Puerto Rican-American soprano Sophia Burgos is fast emerging internationally as a young talent of outstanding intelligence, musicality and stage presence.
During the last few seasons she gave several important role and house debuts: as Teresa/Benvenuto Cellini with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Ensemble at the BBC PROMS, Musikfest Berlin, Versailles and the BerliozFest in La Côte-Saint-André, as Despina/Cosi fan tutte at De Nationale Opera, conducted by Ivor Bolton, at La Monnaie as Susanna/Le Nozze di Figaro and Zerlina/Don Giovanni in the new Da Ponte Trilogy, conducted by Antonello Manacorda, as Fox/The Cunning Little Vixen with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle and as Ann Trulove/The Rake’s Progress with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski. Most recently, she made her debut at the Ruhrtriennale Festival in a staged production of Grisey’s Quatre Chants pour franchir le seul, with Klangforum Wien conducted by Peter Rundel.
Engagements in 2022-23 include a return to Opera Nantes-Angers as Vercors in the world premiere of Philippe Leroux’s L’Annonce faite à Marie, her house debut at De Vlaamse Opera as Mrs Naidoo in Philip Glass‘ Satyagraha, George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, Czernowin’s Atara with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Matthias Pintscher, Grisey’s Quatre Chants pour franchir le seul with Ensemble Intercontemporain as well as recitals in Japan.
A champion of new works, Ms. Burgos has premiered J.M. Staud‘s Once Anything Might Have Happened with Ensemble Intercontemporain and Matthias Pintscher in Paris, Gandolfi‘s Kantate with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn’s Two Lyric Songs: The Waking as part of the 75th year anniversary of the Tanglewood Music Center, the title role of Maria Republica by François Paris with Nantes-Angers Opera and Lily Briscoe in To The Lighthouse by Zesses Seglias at the Bregenzer Festspiele.
Other recent concert highlights include excerpts from Maria Schneider’s Winter Morning Walks with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich and Paavo Jaervi, Britten’s Les Illuminations at the Bregenzer Festspiele, Claude Vivier’s Lonely Child with Teodor Currentzis and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in Munich and Hamburg, Beat Furrer’s Schnee-Szenen (premiere of concert version) with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Peter Rundel, Bernstein’s Songfest with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the MDR Sinfonieorchester, George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children with Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna in Moscow and Perm and with the SWR Sinfonieorchester, Gérard Grisey’s Quatre Chants Pour Franchir Le Seuil with Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris and with Klangforum Wien, Saint-Saëns’ Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien with the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich under Matthias Pintscher, the title role of Jennie in the New York premiere of Oliver Knussen’s Higglety Pigglety Pop!, Akrostichon Wortspiel by Unsuk Chin and Steve Reich’s Tehillim with Brad Lubman and Musica Nova Ensemble, Dutilleux’ Correspondances with the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and Maria in Bernstein’s West Side Story at the Edinburgh International Festival, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
Available on CD/DVD are works by Berio and de Falla with the Sinfonieorchester Basel and Ivor Bolton (Sony Classical), Emily Dickinson songs by Robin de Raaf with Het Gelders Orkest and Antonello Manacorda (Challenge Records) Teresa/Benvenuto Cellini (Chateau de Versailles Spectacles), Fox/Cunning Little Vixen (LSO Live/Grammy Nomination 2022, Editor’s Choice 10/20, Critics Choice 2020, Gramophone Magazine).
Sophia Burgos holds a Bachelor degree from the Eastman School of Music. Awards include 1st prize in the Eastman concerto competition, 3rd prize in the Jesse Kneisel Lieder Competition, the German Lied Prize at the 2017 Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Voice-Piano Competition in Paris, 2nd Prize and Special Prize at the 2018 ‘Schubert und die Musik der Moderne’ competition in Graz and the Staetshuys Fonds Prize and Van Riemsdijk Prize in the 54th International Vocal Competition s’Hertogenbosch (Liedduo) in 2021. Ms Burgos completed her Master’s Degree at the Bard College Conservatory’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program.
In addition to her career as a singer, Ms. Burgos is passionate about education and outreach through art, holding a degree and certification in Music Education. She recently started her own YouTube channel to create a space for audience members to connect directly with classical music and its performers.
Originally from Chicago, IL, her earliest musical influences were Spanish folk song and dance, as she and her family are strongly tied to their Puerto Rican heritage
