Meet the Student: Q&A with Mezzo-Soprano Sophia Maekawa

Japanese-American mezzo-soprano Sophia Maekawa, from Kyoto, Japan, plays the title role in Curtis Opera Theatre’s production of George Frideric Handel’s Ariodante. She entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2016 and studies in the opera program with adjunct faculty member Julia Faulkner. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Maekawa is the Edith Evans Frumin Fellow.

You are playing the title role in Curtis Opera Theatre’s upcoming production of Handel’s Ariodante. What have you found to be the most challenging aspect of playing this character? 

The most challenging and interesting thing in this role was to portray the sudden shifts in emotion that Ariodante is confronted by. Jealousy, violence, insecurity, and passion are ever-present in this opera, which can, in a way, feel similar to our own relationships with friends and loved ones. I hope you can make it to the opera and find out if these characters will be able to reconcile their feelings for one another!

Is this your first trouser role?

Yes, this is the first full pants-role I will be performing on-stage! Although, I am quite familiar with trouser roles as the majority of the arias I sing as a young mezzo-soprano are written as such.

As you prepare to graduate with your Master of Music degree this spring, what have been some of your most memorable moments at Curtis over the years?

There are plenty of memorable experiences from my time at Curtis, which I will cherish for years to come, but I’d have to say one of the most memorable moments would be performing in Curtis’s production of Sweeney Todd, directed by Emma Griffin in 2018. I did not have any musical theater experience then, but I remember having so much fun singing in the chorus with other Opera Philadelphia members. I can recall that we had great feedback from audiences, and I realized how important it is to crossover into unfamiliar repertoires and styles to continue engaging audiences and broaden our own perceptions of this art form.

What is on the horizon and happening next in your career, post-commencement?

I will be joining the Chicago Lyric Opera’s Ryan Opera Center Ensemble in May 2023 and moving to Chicago after the performances of Ariodante. This is the first time I’ve moved within the U.S. after coming to Philly from Japan back in 2016, so I’m nervous and excited at the same time. But I’m looking forward to being a part of the new team and more performances in new venues!

Visit Sophia Maekawa’s official website HERE.

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE: ARIODANTE

Music: George Frideric Handel
Libretto: unknown, anonymously adapted from Antonio Salvi’s Ginevra principessa di Scozia, based upon Ariosto’s Orlando furioso.

Featuring members of Tempesta di Mare, orchestra

Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 5, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 6, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 7, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.

Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad Street

Click HERE for more information.

Single tickets: $19–55, sold by the Kimmel Cultural Campus Box Office at KimmelCulturalCampus.org, or (215) 893-1999.

The Curtis Opera Theatre is generously supported by the Ernestine Bacon Cairns Trust, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and the Wyncote Foundation.

Photos of Sophia Maekawa by Nichole MCH Photography. Photo of Sophia Maekawa and Ben Schaefer in Curtis Opera Theatre’s Albert Herring by William M. Brown.