About
Sophie is an award-winning theatre, opera and film director, arts manager, and educator with an extensive portfolio career. Alongside her critically acclaimed work as a director in the UK and Europe, she is Co-Founder of SWAP’ra (Supporting Women and Parents in Opera), Artistic Director of HeadFirst Productions, and was Festival Director of A Festival of Sex, Love and Death. She recently staged a dramatic concert production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice for Opera North, directed Cesar Cui’s Little Red Riding Hood for Northern Opera Group, and was the Creative Producer for the SWAP’ra Retreat at Glyndebourne.
Sophie’s film of Pauline Viardot's Cendrillon for Northern Opera Group won Opera of the Year in the Classical Music Digital Awards 2020. Other work as a director includes Acis and Galatea for the Vache Baroque Festival; La traviata at Teatro Garibaldi in Sicily and Jackson's Lane in London; the SWAP'ra Gala at Opera Holland Park; Romeo and Juliet at the Rose Theatre Kingston; and Duet by Katharine Armitage at Wilton's Music Hall and Oxford Lieder Festival. She has also directed productions of La bohéme, Don Giovanni, Tosca, and Die Feldermaus as well as premieres of two new operas at the Arcola Theatre and new plays at both the Park Theatre and Theatre503. She has worked regularly as an Assistant Director for Opera North, Welsh National Opera, Garsington Opera, and Buxton International Festival, assisting directors including Olivia Fuchs, Tim Albery, John Cox, and Sir David Pountney. Sophie has also directed numerous education projects for organisations including the Royal Opera House, Opera North, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, British Youth Music Theatre, and Leeds Conservatoire.
A regular guest speaker and discussion panellist on directing, arts leadership, and diversity, Sophie's highlights include events for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Music Studies (EDIMS) Network, the Royal Opera House, Opera North, Buxton International Festival, and the Mosaic Collective. Radio interviews include multiple appearances on BBC Radio 3's In Tune as well as BBC Radio Leeds and BBC Radio Kent. She has a Master’s degree in Arts Management, Policy & Practice from the University of Manchester where her research focus was on cultural policy and the Levelling Up agenda, policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, diversity and inclusion in classical music, and arts advocacy. She was previously awarded a BA in Theatre & Performance Studies from the University of Warwick.
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