Living the Dream: SCH Junior on Stage at the Kimmel Center

When The Hours, an opera based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Cunningham and the Paramount Pictures film, has its world premiere at the Kimmel Center tomorrow, SCH junior Sarah Shoff will join the stage with a trio of headliners. Philadelphia Orchestra’s Yannick Nézet-Séguin will bring the compelling story to Verizon Hall with leads Renée Fleming, a Grammy winner and Tony nominee, Kelli O’Hara, a Tony winner who is currently appearing on HBO's The Gilded Age, ​​and Jennifer Johnson-Cano, operatic mezzo-soprano.

This concert version of The Hours is a unique portrayal of three women—from three different eras—with interwoven stories and narrative strands connected to Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway.  The work was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Sarah, who has been singing in the Pennsylvania Girlchoir since she was eight, was selected to audition on a Sunday in February and learned that she had earned the role of one of Woolf’s nieces two days later! Her role, Angelica, is the only female child in the opera. This past summer, Sarah had her first taste of classical singing when she performed in Puccini’s Suor Angelica with Opera Box and has been working with a voice coach since January of 2021.  

In April, Sarah will be back on stage in the Players’ production of Once Upon a Mattress. A consummate performer, Sarah loves everything about both upcoming performances. She shares, “I love to sing.  I love the theater. I love the rush of it. And the community I’ve found through music has been a big part of shaping who I am.”   

We’re listening, Sarah, and can’t wait to learn where this passion takes you! 

For more information on The Hours, click here.