. The Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival called on her for the scenic production of Bach´s “St. John Passion” in 2009 under the direction of Robert Wilson. At the Grand Théatre de Luxembourg she debuted in the role of Dorabella in “Cosí fan tutte” in 2010. During the 2012 season she repeated the role of Dorabella at the Opera de Dijon under the baton of Christophe Rousset with Les Talens Lyriques (Director: Marcel di Fonzo Bo). With Collegium 1704 and Vaclav Luks she toured the opera houses of Prague, Caen, Dijon and Luxembourg with “L´Olimpiade” by Myslivesek, with which she also gave her debut at the Theater an der Wien. In a production by Andreas Dresen Sophie sang the role of Cherubino with the Kammerakademie Potsdam and took the part of Mathilda in Telemann´s “Otto” at the Telemann Festtage, in Luxembourg and in Metz.
As a concert singer she has repeatedly been a guest of well-known festivals and orchestras. 2009 she debuted with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Helmuth Rilling (Handel “Messiah”) and has since then been a regular performer with the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart. Also in 2009 she sang a program of Mozart arias at the Brühler Schlosskonzerte and was unanimously hailed as a great discovery by the press. She has also performed amongst others, with the Münchener Kammerorchester and the Chor des Bayrischen Rundfunks (Mozart “Mass in C Minor”) and RIAS Kammerchor (Schubert “Mass in E-flat Major”), Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart (Rihm “Deus Passus”), the Gewandthausorchester with the Thomanerchor (Bach “Weihnachtsoratorium”), the Helsinki Philharmonic (Handel “Messiah”), Musikpodium Stuttgart (a.o. Mozart “Mass in C Minor”), Collegium 1704 (a.o. Bach “Mass in B Minor”), Anima Eterna (Mozart “Requiem”), Das Neue Orchester (Bach Cantatas), Capella Augustina (a.o. Haydn “Lo Speziale”), Scottish Ensemble Glasgow (Britten “Phaedra”), Kölner Kammerorchester (Mozart “Requiem”), Crane School of Music New York (Bach “Mass in B Minor”), Lahti Symphony Orchestra (Schumann “Das Paradies und die Peri”), Les Paladins (Pergolesi “Stabat Mater”), Nürnberger Symphoniker (Bach “Magnificat”), Le Concert Lorrain (Bach “St. John Passion”). Sophie has appeared at festivals such as the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, the Rheingau Musik Festival, Musikfest Stuttgart, Bachfest Leipzig, Prague Spring Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Telemann Festtage, Brühler Schlosskonzerte and in concert halls such as Wigmore Hall London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonie, Herkulessaal and Prinzregententheater Munich, the Alte Oper Frankfurt and Festpielhaus Baden-Baden.
Upcoming projects include a solo recital with Concerto Köln at the Niedersächsische Musiktage, Bach´s “Weihnachtsoratorium” with the Gewandthausorchester and the Thomanerchor, Handel and Charpentier with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the Dresdner Kreuzchor, Bach´s “Weihnachtsoratorium” and Mendelssohn´s “Lobgesang” with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Bach Cantatas with the Stuttgarter Kantorei, Martin´s “Le Vin Herbé” with RIAS Kammerchor, Bach´s “St. Matthew Passion” with Musikpodium Stuttgart, Mozart´s “Mass in C Minor” with the Dresdner Kammerchor, Respighi´s “Il Tramonto” with the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester, Bach´s “St. Matthew Passion” with Le Concert Lorrain and Caldara´s “Oratorio di San Giovanni” and Mozart´s “Mass in C Minor” with Collegium 1704, with whom she will also give her debut at the Salzburger Festspiele in 2015 with Bach´s “B Minor Mass”.