Uruguayan Soprano Sofía Mara was born in Uruguay, where she began her voice preparation and music studies at the University of Music in Montevideo. After receiving a scholarship from de spañish government, she moved to Spain where she continued her studies with the prestigious baritone Prof. Tom Krause at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid and transferred finally to the University of Music in Karlsruhe, Germany, where she completed her Bachelor's and Master´s degree with Prof. Julia Varady, Prof. Mitsuko Shirai and Prof. Hartmut Höll. She attended master classes by well-known musicians and stage directors such as Christa Ludwig, Brigitte Fassbänder, Reri Grist, Helen Donath, Thomas Hampson, Renée Fleming, Isabel Leonard, Marlis Petersen, Anne le Bozec, Michael Eliasen, Daniel Fueter, Wolfgang Rihm, Peter Konwitschny, Giancarlo del Monaco, Tatjana Gürbaca and Stefen Herheim, among others.

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In 2008, she won the First Prize at the 56th International Competition Jeunesses Musicales and was honored with a Diploma from the International Association „Donne in Musica“, for her outstanding Interpretation of Latin-American Music. Once in Spain, she was selected by the Spanish Artists Society (AIE) to perform in the Concert Tour “Classics in Route” throughout the country. In the following year, she sang as a soloist together with the EON Chamber Orchestra of the International Institute for Chamber Music in Madrid and the Freixenet Symphony Orchestra with conductors Hansjörg Schellenberger and Antoni Ros Marbá, performing in halls such as Auditorio Nacional de Música de Madrid, Palau de la Música Catalana, Auditorio Miguel Delibes, Auditorio El Solaruco, etc.

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Chosen by the Yehudi Menuhin e.V. Foundation Berlin for the project "Live Music Now Concerts" and by the Baden-Württemberg federal government for the project "Konzerte der Region", she performed solo concerts in different theatres and halls in Germany. She also participated in special events such as the famous Gala "Last night of the Proms" held in Konzerthaus Karlsruhe with the Dualen Symphony Orchestra, and the concert "Hugo Wolf - The Choir with Orchestra" together with the Reutlingen Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Sofía Mara has performed in numerous Halls, Theaters and Opera Houses in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, United States, Argentina and Uruguay, such as Opera Graz, Opera Frankfurt, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Festspielhaus Bayreuth, Opera Basel, Opéra-Théatre Clermont Ferrand, Carnegie Hall, Teatro Arriaga de Bilbao, Auditorio Nacional de Música Madrid, Teatro el Círculo, Teatro Solís, Auditorio Nacional del SODRE, among others. She has performed important opera roles, including Cleopatra Giulio Cesare, Alcina Alcina, Susanna Le nozze di Figaro, Despina Cosi fan tutte, Pamina Die Zauberflöte, Mathilde Guillaume Tell, Sophie Werther, Marguerite Faust, Lauretta Gianni Schicchi, Stephana Siberia, Amalia I Masnadieri, Ascensión La del Manojo de Rosas, etc. Future engagements include her debut as Paracha in Stravinsky's Mavra, The Governess in Britten´s The Turn of the Screw and Rosalinde in Strauss´s Die Fledermaus.

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She also sustains a rich concert activity interpreting among others: J.S. Bach's Magnificat, Händel's Messiah, Haydn's Die Schöpfung, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Brahms's Requiem, Mozart's Requiem and Exultate Jubilate. Deeply interested in song literature, Sofia became a student in the Liedklasse of Prof. Mitsuko Shirai and Prof. Hartmut Höll, acquiring important knowledge in the Art Song repertoire. She has performed extensively in recital series and was chosen to participate in the prestigiuos SongStudio Program hosted by Renée Fleming at Caregie Hall in New York, with closing performances in Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall.

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The young artist has also performed with great success in important International Festivals such as the Bayreuther Festpiele (Germany), Davos Young Artist in Concert (Switzerland), Hildegard-Zadek Foundation (Austria), Festival Iberoamericano de Música Manuel de Falla (Spain), Festival Internacional La Escena Vocal, Festival Beethoven, Festival Mozart Villa-Lobos and  Festival Internacional de Colonia (Uruguay).

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Sofia Mara has been awarded scholarships from important institutions such as Richard-Wagner-Stipendienstiftung, Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Oberrhein e.V., Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Hildegard Zadek Stiftung, DAAD, Freundeskreis Karlsruhe, Fundación Albéniz and Fundación Carolina.

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Paralell to her solo career, she has developed an intense teaching activity. She was assistant vocal coach of Prof. Julia Varady and Prof. Mitsuko Shirai at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe and is currently Voice Teacher at the Escuela Nacional de Arte Lírico ENAL and Escuela Nacional de Formación Docente en Artes, institutions of higher education belonging to SODRE, Uruguay. Since 2020, Sofia is a member of OLA Ópera Latinoamérica and member of the Festival Internacional de Colonia Organizing Committee.

 

 

 

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