Opera singer Marielle Murphy returns to the Peninsula for performances in Carmel, Sand City.

Opera singer Marielle Murphy is sitting at one of the long tables inside Alta Bakery in downtown Monterey, looking around because it’s been such a long time since she has been on the Peninsula.

Born and raised in Carmel, she cannot believe her luck that she has a chance to take a break from a German winter and perform back home. Murphy came at the invitation of the Carmel Music Society and will be accompanied by pianist Alden Gatt. Reminiscing at Alta, she recalls her singing lessons with music teacher Linda Purdy, whom she calls her fairy godmother, and days when her mother would drive her to San Jose to sing.

An intense little girl – that is how Murphy describes herself in childhood when, at the age of 3 or 4, she started ballet classes. “Impossible standards,” she says about her early plan to become a ballerina, as if having a contract in Berlin and a gig with the Metropolitan Opera were not standards most would find impossible.

After ballet, she tried musical theater and started dreaming about Broadway, another disappointment. Classical singing was next.

“It’s an acquired taste,” Murphy says. “You learn to appreciate it.”

After leaving Carmel, Murphy went to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she found out for the first time that “the rest of the world is not Carmel.” Murphy had experienced her fair share of exhaustion, juggling a day job in New York with auditions for the very few opportunities for emerging singers.

Refusing to give up, Murphy enrolled at the Middlebury Institute in Monterey to study German language, then in 2017, she landed in Germany. In her European debut, she sang at the Salzburg Festival with Plàcido Domingo.

Murphy lives in Berlin because, despite all its charms, Carmel is not a place where an opera singer can earn a living. The United States offers classical music singers fewer opportunities than Germany, where quite a few American opera singers land jobs.

Murphy, a coloratura soprano, is one of them, but she cherishes each opportunity to work locally.

“Bach’s Lunch” with Marielle Murphy Noon-1pm Saturday, Jan. 24. SandBox, 440 Ortiz Ave., Sand City. Free; RSVP recommended. sandboxsandcity.com.

Marielle Murphy and Alden Gatt 3pm Sunday, Jan. 25. Sunset Center, San Carlos and 9th, Carmel. $45-$60. (831) 620-2048, carmelmusic.org.