Puerto Rican-American soprano Sophia Burgos has in recent seasons established herself internationally as a singer of outstanding intelligence, musicality and stage presence.
Highlights of the season 2023/24 include a CD recording with Ensemble Zwerm in the Netherlands, concerts with Apollo’s Fire in the US, as well as several Lied recitals with pianist Daniel Gerzenberg in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Most recently, she returned to Opera Nantes-Angers as Vercors in the world premiere of Philippe Leroux’s L’ Annonce faite à Marie, followed by her house debut at De Vlaamse Opera as Mrs Naidoo in Philip Glass‘ Satyagraha. She also 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. In concert she sang 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, Liedfestival Zeist and at Heidelberger Frühling.
During the last few seasons Sophia Burgos gave several important role and house debuts: as Teresa/Benvenuto Cellini with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Ensemble (BBC PROMS, Musikfest Berlin, Versailles, BerliozFest La Côte-Saint-André), as Despina/Cosi fan tutte (De Nationale Opera Amsterdam), 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. With Sir John Eliot Gardiner she also performed Maria in Bernstein’s West Side Story at the Edinburgh International Festival to outstanding critical acclaim.
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 Cantata: Where can I go from your spirit? 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.
Recent concert engagements 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, the world premiere of Beat Furrer’s Schnee-Szenen 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.
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 master’s degree from the Bard College Conservatory’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program. Awards include the Staetshuys Fonds Prize and Van Riemsdijk Prize in the 54th International Vocal Competition s’Hertogenbosch (Liedduo) in 2021, 2nd Prize and Special Prize at the 2018 ‘Schubert und die Musik der Moderne’ competition in Graz and the German Lied Prize at the 2017 Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Voice-Piano Competition in Paris.
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.