BIOGRAPHY

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EDUCATION

Natalia holds a Bachelors degree in Classical Voice from Manhattan School of Music (2011) and a Masters Degree in Carnival Studies from the University of Trinidad and Tobago (2017) where she focused her groundbreaking thesis on the Vocal technique of the early Calypso Singers.

Her past vocal teachers most notably include Hilda Harris and June Nathaniel, and she has sung in masterclass with David Jones, Lorraine Nubar, Sanford Sylvan and Ashley Putnam, among others. Natalia has been coached by Gait Sirguey, Tom Muraco, Cathy Olsen Christopher Cano and Jeffrey Middleton, and been conducted by Carlos Aransay, Ian Shaw, Robert Lyall, Jorge Parodi and Szymon Morus.

PROFESSIONAL

HIGHLIGHTS

Coloratura soprano Natalia Dopwell gained rave reviews for her portrayal of the "Queen of the Night" in sold out performances of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" of which Simon Lee (Guardian) called her "astonishing, mesmerizing and ultimately humbling, suggesting that at any second the singer may soar off into the stratosphere".

Over the years she has gained a reputation for her electric stage presence and vivacious portrayals of roles such as Rita (Rita) with Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance Program, and Eurilla (Il Pastor Fido) with Manhattan School of Music for which Opera Magazine noted that “The most advanced were the sopranos;... live wire presence Natalia Dopwell (Eurilla) could wield her diamantine high soprano as Serse’s Atalanta or Alcina’s Morgana.”

Natalia's performance highlights include singing the role of RITA with Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance Program NYC, originating the role of 'Female Jab Molassie' in the 2014 World Premiere the new Music Theatre work JAB MOLASSIE by Trinidadian composer Dominique Legendre (Calabash Foundation), and. She was the featured soprano soloist at the UWI Arts Chorale performance of Carmina Burana, sang at the opening ceremony of the 2019 CARIFESTA celebrations, and has performed frequently with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, most notably singing the soprano solos for ‘Remembrance’ a newly composed symphonic work in seven movements by Dr Roger J. Henry.

She has been featured in recital in London, Poland, New York and within the Caribbean region and in her native Trinidad, and won second prize at the 2012 Concurso y Festival de Canto Lirico held annually in Trujillo, Peru. She is well remembered for her triumphant sweep of the 2004 Trinidad Music Festival where she copped three Championship trophies for Best Operatic Aria, Best Operatic Duet and Most Outstanding Performer of the entire festival.

The operatic roles she has performed include Olympia (Les Contes de Hoffmann), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Adina (Elixir of Love), Madame Herz (Impresario), the Widow Hanna Glavari (The Merry Widow), Micaela (Carmen), Rita (Rita), Fire, Princess & Nightingale (L'Enfant et les Sortileges), Dido (Dido & Aeneas), and Queen of the Night (Magic Flute).

Ms. Dopwell was awarded second prize at the 2012 Concurso y Festival de Canto Lirico held annually in Trujillo, Peru and swept the Trinidad Music Festival in 2004 winning three Championship trophies for Best Operatic Aria, Best Operatic Duet and Most Outstanding Performer of the entire festival.

VOCAL

TRAINING

Natalia is currently a vocal faculty member of both the University of Trinidad and Tobago UTT, and University of the West Indies UWI at St. Augustine. She is also choir mistress of Providence Girls Secondary Choir, and a founding member of Picoplat Music Development where she has been Creative Director since 2011 and leads their Picoplat Young Artist Collective to produce full length, staged operatic productions on the Trinidadian stage.

She maintains a diverse vocal studio, with students spanning the gamut of Kaiso, Pop, Musical Theatre and Opera as well as beginners of all ages. Her focus as a voice teacher is to help her students sing with a relaxed and efficient vocal technique to bring out the beauty in each unique voice.