Biography
General presentation
Mezzo-soprano and harpist, Sophie first turned to opera, both in the repertoire and in contemporary creations. She has appeared in roles throughout Europe, the USA and Asia: Orfeo, Orfeo ed Euridice by G.W.Gluck in Berlin, Galathée, Pastorale by G.Pesson at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Re-walden by A.Markeas at New York’s EMPAC, Nancy T’ang, Nixon in China by J.Adams at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Candelas in El Amor Brujo by M. D.Falla, Jacqueline, Le Médecin malgré lui by C.Gounod at L’Opéra Saint-Etienne, title role in Carmen by G.Bizet then title role in Frédégonde by G.M. D’Amor at L’Opéra Saint-Etienne.D.Falla, Jacqueline, Le Médecin malgré lui by C.Gounod at L’Opéra de Saint-Etienne, title role in Carmen by G.Bizet then title role in Frédégonde by C.Saint-Saëns at Saigon Opera in Vietnam, Alejandra in l’Enfer Musical by M.Suarez-Cifuentes created by Le Balcon, 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, combining different aesthetics, repertoire and creations.
While in confinement, she joins J.Pontier’s composition class at Pôle Sup’93- CRR d’Aubervilliers. Sophie 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 then went on to write for the Court-Circuit, Ars Nova, Multilatérale, 2E2M and Accroche Note ensembles.
The Philharmonie de Paris commissioned him to create “Solstice-chant à la lune” in March 2023. Sophie was then named a prizewinner in the “Territoires en création” scheme launched by the Ars Nova ensemble, which commissioned her for the 2023-24 season. In particular, the creation of a lyrical work for contralto voice, string quartet and piano: “Sur l’étoffe de mon âme”, which she wrote to a poem by Tahéré Qurrat al-Ayn, a revolutionary Persian poetess of the 19th century. This work was created during the Electrosession festival in Saint-Palais sur Mer and is published by Les Editions L’OCTANPHARE in March and April 2024.
Then the Ars Nova ensemble commissioned him to write a piece entitled Mosaïque: a solo for bass clarinet, which was premiered by Eric Lamberger: “Sixième sens” in April 2024. The Ars Nova ensemble renewed their confidence in him by commissioning a new work: “Vision” on texts by Hildegard Von Bingen. This time for choir, organ and instrumental ensemble: saxophone, brass quintet, accordion and percussion, to be conducted by Jérôme Pillement and created as part of the Royan-Orgues festival in October 2024. Then, in autumn 2024, Sophie begins a collaboration with the ensemble L’Instant Donné for which she wrote a quartet for flute, bass clarinet, violin and cello: “Prima Materia to be premiered in December 2024 at the Créteil CRR. Sophie is also working on a new writing project, a cycle of multilingual melodies for voice and piano based on the poetry of forgotten women poets in different languages: “Souviens-toi! In June, she will premiere her first Arabic melody, “Huna”, based on a text by May Ziadé, at the CRR in Créteil, with pianist Claire Pigeot.
In July 2025, the Ensemble Intercontemporain will perform its piece “Sixième sens” for the first time at the Institut Suédois in Paris. This piece will mark the beginning of a collaboration with Editions Musicales l’Artchipel which will publish his forthcoming scores.
Main achievements
- “Prima Materia” solo quartet for flute, bass clarinet, violin and cello created by the ensemble L’Instant Donné – December 2024
- “Vision” Creation for choir, accordion, organ, brass quintet, soprano saxophone and percussion on text by Hildegard von Bingen – commissioned by Ars Nova – Festival Royan-Orgues – october 2024
- “Sixième sens” Solo for bass clarinet – Ars Nova Mosaïque commission created by Eric Lamberger – April 2024
- “Sur l’étoffe de mon âme” lyric poetry for contralto voice, string quartet and piano on poetry by Tahéré al Qurat Al-Ayn – commissioned by Ars Nova – March 2024
- “Le feu & l’eau” melody and repertoire arrangement for a new program of folksongs for harp and vocals, created at the Centre culturel in Sarlat-la-Canéda and then performed on solo tours -July2023
- “La chambre secrète” created by the 2E2M ensemble directed by Léo Margue (flutes, bass trombone, percussion and double bass) – June 2023
- “Solstice-chant à la lune” created by the ensemble Multilatérale, written on a poem by the Persian poet Houshang Ebtehâj – commissioned by the Philharmonie de Paris for contralto voice, harp, piano, violin, cello and clarinets – March 2023
- “Heureux celui qui n’a pas de Patrie” lyric poem created by the Accroche Note ensemble on a text by Hannah Arendt for soprano, clarinets, cello and electric guitar – June 2022
- “De Femmes en Femmes” Concert program and album: arrangements of Sephardic melodies for voice, harp and percussion mixed with compositions, CD distributed by Absilone – November 2021
- “Ode à la terre” lyric poem created by the ensemble Court-Circuit and Eliette Prévot on a text by Amina Saïd for light soprano, oboe, French horn, viola and percussion – June 2021
- “Souffle” Mixed piece created by Philippe Récard (Ars Nova ensemble) and Youssra Khechai for bassoons, cello and tape – February 2021
- “En-Vie” Music and libretto for circus artist Lucie Lastella – commissioned by La Ferme du Buisson- scène Nationale in partnership with Circus Next, Le plus petit cirque du monde, Espace Périphérique – La Villette – March 2020
- “Return, forgetful muse” song written on William Shakespeare’s sonnet 100 for voice and harp – August 2019
- “L’Envol d’Arzach” Lyrical epic for mezzo-soprano voice, harp and percussion – November 2017
Current and future projects
This year, Sophie begins a project to write multilingual melodies for voice and piano. She will create the first melody in Arabic at the Créteil CRR in June 2025.
In March 2025, Sophie began a collaboration with the vocal septet Les Vagabondes, who commissioned her to write a vocal piece to be premiered in April 2026.
Then the Présence Compositrices festival commissioned her to create a vocal piece based on a poem by Gersende de Sabran, a 13th-century trobairitz, to be premiered at Abbaye de la Celle in April 2026.
Sophie will then be commissioned by Radio France to write a cycle of melodies for women’s voices (contralto and soprano) and instrumental ensemble for the artists Aude Extremo and Jeanne Crousaud and theensemble Court-Circuit, to be premiered on Anne Montaron’s program “Création Mondiale” on France Musique at the end of 2026.
Diplomas
After studying drama (ENM de Noisiel) and Celtic harp, which she learned in the oral tradition with D.Donon, Sophie Leleu obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London , in L.Sarti’s singing class. She then moved to Berlin to study singing at the Universität der Künste. On her return to France, she completed a Master’s degree specializing in the art of the Lied at the CRR de Metz in the class of U.Reineman. She continued her vocal training with C.Mathias and then perfected her skills with L.Sarrazin.
She then entered J.Pontier’s composition class at the Pôle Sup’93-CRR in Aubervilliers and obtained her DEM in June 2023, before entering Aurélien Dumont’s advanced class at the CRR in Créteil in September 2024.
