Henriëtte Willems

 

‘The informal atmosphere culminated into the point where Henriëtte Willems started answering the ongoing ovations with blowing kisses back to the audience, while spontaneously embracing the slightly suprised conductor Hein Jordans.’ (‘Concert met Prijswinnaars,’ De Tijd, September 27, 1954)

Belgian soprano Henriëtte Willems. came in second among sopranos at the 1954 Benelux Vocal Competition (IVC), but she emerged as the audience's favorite during the final Gala Concert on September 26, 1954, in the Casino Theatre Den Bosch. Her natural charm is obvious from the quote above thatd escribes her communicative talents in terms of blowing hand kisses to the audience. In balancing charm, technique and talent the critic of De Tijd thought her timbre interesting, although it sometimes failed her (we presume he meant that she couldn't keep her vocal color in all registers or at all times). Her dramatic impetus was evident, but her singing was not yet very subtle. One thing was clear though:

'In terms of allure she easily outclassed all her competitors.’ (‘Concert met Prijswinnaars,’ De Tijd, September 27, 1954)

 

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