CORA BURGGRAAF
Cora Burggraaf
Cora Burggraaf is a versatile mezzo-soprano; she enjoys both singing and acting, and she is accomplished in various genres. The English press calls her a star, “the most impressive soprano of the past 10 years.” (Musters 2005, BN/De Stem) Her highly promising talent is recognized in the Netherlands, too. Burggraaf ...
Instruments
mezzosopraan
Mentioned in the biography of
Biography Cora Burggraaf
Cora Burggraaf is a versatile mezzo-soprano; she enjoys both singing and acting, and she is accomplished in various genres. The English press calls her a star, “the most impressive soprano of the past 10 years.” (Musters 2005, BN/De Stem) Her highly promising talent is recognized in the Netherlands, too. Burggraaf has performed with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra and The London Mozart Players, among others, in such prominent concert halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall in London, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, as well as the Tanglewood festival in the United States. What she would like to do most is combine jazz and classical singing, but that is apparently not an option at a conservatory: “I came into contact with the music of Kurt Weill when I was at the conservatory. That was a turning point for me. Weill sits at the border between jazz, light music and classical. I immediately fell in love with his music, and I still love to sing it. I needed a good technique to be able to optimally sing Weill. That's why I opted for the classical training.” (Nagan 2010, ww.operadagenrotterdam.nl)
1977
Cora Burggraaf is born in Oosterhout. Her singing career gets started with De Oosterhoutse Nachtegalen [The Oosterhout Nightingales], which she joins at age 12. She also takes singing lessons in Geertruidenberg. At 17, she enrols in the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and studies singing with Maria Acda. She is interested in jazz as well as classical music. She participates in master classes with Elizabeth Söderström, Margo Garrett, Thomas Quasthoff, Roger Vignoles, Thomas Hampson and Sir Thomas Allen. She also receives coaching from Magreet Honig.
2002
Burggraaf graduates cum laude from the Royal Conservatory. She goes to London to study opera with Lillian Watson at the Royal College of Music.
2003
She is awarded the Maggie Teyte Prize and the Miriam Licette Scholarship.
2004
Burggraaf completes her studies at the National Opera Studio. She wins second place at the International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch.
2005
She makes her debut at Covent Garden in the role of Bella in Michael Tippet's opera 'Midsummer Marriage'. The Observer proclaims her “the most promising newcomer of the year.”
2006
Burggraaf makes her debut with De Nederlandse Opera as Zerlina in Mozart's 'Don Giovanni'. On November 25, she is awarded the Elisabeth Everts Prize.
2007
She switches from singing soprano to mezzo-soprano, which she believes will better suit her voice. Because of this, she must again repeatedly audition and her career is briefly halted.
2008
Burggraaf makes her acting debut with the Artemis youth theatre troupe. For two years she takes acting lessons with the actor Bert Luppes and on his advice becomes more deeply involved with theatre.
2009
Burggraaf wants to sing and act in a solo production and develops the idea of the “solo opera,” a modern variation on the classical lieder recital. For her 'Ophelia' production, she collects the Ophelia songs of Hector Berlioz, Johannes Brahms, Ernest Chausson and Richard Strauss. The stage text, by the well-known author J. Bernlef, helps unify the piece. Burggraaf is selected for the Rising Star Award by ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation). She is introduced to European audiences during the 2009/2010 season. In November she receives the VCSD Klassieke Muziekprijs in the new generation of musicians category.
Discography Cora Burggraaf
Albums | Singles | Compilations | Other | Guestperformance
Folk stories
Act | Cora Burggraaf |
Type and year | CD, 2013 |
Label | Challenge Classics, CC 72346 |
gastmuzikant | Simon Lepper |
gastmuzikant | Floris Mijnders |
gastmuzikant | Liza Ferschtman |
Nederlands Symfonie Orkest - Egmont, Wellingtons Sieg
Act | Cora Burggraaf |
Type and year | CD, 2007 |
Label | Challenge Classics, CC72198 |
dirigent | Jan Willem de Vriend |
solist | Cora Burggraaf |
Nederlands Jeugd Strijk Orkest - Nostalgia and humility
Act | Cora Burggraaf |
Type and year | CD, 2013 |
Label | Challenge, CC 72629 |
gastmuzikant | Liza Ferschtman |
gastmuzikant | Cora Burggraaf |
gastmuzikant | Bas Wiegers |
Calefax Rietkwintet - The roaring twenties
Act | Cora Burggraaf |
Type and year | CD, 2014 |
Label | Challenge Classics |
gastmuzikant | Cora Burggraaf |
In the discography you will find all recordings that have been released listed chronologically. We restrict ourselves to the title, the type of audio, year of publication or recording, label, list of guest musicians, plus any comments on the issue.
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