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The Dutch counter-tenor, Gerben van der Werf, made his operatic debut at the age of 12 as Erster Knabe in W.A. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Having received a thorough vocal training at the Kampen Boys Choir, singing was such a natural part of his life that the young Dutchman did not consider pursuing a career as a professional singer, but went on to obtain graduate degrees in Chemistry, Physics, and History and Philosophy of Science at Utrecht University (Master of Science: 2017-2019). In recent years, however, the desire to sing and nurture his lyrical talents became so prominent that he decided to change his career plans entirely, and instead dedicate his life to become an opera singer. He studied Classical Singing/Opera at Royal College of Music (September-December 2016) in Erasmus Exchange program. He trained at the Dutch National Opera Academy (since 2021) with Selma Harkink and is one of the most exciting talents of his generation. Currently, he is coached by Peter Nilsson, Margreet Honig, and Andrew Watts.
Already during his studies at Dutch National Opera Academy, Gerben van der Werf made his debut at the Dutch National Opera as Sergei Diaghilev in the world premiere of Willem Jeths’ Ritratto (2020). Swiftly followed his international debut at Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar as Helicon in Detlev Glanert’s Caligula (December 2021). Other roles that the young singer sang include the title roles of George Frideric Handel's Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Carl Heinrich Graun's Cleopatra e Cesare, Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, as well as Prince Athamas in G.F. Handel's Semele (2022), Friedrich Bhaer in Adamo's Little Women, Le Comte Barigoule in Viardot's Cendrillon and Prinz Orlofsky in Strauss' Die Fledermaus (2021). He performed with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Staatskapelle Weimar, Belgian National Orchestra, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Nederlandse Bachvereniging (since 2022), Amsterdam Baroque Choir & Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Orchestra, and Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, and worked with conductors such as Christian Curnyn, Geoffrey Paterson, Ton Koopman, Benjamin Bayl and Antony Hermus.
Highlights of the past season include Prince Athamas in a prize-winning production of G.F. Handel's Semele (Best Opera - The Irish Times) with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Opera Collective Ireland, Philip Glass’s Akhnaten (Belgian National Orchestra, Bozar), Bach & Telemann (Nederlandse Bachvereniging) and Radio4 Top400 opera aria’s (Netherlands Radio Orchestra - Concertgebouw Amsterdam). This summer, Gerben van der Werf performs at the Bregenzer Festspiele (August 2023) and at Oper Wuppertal (June 2023) and he will release his debut CD for AVROTROS ‘Klassiek Presenteert’ with baroque opera arias. |
