A country-girl at heart, Sofia Laursen Habel is an engaging singer, dedicated to delivering honest and authentic performances from the heart. She is captivated by the drama, beauty and emotion of opera, musical theatre, and art song. As a singer and storyteller her passion is connecting with people through the beauty of music.  

 

Sofia graduated from her Honours (Classical Performance) degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music with First Class Honours in 2020, where she also completed her Bachelor of Music degree.

Sofia was a member of the Opera Scholars Australia program for their 2019/2020 season. Sofia was the inaugural recipient of the Alex Rathgeber Performing Artist Scholarship (2019) and was recognised for her performance in Fame! the Musical by receiving UMMTA’s Most Outstanding Performance in a Musical award in 2017.  

 

Her roles have included Yum-Yum in Mikado (Gilbert and Sullivan), Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls (Loesser), Vivienne Kensington in Legally Blonde, Miss Sherman in FAME! the Musical, Germano in La Scala di Seta (Rossini) with BK Opera. Sofia was an ensemble member for Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites (2018), Baroque inspired PASSION, LAMENT, GLORY with the University of Melbourne and Victorian Opera’s The Selfish Giant by Bruckard (2019).   

 

Sofia has a recognised recital career within Australia and Denmark, notable performances including “A Celebration of Spring” in Horsham (2019), Rotary’s “Drive in Opera” (2021), “French and Fabulous” in Murtoa (2021), performing in Daugbjerg Limestone Mines (2022) and a Christmas Concert in Skovgaards Museum, Viborg (2022).

She has appeared in concert as a soloist with the Moorabool Light Orchestra, Horsham Rural City Band, and the Viborg Cathedral Youth Choir.

 

Sofia is also a recording artist, using the alias D.D. Sof, where she has released two albums with Folmr and Unit7Noise. As Sofia Elisabeth Laursen Habel, she has also co-composed two operas, Repudiating Oran (2020), a COVID lockdown opera, and Kamalarella (2021), with Emilio Guarino and Michael Folmer Hansen, singing the character of Mi in both operas.  

 

Sofia is extremely passionate about the community and the accessibility of classical music in rural areas, a passion which awarded her a Creativity Grant from the University of Melbourne in 2019. She used this grant to curate a fundraising concert for the Wimmera Health Care Group, held in Horsham in 2019, raising over $1000 for the foundation.

Sofia has made regular appearances performing at Warracknabeal Rotary events for many years. A clear highlight of Sofia’s career was performing at Rotary’s “Drive in Opera” event with Michael Lapina in October 2021, which was a huge success, raising $5000 for the Country Education Foundation.

 

Sofia is currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark.