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DutchDiva of the Month
Barbara Schilstra
Dutch lyric soprano Barbara Schilstra is Diva of the Month December 2016/January 2017 in the wake of her lead part in 401Concerts 4, in the Concert Hall of the library at Spui, The Hague, 18 december. She will sing there an array of arias and duets from Dutch operas by Cornelis Dopper, Daniël de Lange, Gerard von Brucken Fock, Emile von Brucken-Fock, Willem Landré, Jan van Gilse, Jan Brandts Buys en Richard Hageman. Schilstra's voice is marked by a silvery timbre and genuine personality. Till date the highlight of her career was a tour as Saffi in Gypsy Baron that took her from Vienna throughout Germany. The next highlight will be the December 18 concert! Who is curious after her voice is welcome to attend this coproduction with the Netherlands Music Institute. Entrance is Free!
DutchDivo of the Month
In Memoriam Wolter Willemsen
Our 401DutchOperas house pianist, the brilliant Wolter Willemsen, has died completely unexpectedly in his house on June 18. On behalf of our team, in particular also our vocal ensemble consisting of Barbara Schilstra, Hendrik Vonk, Lilian van de Zande and since recently also Hans de Vries, we wish his friends and family strength. Wolter was exceptionally gifted, he could take you to realms of sound in Dutch music that you had never believed possible. We had planned a studio recording of all the music we had been working on for the past two years: operas by Von Brucken Fock, Jan van Gilse, Jan Brandts Buys and some others. That we have to cancel this recording is a true blow to those wodnerful Dutch composers. Dear Wolter, wherever you are on the journey to the big unknown, we do not wish you a quiet journey at all, we wish you a lot of music and a Bösendörfer!
Founding diva's
This website was founded in 2001 with the biographies of 4 divas: sopranos Jo Vincent, Elly Ameling and Gré Brouwenstijn, and the alto Aafje Heynis. Lindeijers archive meanwhile passed on to the 401DutchDivas.nl archive, which coincides with the 401DutchOperas.com archives of author René Seghers.
Focusing on
Although 401DutchDivas does not focus on a particular period in the history of Dutch singing, Lindeijer’s former accent on the period before 1965 remains of importance. The reason for this accent is to be seen in the fact that 1965 was the year in whcih the Dutch Opera ceased to exist as an ensemble opera.
Conductors
Another focus point is on Dutch conductors of the Concertgebouw orchestra – Willem Kes, Willem Mengelberg, Eduard van Beinum and Bernard Haitink.
Musicians
The Musicians chapter covers artists that didn’t fit in any of the other categories. Here among others portraits of master pianist/ accompanist Coenraad Bos and female composer Catharina van Rennes.
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Dutch divas & divos
This website continues Joop Lindeijer’s former DutchDivas website. It covers a period of 350 years of Dutch singing, and features hundreds of biographies, discographies and photographs of Dutch opera and concert singers. Additionally, the website hosts hundreds of audiovisual documents.
