Anton de Ridder

De Ridder was a diamond cutter; his voice was discovered when he sang during his work, he took lessons and started singing in cafés and revues. Eventually, he studied at the Amsterdam conservatory, and sang opera in the Netherlands from 1952. In 1956, he got a contract in Karlsruhe, where he stayed for no less than 40 years, until 1996. Guest appearances in Munich (both Staatsoper and Gärtnerplatztheater), Düsseldorf and Duisburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Hamburg, Berlin (Komische Oper and Deutsche Oper), Brussels (Monnaie) and London (Covent Garden), at the Bregenz, Salzburg, Glyndebourne and Bayreuth festivals.

His repertory ranged from Duca, Hoffmann and Eisenstein to Manrico and Arnold, and even to Don José, Bacchus and Florestan; from Rameau (Platée) to Zimmermann (Die Soldaten).

Reference 1: Dutch Divas, reference 2: Kutsch & Riemens