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The Dutch light-lyrical tenor, Stephan Adriaens, began his singing studies with Jan Gooren at the Muziekschool in Heerlen, encouraged by his grandmother. He then studied singing, with a specialization in opera, with Axel Everaert, first at the Conservatorium Maastricht servatory, where he obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in 2009, and then privately. He attended master-classes with John Bröcheler and Sigrid van der Linden, among others.
Stephan Adriaens was already active as a professional singer during his studies in Maastricht. From 2006 to 2009, he regularly sang in the choirs of Opera Zuid, Studium Chorale and André Rieu. With these choirs he has performed in the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the Gelredome (Arnhem) and many theaters in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
Stephan Adriaens is known for his excellent text interpretations and his vocal versatility. Following his studies, he obtained a permanent position in the choir of Opera Vlaanderen. There he performed a series of small and medium solo parts, in which he was regularly noticed by the international press. Notable were his strongly acted Duca in Verdi's Rigoletto, his musical, powerful Zweiter Priester/Erster Gerharnischter in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, his moving Gondoliere in Rossini's Otello, and Adam in Zeller's Der Vogelhändler. He has also performed there as a soloist as Des/Pete in the world creation of The Rage of Life (Kats-Chernin), in the creation of Donizetti/Battistelli's Le Duc d'Albe, Ein junger Seemann & Ein Hirt in Tristan und Isolde, Heinrich der Schreiber in Tannhäuser, Roderigo in Verdi's Otello, Foma Nazaritsj in Sadko and Vierter Knappe in Parsifal. He performed many roles in various operas by Ravel, Benjamin Britten, Tchaikovsky and Offenbach. He could also be heard several times in the house's afternoon concerts.
In addition, Stephan Adriaens developed himself as a soloist in the oratorio field, first within the walls of the conservatory, but soon also outside it. He sang, among others, by, Dietrich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu nostri, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt, the Evangeist in J.S. Bach's Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244), Felix Mendelssohn 's Paulus, Monteverdi's Magnificat and Vespers, Charles Gounod's Messe solonnelle and Camille Saint-Saëns' Oratorio de Noël. His interpretation of more modern works such as Igor Stravinsky's Cantata and Arvo Pärt's Berliner Messe also catches the eye. He was privileged to sing the tenor solo in Lachman's Requiem, of which a CD recording has been made, and to participate as a soloist in the project “Passie in het Paard” of the Residentie Orkest Den Haag.
Together with pianist Tonie Ehlen, Stephan Adriaens also made the first CD recording of Nocturne by Ben van Beurden and he contributed to the television program Szarkowicz Hotel. He has collaborated with conductors such as Hans Leenders, Erik Van Nevel, Daniel Inbal, Stijn Saveniers, Jeremy Hulin and Dmitri Jurovski and with directors such as Igor Bauersima, Martin Schurr, Lieven Baert and Tatjana Gürbaca.
From the cross-fertilization of the musical precision of oratorio and the physical energy of operatic acting, Stephan Adriaens has gradually developed into a first-class modern Spieltenor, with a powerful voice that also lends itself easily to a number of lyrical and character parts. He currently lives in Lives in Antwerp, Belgium. |
