Biography
Young Dutch mezzo-soprano Sophia Faltas discovered her love for early music during her time with the Dutch National Choirs. Projects with conductors such as Jordi Savall, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman and their orchestras inspired an interest in a wide variety of early repertoires and their historically informed performance.
She developed as a soloist at the conservatories of Groningen, Amsterdam and The Hague and in masterclasses with Philippe Herreweghe, Dame Emma Kirkby, Peter Kooij and Margreet Honig. She particularly enjoys renaissance and baroque repertoire, and can often be heard as the alto soloist in baroque oratorios, passions and cantatas. She has performed in this capacity with Ton Koopman and his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Gijs Leenaars and the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, and in regular performances with Vox Luminis.
Recent highlights in her promising career include apppearances as the soprano II soloist in Bach's B Minor Mass at the Salzburger Festspiele with Vox Luminis and a tour with Anna Danilevskaia and Emma-Lisa Roux focussing on Frottole and Flemish Polyphony at Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht. Recital appearances include Trigonale Festival der Alten Musik, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht and Batenburg Baroque. Sophia made her operatic debut as the Sorceress as in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and later performed the title roles in Peri’s Euridice and Cavalieri’s Rapprasentatione di Anima et di Corpo.
She has released CD's with the Sollazzo Ensemble, both of which were awarded with a Diapason d'Or, as well as with Musica Gloria and Vox Luminis.
Sophia is a sought-after ensemble singer, and works with groups such as Collegium Vocale Gent and Cappella Amsterdam. Other collaborations include Música Temprana and CONTINUUM. She holds a Masters degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Leiden University. This degree, as well as her Egyptian roots, has inspired an interest in Middle Eastern music. She has explored this in several collaborations and genre-bending experiments, among which a dedicated recital at Batenburg Baroque with Sinan Arat, Eren Aksahin and David Mackor.
