“Classical music is an awe-inspiring thing. It’s freakish and incredibly classy at the same time” – Sofia Kirwan-Baez, soprano
Meet Sofia Kirwan-Baez, up-and-coming soprano, who appears in Classic Cole at Ham House Stables on 29 November
Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?
I was very lucky to have a very supportive family who love music – my mum is a wonderful singer (and has a huge range of musical tastes) and my dad is a phenomenal amateur pianist. They both have been excellent cheerleaders and hugely inspiring. All my teachers also have been major cornerstones to my progress and resilience.
What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
Among the many challenges, self-discipline is high up there. Not just with regards to practising, but also when planning ahead. One must be simultaneously an administrator, a marketing manager, a travel agent, a linguist and a consummate artist. These can occasionally come in unpredictable waves…
Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?
I just finished a run with Longborough Festival Opera performing as Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème, and I loved every second of it. The role felt incredibly natural, and the production was really cool. It helped massively that the rest of the cast were absolutely wonderful!
Which particular works/composers do you think you perform best?
I love French art song, but I think Italian bel canto – anything from Donizetti, to Bellini or Puccini – is my favourite genre to sing from a physical point of view. It carries a lot of emotion without needing many words. The words in French art song move me in their symbiosis with the music.
How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?
I see what comes up! I try to trust my gut.
Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?
The acoustics of Wigmore Hall have the same effect on me as water does to a thirsty hiker. I have yet to sing somewhere with such a power for enveloping the sound around the audience. I was so lucky to do the Wigmore French Song Exchange ; I got to sing there every month for coachings with Felicity Lott and François Le Roux, gurus of French song!
That all being said, I have a huge soft spot for the OSO Arts Centre in Barnes – it is more than a venue for me as I worked there as a barista over lockdown and the people there have become like family. The theatre always has a great lineup of acts!
What do you do off stage that provides inspiration on stage?
I love people-watching and travelling, as both allow you to gain new perspectives on the world. It’s easy to fester in a bubble, even in a big city like London. But artists, composers, poets – they come from all over! So how can one possibly interpret their works if we don’t understand where they come from (both geographically and culturally)?
What is your most memorable concert experience?
Possibly singing the Venezuelan song ‘Caramba’ by Otlio Galíndez at Wigmore Hall, with the beautiful arrangement by Venezuelan concert-pianist Carlos Urbaneja. It felt very special to be sharing more of my background in a classical setting.
As a musician, what is your definition of success?
My definition of success is to be able to do what I love – to create art, to move people, to push people outside of their comfort zone, to introduce people to new stories – on a daily basis and to live from it. If I can eat, pay my rent and have a lovely time, all is well! I would also like to continue challenging myself musically.
What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?
I think people need to go back to basics. In particular with something like opera. The compositional form, or even sometimes the story line, are, in my opinion, not necessarily the first things that jump out at you when you attend. It’s the fact that there’s one tiny human on a huge stage who somehow feels SO much that they manage to sing over an orchestra to hundreds of people. It’s primal. It’s dirty, elegant, political, heartbreaking, and hilarious. It expresses joy and pain in a way that’s both completely unleashed but also the product of years of intricate training.
When you perform classical music to children you realise this – classical music is an awe-inspiring thing. It’s freakish and incredibly classy at the same time. It’s good to see that ‘WOW’ element emphasised in publicising it, and to not diminish that.
What’s the one thing in the music industry we’re not talking about which you think we should be
On an artistic plane, Zarzuelas! Why don’t we do them in the UK? On a more global plane, especially with regards to education, we need to encourage musicians to keep their minds open. Snobbery between genres should not be perpetuated. As Duke Ellington said in 1962 (as well as many wonderful musicians before him) : “There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind”.
What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians?
If music is what you absolutely love, just keep going. Don’t give up. The people who seem to continue in this business are the ones who put up with its ups and downs. And stay in your lane! Don’t compare yourself to others. You have your own stories to tell, your own emotions to feel. If something doesn’t happen, it wasn’t meant to be. But there will be something else. And don’t be afraid to organise your own events – I have learnt so much by self-organising concerts.
All this being said (and this is not said enough), if you realise that after years it’s not for you, don’t allow the pressure cooker that music can be to convince you that changing careers is somehow “a failure”. Failure is only doing something you don’t love. And also, music as a career is much more than performing. It’s ok to discover that the things around it are…intense.
But stay open, and don’t give up because of people saying ‘you’re not enough’. You are always enough for someone.
What’s next? Where would you like to be in 10 years?
Hopefully sat on a terrace (maybe in France?) having a delicious menu du jour.…followed by rehearsals in the afternoon on a challenging and exciting opera!
Join Sofia Kirwan-Baez and Alex Norton (piano) at historic Ham House Stables on 29 November for Classic Cole: The Life of Cole Porter in Music & Words. Tickets on sale now – click here to book
