 studied with Bernadette Degelin at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and fulfilled her vocal education with Susan Roper. She acquired post-graduates at the Flanders Opera Studio and at the Queen Elisabeth Musical College (with José van Dam and Susanna Eken). In 2005 she made her debut at Bavarian State Opera in Arnaldo De Felice’s opera Medusa, followed by Oscar (Ballo in Maschera) and Voce dal Cielo (Don Carlo) led by Maestro Zubin Mehta, who invited her as well to sing Blonde (Entführung aus dem Serail) in Tel-Aviv.
Called “RISING STAR” by ECHO she was offered a recital tour to Europe’s most prestigious concert halls as Bozar Brussels, Musikverein Vienna, Philharmonie de Luxembourg, Megaron Athens ... Meanwhile she has made herself a name as a refined recitalist.
Career highlights
Her house debuts at Liceu Barcelona as Blonde, Theater an der Wien as Soeur Constance, at Concertgebouw Amsterdam as Anna in Intermezzo by Richard Strauss under the baton of David Zinman and at the opera houses of Nantes et Angers as Elena in Il Cappello di paglia (Nino Rota).
Noteworthy are the world premieres in which the artist participated : Die Besessenen (Maja) by Johannes Kalizke at Theater an der Wien, L’uomo dal fiore in bocca (Una voce femminile) by Luc Brewaeys, Quai Ouest (Claire) by Régis Campo at the Strasbourg Opera house, Waiting for Ms Monroe (Norma Jean) by Robin de Raaff at the Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Frankenstein (Au pair) by Mark Greyand Julie (Kristin) by Philippe Boesmans premiered at la Monnaie and revived at the Wiener Festwochen and Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.
Amongst the other roles sung by the artist in her home country’s opera houses : Valencienne (Lustige Witwe), Woglinde (Ring), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Despina (Così fan tutte), Lisa (Sonnambula), Najade(Ariadne auf Naxos) at the Flanders Opera and Sophie (Werther), Ernestine (Monsieur Choufleuri), 1. Blumenmädchen (Parsifal), Karolka (Jenufa), Dirce (Médée, Cherubini) and Johanna Barker (Sweeney Todd) at La Monnaie. At Opéra royal de Wallonie Liège she sang Nisa (La Zingara) by Da Capua.
This season (2021/2022) Hendrickje Van Kerchove will return to the Monnaie as 1. Blumenmädchen. She will appear as a soloist alongside the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber orchestra of Geneva.
Other invitations took her to the Musikverein Wien and Brucknerhaus Linz in Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (Honegger), Théâtre des Champs Elysées Paris (Blonde) alongside Das Neue Orchester, Najade (Ariadne auf Naxos) at Theater an der Wien and at Nationale Opera Amsterdam as Sandmännchen/Taumännchen (Hänsel und Gretel).
 Hendrickje Van Kerckhove has sung under the baton of Enrique Mazzola, Kazushi Ono, Zubin Mehta, Ed Spanjaard, Paul Daniel, Andreas and Christoph Spering, Bertrand de Billy, Theodor Guschlbauer, Louis Langrée, J.Cl. Casadesus, Rani Calderon, Hervé Niquet, Attilio Cremonesi, Philippe Herreweghe, Ottavio Dantone, Hartmut Haenchen, David Afkham, Christophe Rousset, Roland Böer, Ingo Metzmacher, Ludovic Morlot, David Zinman, Marcus Bosch, Bassem Akiki and Alain Altinoglu.
She has been directed by G. Joosten, C. Loy, I. Van Hove, Fr. Dussenne, L. Bondy, R. Carsen, D. McVicar, A. Freyer, K. Holten, R. Castellucci, H. Kupfer, Kr. Warlikowski, W. Koeken, K. Mitchell, A. Hermanis and Kristian Frédric.
Concert performances include invitations by : Brussels Philharmonic (Matthew Passion & Ein deutsches Requiem), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège (Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem), National Orchestra of Belgium (Mahler 4 and in Mozart arias), Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen (Mahler 4), Ensemble Orchestral de Paris (Hollinger, Morgenstern-Lieder), Camerata Academica Salzburg (Mahler 4), Residentie Orkest The Hague (R. Strauss-Lieder), Le Concert Spirituel led by Hervé Niquet (Dixit Dominus, Haendel), Orchestre des Pays de la Loire (Messiah).
Discography
CV-update: Season 2021/2022. Please contact the agency to get the most recent version of Hendrickje Van Kerckhove's biography |
