BIOGRAPHIES

Sophie Naubert, soprano

Sophie Naubert is a young soprano whose “extraordinary vocal maturity is coupled with  an exceptional quality of playing” (Louis Bilodeau, L’Opéra). At the age of 23 she made  her debut as a soloist with the Orchestre Métropolitain conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, with the Cottbus Philharmonic Orchestra at the Berlin  Konzerthaus and with Arion Orchestre Baroque in Montreal. That same year, she won the 2021 edition of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Competition, and took part  in the recording of Massenet’s complete mélodies (ATMA Classique).

Endowed with agility and flexibility in her voice, Sophie is as much at ease in the  operatic repertoire as in art-song and musicals, all the while maintaining a luminous  stage presence. Her roles include Maria in the production of The Sound of Music by Gregory Charles’ production of The Sound of Music at the Théâtre St-Denis, Susanna  (Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro), Adina (Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Donizetti), Gretel  (Hänsel und Gretel, Humperdinck), Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice, (Gluck), Ilia (Idomeneo,  Mozart), Annio (La clemenza di Tito, Mozart), Cinderella and Noémie (Cendrillon,  Massenet). In 2023, Sophie created the role of Fibi in the world premiere of the opera  The Man Who Laughs by Airat Ichmouratov and the role of Ariel in the North American  premiere of Thomas Linley’s The Tempest.

Sophie is grateful to have received the AIDA scholarship from Jeunesses musicales du  Canada, the RBC Prestige Scholarship and the Opéra Bouffe du Québec scholarship. She  is also a winner of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition of the St. Louis District  (2024), the Herbert J. Frank Prize of the George London Competition, the Pierre-de  Saurel Music Competition twice, the Sherbrooke Music Competition, the Hal Leonard  Music Competition and many others.

For the 2023-24 season, she will join the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal as artist.

Javiera Zepeda, mezzo-soprano

Javiera Zepeda graduated in 2013 with a bachelor degree in Music Education from the University of La Serena, Chile. She began her studies in opera singing in 2014 with the tenor and professor Gonzalo Tomckowiack. In  Fall 2023 she began her master’s studies at McGill University, in the class of Annamaria Popescu.

She has performed as a soloist in various symphonic and chamber repertoire, such as W.A Mozart’s Requiem, A. Vivaldi’s Gloria, G.B. Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, alongside the Symphony Orchestra of the University of La Serena, Chamber Orchestra of the University of La Serena, University Orchestra of the University of La Serena, and Baroque Orchestra La Extravagante.

She obtained third place in the international category at the Chile-Italy International Competition. She won the Audience Award in the Young Talents competition organized by Corcudec in Concepcion, Chile.

Her recent roles include portraying Mrs. Quickly in Verdi’s opera Falstaff, as part of an initiative organized by the Independent Opera Encounter ENOI. Additionally, she performed the role of Fricka in Wagner’s opera Die Walküre at the Teatro Municipal of Santiago, Chile.

In January 2024, she took on the character of Madame de la Haltière in Massenet’s Cendrillon alongside Opera McGill and the McGill Symphony Orchestra. Looking ahead to March 2024, she is going to perform the role of Juno in Handel’s Semele, also with Opera McGill and the McGill Baroque Orchestra.

Alexey Shafirov, piano

Alexey Shafirov was born in Ulan-Ude, Russia, and moved to Israel at the age of six. At first insistent on keeping music a hobby, Alexey served as a software developer for five years—and just two days after completing his contract, he began his Bachelor’s degree in piano performance at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. A student living in Montreal, Alexey holds a master’s degree in piano performance from the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. Alexey has won several prizes in solo piano, including the 2023-2024 Piano Concerto Competition at McGill University, but his main path is in collaboration with vocalists; participating in opera productions, vocal festivals, including IMVAJ, Lyric Opera Studio in Jerusalem, and the Franz-Schubert Institut in Vienna. Back in Israel, Alexey worked as the accompanist and coach in the Ankor girl choir, with whom he toured Israel, Germany and Japan. Alexey has been awarded generous scholarships by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Younes & Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation, and Jenny Panitch Beckow Memorial Foundation. Currently, he is enrolled in the prestigious McGill-Université de Montréal Piano-Vocal Arts Residency, where he learns from the world’s leading experts in vocal music.

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