Category alts

Maartje Offers (1892 – 1944)

2011/04/27 alts

Maartje Offers was born in Koudekerke on the Dutch Island of Walcheren. She studied singing with Arnold Spoel and Mrs. Hekking in The Hague, and in Rotterdam with the famous contralto Pauline de Haan-Manifarges. She started her career as an oratorio singer. To everyone’s surprise she was offered a contract by the Opéra Française in The Hague, making her debut as Dalila (1917). From 1919 she appeared with a series of shortlived Dutch opera companies as Dalila, Amneris, Azucena, Magdalene (Meistersinger), Adriano, and as Maria Magdalena in the Dutch premiere of d’Albert’s Die toten Augen. She debuted at the Grand Opéra of Paris as Dalila opposite the great Jacques Urlus . It was the baritone Lorenzo Conati who advised her to go to Italy. She auditioned at La Scala and was immediately

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Aafje Heijnis (1924 – 1983)

2011/04/27 alts

Aafje Heynis (Krommenie, 2 mei 1924) is een Nederlandse altzangeres.

Heynis zong al op jonge leeftijd in een kinderkoor.
Een dirigent van een zangvereniging in Krommenie beval haar op haar zeventiende aan bij zangpedagoge Jo Immink in Amsterdam.
Ze kreeg van 1946 tot 1949 professioneel zangles van Aaltje Noordewier-Reddingius en werd een gevierd concertzangeres, mede dankzij de steun van de sopraan Jo Vincent, de koordirigent Anthon van der Horst en de bas Laurens Bogtman, die al vroeg haar uitzonderlijke talent inzagen. Een uitvoering van Brahms' Altrhapsodie met het Concertgebouworkest onder leiding van Eduard van Beinum bezorgde haar lovende kritieken. Haar stemgeluid werd wel vergeleken met dat van de beroemde Britse alt Kathleen Ferrier, maar beide zangeressen hadden toch een

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Ina Boersma

2011/04/07 alts

Dutch Contralto Mezzosoprano Ina Boersma was born in Wildervank. Her passion for music showed early on. During her youth in Meppel she played the flute and learned to play the organ from Bert Straatman. In her teens she moved to Velp where Piet Cnossen teaches her the organ until her entry exam for the Conservatorium in Arnhem. She studied organ as major with Bert Matter. She also studied the minor’s cembalo with Chris Farr and the violin. After her organ exam she majored in music-education at the Art college of Arnhem and also started with singinglessons as minor with Cornelia van der Horst and Caspar Vinne. During her violin major at the Conservatorium in Hilversum with Joan Berkhemer, she discovered her great passion for singing. She met Elisabeth Cooymans who invited her to work with

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