After studies at the conservatory in Maastricht, he started as a chorister at the opera in Amsterdam. In 1974, he
got a soloist contract in Bielefeld, where he stayed until 1986; then he joined the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, where he would
spend more than 25 years. He was also a regular guest in Cologne.
Further guest appearances (hold on tight): San Francisco, Seattle, La Monnaie, Paris Opéra and Théâtre
des Champs-Élysées, Metropolitan Opera, Amsterdam, Enschede, Nantes, Frankfurt, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Genova,
Vienna Staatsoper, Munich, Zürich, Torino, Tokyo, and at the festivals in Edinburgh, Salzburg (both the "real" and the
Easter festival), Bregenz, Wiesbaden of course, and Spoleto.
Repertory (hold on tight again): Tamino, Lucio Silla, Florestan, Max, Nureddin (Der Barbier von Bagdad, Hoffmann,
Don José, Samson, Pollione, Otello, Cavaradossi, Canio, Prince (Rusalka), Shujskij, Herodes, Bacchus, Tichon,
Alwa, Paul (Die tote Stadt, Mime, Rienzi, Erik, Loge, Siegmund, Tristan, Tannhäuser. Frightening indeed if you've
already listened to the above recordings!
Reference 1 and source for the Trovatore recording: Dutch
Divas; reference 2: Kutsch & Riemens; reference 3
Picture source: Isoldes Liebestod
