Katrien Baerts

Soprano Katrien Baerts has emerged as an important performer of 20th century and contemporary vocal music. She has performed across Europe and as far afield as Indonesia. Baerts was born in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, near Hasselt in Limburg province, in 1982 or early 1983. She attended the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, completing programs in both voice and violin, and graduating in 2008. Baerts enrolled the following year at the Dutch National Opera Academy in Amsterdam, also studying International Lied Masterclasses; she has actively pursued both opera and non-operatic vocal music. At the Academy, she appeared in such operas as Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea (as Amore and Valleto), Mozart's Così fan tutte (as Despina), and Britten's Albert Herring (as Miss Wordsworth). She also gave a vocal recital in 2009 with harpist Anneleen Lenaerts. Even during her student years, Baerts gravitated toward contemporary music. She has performed in several operatic world premieres, including those of Theo Loevendie's The Rise of Spinoza, Robert Zuidam's Suster Bertken, and, in Jakarta, Indonesia, the dance opera Gandari by Tony Prabowo. She often collaborated with the late composer-conductor Reinbert de Leeuw and has regularly performed 20th century works such as the Four poems for Anna Akhmatova, Op. 41, of György Kurtág, the Maeterlinck Lieder of Alexander Zemlinsky, and works of the Second Viennese School. Since 2006, she has performed vocal chamber music in a duo with pianist Bart Verheyen. Baerts made her debut at the Barbican Centre in London with a recital of music by Harrison Birtwistle, conducted by Oliver Knussen. Her repertory also includes works from earlier periods, including Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Bach's St. John Passion, BWV 245, and Bizet's Carmen, in the role of Micaëla. She has appeared with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, among other ensembles. In the 2019-2020 season, Baerts made debuts at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and at the Konzerthaus Dortmund. Baerts has made several albums. In 2011, she recorded Zuidam's Suster Bertken for the Attacca label. She moved to Challenge Classics for a recording of Zuidam's McGonagall-Lieder in 2013, and then to Zig Zag Territoires for a recording of songs by Berg and Zemlinsky with de Leeuw's ensemble Het Collectief the following year. ~ James Manheim