Roger Smeets

Roger Smeets (* 1960 in Maastricht , Netherlands ) is a Dutch opera singer ( baritone ).

Life

Smeets initially trained at the music college in his hometown. From 1983 he was a member of the De Nederlandse Opera studio for three years . In Maastricht he played the Tsar in Albert Lortzings Zar und Zimmermann , the Count in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Albert in Werther by Jules Massenet. He was the junior in the Dutch premiere of Leonard Bernstein's A Quiet Place .

Smeets has worked with many important directors, including Adolf Dresen , Dario Fo , Klaus-Michael Grüber , Harry Kupfer , Christine Mielitz , Andrei Șerban , Graham Vick , Aidan Lang and Pierre Audi .

In 1986 he was engaged for the first time at the Komische Oper Berlin . There he appeared in over 150 productions by Harry Kupfer, including as Count in The Marriage of Figaro , in the title role of Don Giovanni , as Escamillo in Carmen , in Jacques Offenbach's Die Banditen , Petrus in Berthold Goldschmidt's The Great Cuckold and in the Double role Muse / Nicklausse in Hoffmann's stories and in Orpheus in the underworld as Pluto. At the Komische Oper Berlin he also played the title role in Eugen Onegin (1988, directed by Dresen) and in Turandot the Ping (directed by Mielitz).

Smeets made guest appearances with the Komische Oper Berlin in 1991 and 1998 in Japan and in 1992 in Vienna, where he also appeared in the title role of Sweeney Todd (2005) and as Fred Graham (Petruchio) in Kiss Me, Kate (2007).

In 2001 he sang the role of Achim in the world premiere of Gold, 92 bares in a crashed car by Peter Greenaway and Theseus in the world premiere of the opera Creon by the Dutchman Huub Kerstens .

Smeets also sang Rembrandt's Siegel by and with Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway in Rotterdam in 2007 and in Budapest in 2008. In the 2009/10 season he took over the role of Viceroy of Peru in La Périchole . In 2009 he sang the Graf in Reigen by Philippe Boesmans (director: Harry Kupfer) in the Amphithéâtre Bastille of the Opéra National de Paris .

Since 2012 he has also played in productions by Barrie Kosky and Christof Loy . Engagements took him to Barcelona and Hamburg. Smeets sang under the conductors Riccardo Chailly , John Crosby , Hartmut Haenchen , Kenneth Montgomery , Rolf Reuter , David Robertson , Hans Vonk , Edo de Waart and Alberto Zedda .

Prizes and awards

• Special prize for Dutch music at the 1989 International Singing Competition in 's-Hertogenbosch .

Web links

• Smeets at the Maastricht Conservatory