years. She has just finished her second year of vocal studies at The
Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she is studying Classical
Voice with Professor Susan McCulloch.
She started her vocal studies at the Oporto Conservatoire, and was also a
resident actress at the Theatre Company " A Oficina" which toured
extensively in both Portugal and Brazil.
Her concert performances include Vivaldi Gloria, Bach Magnificat and
Pergolesi Stabat Matter.
Sofia performed the lead role in the Portuguese musical "Scents of light"
and she has also been the Portuguese voice of Jasmine in Walt Disney's
DVD trilogy of "Alladin".
Sofia performs regularly at concerts, church services and weddings
throughout the country and abroad.
She is now thrilled to fulfill a childhood dream having joined The Phantom
of The Opera.
Thank you so much dear Sofia, for your friendship and this wonderful
interview.
Sandra - What has it meant for your artistic career being part of the Phantom
of the Opera in Webber's musical?
Sofia - For me this is a dream come true. I came to London to study classical
singing and I´m still on the 3rd of my 4 year course, so to be able to start my
career in a musical I've admired and listened to all my life is an
achievement beyond my expectations. I am now learning so much from still
being in school and performing among people whose talent and experience
are so inspiring to me.
Sandra - You are the first Portuguese Christine in London, how do you feel
with this experience?
Sofia - I feel very honored and proud. I love my country and Portuguese
people have been so supportive and kind to me. I hope somehow I can help
my country to continue to grow culturally and help other young talents to
fight for their dreams. I think many young singers in Portugal now see me
as an example that nothing is impossible and that makes me really
emotional. It's so rewarding.
Sandra - What are some of the aspects you have brought into your
interpretation of Christine?
Sofia - I think I'm still building my interpretation of the character, as an
understudy this is a bit more difficult because of the lack of performance
continuity on the role, but every time I perform Christine I find new things
about her and it's very exciting. I think we have a lot in common, and off
course, that helps. Meantime, being part of the ensemble allows me to learn
from the interpretations of Robyn North and Leila Benn Harris, I admire
them both very much.
I am, trying to give my Christine a certain vulnerability without loosing her
inner strength. She goes through a very intense journey during the musical
and my aim is to make that journey real and honest, which is what any actor
thrives for.
Sandra - What scene/song of the Phantom musical is your favourite and why.
Sofia - This is quite difficult to say because I've always been in love with
Phantom of The Opera as a whole, however having to choose one scene I
would be divided between Think of Me and Wishing you Were Somehow
Here Again. The first one because it's magical to see Christine surpass her
nerves and fears and in the blink of an eye go from a shy young girl to an
absolutely astonishing performer. It is the moment her dream comes true
and it is beautiful. The second is much more intimate and emotional. There
she becomes a woman, she faces the ghost of her father and truly lets go of
the weight she has put aside during those years, she hid it away, too young
and scared to deal with it, but at that moment we see her honestly
blossoming into a woman, brought tears to my eyes every time I was in the
audience.
Sandra - How did you prepared for Christine role? Did you read any book or
did you see any movie?
Sofia - I read the novel Phantom of The Opera and saw the original black
and white film, but neither of them are very complete when it comes to
Christine's character. My role preparation comes basically from rehearsals
with Laurence Connor(assistant director) and Jean- Pierre Van Der Spuy (
director). Much of that process was talking about her, the way she lived, the
social background, the Paris Opera House, but as I said, I am still preparing,
still learning still researching her lines and building the life behind it. It's a
fantastic process.
Sandra - What do you think about Christine role and her relationship
with the Phantom and Raoul?
Sofia - I believe the Phantom represents many things that were
missing in Christine's life since her father died. He appears then and
becomes her "Angel of Music" something her father promised he
would send her, and she believes that's what happened. He becomes
her father figure, her angel, her friend. But also she has conflicting
emotions for him because of the obvious chemistry between them.
She doesn't quite understand it and therefore it's very confusing for
her. Specially after Raoul gets back into her life. She loves and trusts
Raoul, but he betrays that trust, which makes her feel she is alone.
But the Phantom is always there, and personally I believe that even
after the ending of the show he continues to haunt Raoul and
Christine's relationship throughout their lives together.
Sandra - What is it, in your opinion, what makes the show so
appealing?
Sofia - I think it's a timeless love story, with fantastically well written
music, the score is just amazing and every note portrays the emotion
along with the also amazing text. Fist time I saw it I didn't even want
to blink so that I wouldn't miss any of it,(in fact it happens every time
I see it) I was completely absorbed in the story and with goose bumps
because of the music. I think Phantom will be on stage for yet many
triumphant years to come.
Sandra - Can you tell us a good anecdote you remember from the
play or the rehearsals?
Sofia - Well, a few weeks ago during the show in my normal
ensemble plot, I was about to be the "bride in the mirror", usually I
am standing behind it for quite a while before Phantom comes and
takes the cloth off to show the Christine replica behind it. That night
as the mirror started moving to the stage, the cloth just fell!! It was
really stressful, I had to run and hide behind the curtains in the
wings while two of the technical staff tried desperately to put it back
on in time. They did it. It was so nerve racking, but now that it has
passed it makes me laugh!
Sandra - What role would you like to play some day?
Sofia - I dream very high, I always have done. There are many roles
that I would love to have a chance to perform, to name but a few:
Beauty in "Beauty and the Beast", Maria in West Side story, Cosette
and Fantine in Les Miserables, Mimi In La Boheme, Mary Poppins,
Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and so many others. I would also love
a chance to record and to be on film. As I said, I do dream very
high... :)
Sandra - Tell us about your future projects.
Sofia - I tend to take one step at the time, first I thought of investing
in my training (and I still do, I think it's very important), and at the
moment I'm just living this dream come true of being in Phantom of
the Opera to it's full. I am not planing what to do next just yet. As
opportunities come along I will grab them and do my absolute best in
whatever comes up. Right now I am concentrating in finishing my
degree in classical singing at the Guildhall School of Music and
Drama and focusing on developing my interpretation of Christine the
best I can. After that, who knows, I am open to the opportunities that
might cross my path.
Interview exclusive for this site.
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Copyright by Ladyghost.
