Biography

Sophie Leleu’s music is imbued with poetry, rooted in the lyrical heritage: “Sophie Leleu is a French composer with a wonderful universe from which emerges a poetic abundance, full of descriptive ideas and at the same time sometimes verging on irony. In keeping with the French tradition, she combines extremely lilting and also slightly grating poetic elements, taking us into a strange universe.” Benoit Sitzia, artistic director of the Ars Nova ensemble (Mars 2024/Festival Electrosession)

Mezzo-soprano and harpist, Sophie first turned to opera, both in the repertoire and in contemporary creations. She has performed throughout Europe, the United States and Asia . She has appeared in Bizet’s Carmen, Saint-Saëns’s Frédégonde at the Saïgon Opera in Vietnam, Jacqueline in Gounod’s Le Médecin malgré lui at theSaint-Etienne Opera, Nancy Tang in Adams’s Nixon in China at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Ulrica in Verdi’s Le Bal Masqué at the Mancinelli Theatre in Italy, etc.

A composer and improviser, Sophie is also a creative force. She began writing songs at an early age, accompanying herself on the harp, which she performed in a number of concerts, before composing for the performing arts.

Artistic director of the Des Lieux & Des Êtres company, Sophie creates shows around the voice, offering different aesthetics, mixing repertoire and creations.

While in confinement, she joins J.Pontier’s composition class at Pôle Sup’93- CRR d’Aubervilliers. She went on to perfect her skills in Aurélien Dumont’s class at the Créteil CRR.

She wrote several pieces for prestigious ensembles and obtained her DEM in June 2023.

Sophie writes for the ensembles Court-Circuit, Ars Nova, 2E2M, Multilatérale, Accroche Note and L’Instant Donné.

The Philharmonie de Paris commissioned her to create “Solstice-chant à la lune” in March 2023, then she was named laureate of the “Territoires en Création” scheme launched by the Ars Nova ensemble, which commissioned her for the 2023-24 season.

Publications

Sheet music edition "Sixième Sens" Editions Musicales l'Artchipel

"De Femmes en Femmes" album

Sheet music edition "Sur l'étoffe de mon âme

Agenda

Sophie Leleu will be back on stage soon.

02/05/2026

Creation / Présence Compositrices festival

Creation of a piece for choir based on a text by Gersande de Sabran for the Présence Compositrices festival at Abbaye de la Celle - Commissioned by Présence Compositrices

03/04/2026

Drumming / Scènes du Golfe Vannes

Drumming by S.Reich with the Links ensemble at Scènes du Golfe

05/03/2026

Golem / Teatro del Canal Madrid

March 5 to 7, 2026: Sophie sings and plays harp on tour in Amos Gitaï's "Golem" at Madrid's Teatro Del Canal for 3 dates.