Johanni van Oostrum
Biography
Having been hailed for her exceptional expressive abilities, South African-Dutch soprano Johanni van Oostrum is in demand as interpreter of leading roles by Strauss, Wagner, Janáček and Mozart. She has performed under conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Alan Gilbert, Ivor Bolton, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bertrand de Billy, Adam Fisher, Asher Fisch, Lothar Koenigs, Henrik Nánási, Stefan Soltesz, Antonello Manacorda, Oksana Lyniv, Laurence Equilbey, Massimo Zanetti and directors such as Harry Kupfer, Barrie Kosky, Tobias Kratzer, Francois Girard and Vera Nemirova.
During season 2020-21 Ms. Van Oostrum celebrated her debut as Leonore in a concert performance of Beethoven ́s Fidelio conducted by Adam Fischer, her role debut in the title role of Janáček ́s Jenufa at Konzert Theater Bern and appears as Agathe in The Freischütz Project, recorded live in Paris and released by Warner Classics and Erato on CD and DVD.
2020 kicked off with Ms. Van Oostrum joining Jonas Kaufmann’s “Mein Wien” Concert tour in Nürenberg, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Luzerne. She was scheduled to make her house debut at the Liceu Theatre in Barcelona as Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, debut with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in Hamburg with the Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass lead by Alan Gilbert and to have her house debut at the Canadian Opera Company as Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro.
Previous seasons featured major role debuts: the title role in Richard Strauss’ Salome at Oper Graz, Marietta in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt with Opéra de Limoges, and Agathe in Weber’s Der Freischütz which was received with enthousiasm at the Barbican Centre in London, Aix-en-Provence, Théâtre des Champs- Élysées in Paris, the BOZAR in Brussels, Theater an der Wien, Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele and Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg.
Highlights from previous seasons have included Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Hessische Staatstheater Wiesbaden and Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes at the Hessische Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, the title role in Janáček’s Katya Kabanova at the Janáček Festival in Brno and Senta in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at the Québec Opera Festival.
Ms. Van Oostrum has performed on numerous occasions with the Staatskapelle Weimar, interpreting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and orchestral songs by Richard Strauss. She performed Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the Staatskapelle Weimar in Bayreuth and at the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut. As a concert soloist she is often heard in the Brahms Requiem, the Mendelssohn's Elias, the Verdi Requiem and as interpreter of Songs by Richard Strauss and South African composers.
Photo: Chloé-Desnoyers