Interview with Sofia Durante

Mark: I’m very happy to talk today with soprano Sofia Durante, whom I’ve known for three years. We’ve  worked together in a coaching relationship as I’ve facilitated some specific performance training using the YogaVoice®️ method.

Sophia, I am really happy to know you, I truly think you’re awesome. You are a magnificent singer, and as I’ve witnessed your work in the United States, at our school (Mannes College of Music), and professionally in New York, I recognize that you have an extraordinary ability to captivate an audience. Kudos to you. Catch me up on what’s going on for you with your singing. 

Sofia: Lots of stuff! I have been working around the city doing concerts and auditions. I did a concert around Christmas time at the Moisey Hall at Penn Station with the Premiere Opera Foundation in collaboration with Sing For Hope. Over the summer, I made my Italian debut doing solo and ensemble work at the Teatro Sant’Agata, Macerata Feltria, Ravenna and Novafeltria.

Mark: I want to pick up on something you just said about singing a concert in collaboration with Sing for Hope, a really wonderful nonprofit organization in New York City that brings music to underserved communities. I love that you did that because I think one of the roles of an artist is to contribute to the welfare of society. Sing for Hope brings music to underserved communities, provides pianos and musical performances around NYC, and does important work to spread light and beauty. You were making a positive contribution to our city by collaborating with them through that concert. Fantastic.

Tell us a little bit about what yoga, and YogaVoice®️ specifically has meant for you, and how it has contributed to your artistic excellence.

Sofia: I started practicing yoga not that long ago. I was not a very strong person physically. I didn’t really know any of the “moves” or postures. Then I took the Yoga for Singers class at Mannes with you as the instructor. I did that for all the semesters I was there. Also, when we did our voice lessons together, we would do yoga poses and I started to notice, pretty quickly, that yoga was helping my singing. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I am not very strong in my lower body and now I’ve gotten stronger which is helpful with grounding myself for breath control and my mental strength. It has also helped me with my anxiety. I struggle with really severe performance anxiety, and YogaVoice®️ has helped me enormously. Since leaving school, I’ve made it a habit to incorporate yoga into every day, especially when I am practicing singing and when I perform.

Mark: Is YogaVoice®️ the kind of program you would have gotten in Canada? Or is it something unique to the US? 

Sofia: It was not something that we had in our opera bubble in Canada, or that was talked about a whole lot. You might hear someone talk about  Alexander Technique or the Feldenkreis Method, but nothing was talked about in regards to yoga and its relationship to the voice. It wasn’t something that I was exposed to until our work together through YogaVoice®️.

Mark: YogaVoice®️ is not necessarily about getting better as a singer, but it’s about how it makes you a more attentive, inquisitive, and compassionate human being. We believe that expressing our humanity is a huge part of what we do in singing; we’re sharing a deeply vulnerable part of ourselves. That’s always been my view. If you can learn some of these techniques from yoga that help you to be more calm, more focused, less anxious or tense, you’re actually removing the barriers to your creativity. Then you’re able to really be fully present and authentic in your performances and in your artistry. So to me, it's very gratifying that you feel that our work has been helpful to you that way. I think it must have a bearing on how you perform.

Sofia: It definitely does. For example, I’m 5”1, so I am small, and I have a very floaty energy in the way I walk through life. When I go on stage after I’ve done some yoga poses and breathing techniques, I feel grounded and connected to the Earth. I don’t lift up or feel tense in my body or my larynx. I feel like I can access my true authentic voice. I would tell everyone to do yoga because it helps you become stronger, and gets you connected with your body. But then also the mental aspect: everyone should do yoga because it helps you become a better person. With any relationships you have in your life, you want to do better for yourself so you can be better for somebody else as well. That goes for collegial relationships, friendships, romantic partners, everything. It’s very important.

Mark: I’ve always believed this work would have an impact throughout the entire culture, especially in the lives of artists. Art always reflects what’s happening around us and within us. I think that being part of a movement and part of a community that is mindful about these deeper meanings of artistry, singing, and performing is a really important part of what you can contribute to this world. 

Thanks for spending some time with me today, Sophia!

Sophia: Thank you, Mark … and YogaVoice®️!