Penny Sofroniadou

Biography

Greek soprano Penny Sofroniadou joined the ensemble at Komische Oper Berlin in the autumn 2022 after her successful debut there as Nannetta Falstaff. Her roles have included Susanna Le nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi Cosi fan tutte, Pamina Die Zauberflöte, Merab Saul, Iole Hercules. For her merits she received the prestigious Daphne award 2023. This season she will sing Susanna and Pamina in the revivals and as new roles, Musetta La Bohème, Gretel Hänsel und Gretel, soprano solo in the new Damiano Michieletto production of Händel's Messiah as well as Queen Tye Akhnaten.

Her recent guest appearances include a role debut as Hanna Glawari Die lustige Witwe at Theater Dortmund as well as a house debut as Lauretta Gianni Schicchi at Oper Frankfurt. She stepped in at short notice as Adina L’elisir d’amore in Nürnberg and as Pamina in Krefeld Mönchengladbach.

Penny Sofroniadou was a member of the ensemble at Theater Hagen from 2020 until 2022. Her repertoire there included Adina L'elisir d'amore, Silvia L'isola disabitata, Raka Die Blume von Hawaii, Miss Jessel The Turn of the Screw, Gretel Hänsel und Gretel and Blumenmädchen Parsifal.

In 2019/2020, as a member of the NRW opera studio, she sang Angelica Orlando Paladino at Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen, Kate Pinkerton Madama Butterfly at Theater Dortmund, Modistin Der Rosenkavalier at Aalto-Theater in Essen and Masha/ Chloe The Queen of Spades as a guest with Deutsche Oper am Rhein. In 2019 she performed in a special production of Grigori Frid's mono-opera Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank in Bunker Güdderath.

Penny Sofroniadou was a member of the Opernstudio Niederrhein from 2017 until 2019. With Theater Krefeld Mönchengladbach she sang Pamina and 1.Dame Die Zauberflöte, Amor and Euridice Orfeo ed Euridice, Lauretta Gianni Schicchi, Anna Nabucco, Soeur Constance Dialogues des Carmélites, Sandmännchen/ Taumännchen Hänsel und Gretel, Xenia Boris Godunov, Fee Amaryllis Räuber Hotzenplotz, Die junge Frau/ Der Kleine Der goldene Drache and Musica/Amor in Kobie van Rensburg’s Monteverdi pasticcio Der seltsame Fall des Claus Grünberg. She has returned to Krefeld Mönchengladbach as Pamina, Soeur Constance and Die junge Frau/ Der Kleine.

In the 2016/2017 season she was a scholarship recipient of the “Theaterinitiative Aachen” appearing at Theater Aachen as Concepcion L'heure espagnole, Nella Gianni Schicchi, Suor Genovieffa Suor Angelica, Eurydice Orphée et Eurydice and, to great critical acclaim, Grigori Frid’s mono-opera Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank. With Oper Bonn she appeared as 2nd niece Peter Grimes and as Rumpelwichte in Jörn Arnecke’s Ronja Räubertochter.

Penny Sofroniadou won the Prize of the Berlin opera houses at the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang 2018, the Prize of the WDR Funkhausorchester at the Cologne International Music Competition 2017, reached the finals at the Neue Stimmen 2019 and the semifinals at the Belvedere Competition 2018. She has sung in concert with Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, WDR Funkhausorchester and Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, a.o. the soprano solos in Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Paukenmesse, Zeisl’s Requiem Ebraico, D.Arapis’ Plato-The legend of the cave as well as excerpts from Verdi’s Otello and Beethoven's Fidelio. At Choriner Musiksommer 2023 she sang R. Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with the Orchestra of Komische Oper Berlin, conducted by Peter Gülke.

Born in Drama, Greece, Penny Sofroniadou started her vocal training at the Thessaloniki University and made her stage debut at the Aneton Theatre as Nedda I Pagliacci. She continued her Bachelor studies in Würzburg and completed a Master’s degree in Köln in 2017. During her studies she sang Diane Hippolyte et Aricie, Frog Das schlaue Füchslein, Miss Jessel The Turn of the Screw and Helena A midsummer night's dream.