It’s one thing sing the role of Lieschen, a young woman whose devotion to coffee drives her exasperated father to distraction in one of Bach’s most charming secular works, the Coffee Cantata, says soprano Miriam Allan. Just don’t expect her to actually drink the stuff.

“Despite finding the aroma of it absolutely heavenly, I’m afraid I don’t like coffee at all,” she tells Limelight. “I’m a total tea girl.”

The disconnect only makes the role more delicious, she says. “Tonnes of acting required!”

Miriam Allan:

The Coffee Cantata forms half of Bach Akademie Australia’s upcoming Bach program Weddings and Parties over Coffee, paired with the luminous Wedding Cantata. It’s a concert that showcases two contrasting sides of the composer: profound spiritual tenderness alongside sparkling domestic comedy.

For Allan, however, the performances carry an extra dimension. Playing the irritable father who attempts to wean Lieschen off her caffeine habit is her own father, the distinguished baritone Christopher Allan.

The collaboration is one she relishes.

“Total dream,” she says without hesitation. “Dad is one of the performers I most admire and one of the finest musicians in the country.”

Their real-life relationship inevitably colours the father-daughter exchanges that...