Biography
The Young Dutch Countertenor Maarten Engeltjes (1984) started singing at the age of 4 as a boy soprano. In 1995 Sir David Wilcocks recognized his special talent and selected Maarten as soloist for the Coronation Anthems (Händel) at the Boy’s Choir Festival in Haarlem, The Netherlands. He also participated as a boy soprano soloist on several CD recordings in the Dom Cathedral in Riga, Latvia, including Allegri’s Miserere.
Maarten Engeltjes had his countertenor debut at the age of 16, singing the alto-arias in the Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion. Numerous national and international performances quickly followed including J.S. Bach’s masterpieces: the St. Matthew’s Passion, St. John's Passion, the B minor Mass, the Weihnachts Oratorio and numerous cantatas, as well as all major Händel's oratorios etc.
In 2003, Michael Chance selected Maarten out of 20 talented young countertenors and invited him to participate in a masterclass, which was also broadcast on Dutch national television. A joint orchestra recital with Michael Chance followed in 2004, where the artists performed duets by Purcell and Blow, including "An ode on the Death of Mr. Henry Purcell".
Maarten Engeltjes already had the pleasure to work with conductors such as Gustav Leonhardt, William Christie, Ton Koopman, Phillipe Pierlot, Christina Pluhar, Gabriel Garrido, Peter Dijkstra, Reinbert de Leeuw, Jos van Veldhoven and Federico Sardelli.
Recent engagements include the role of The Angel at a world premiere of Rob Zuidam’s opera Adam in Exile at De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, Polinesso in Handel’s Ariodante at the Festival de l’opéra baroque de Beaune, 9 solo recitals with the Ancient Music network of the Utrecht Festival, Dixit Dominus with the Nederlands Kamerkoor and conductor Peter Dijkstra, Cantatas from Bach conducted by Ton Koopman with the prestigious NPS Matinee series at the Concertgebouw, Stabat Mater of Vivaldi with Musica Amphion at the Festival Classique in The Hague, Bach’s Weihnachts Oratorio in Tokyo and Osaka and, a world tour with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants in the young artists program “Le Jardin des Voix “, as well as a tour through Belgium with Flemish baroque orchestra B’Rock performing Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus and Hasse’s Salve Regina. On October 27, 2009 Maarten Engeltjes sang - with B'Rock - in the Royal Palace in Brussels, at the invitation of King Albert.
His future engagements include a.o. the role of Jezus in the Judas Passion, a new composition by Dutch composer Egon Kracht, the role of Mago Christiano in Händel’s Rinaldo at the Opéra de Lausanne, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with soprano Johannette Zomer and Concerto Köln, a European tour performing J.S. Bach's B-minor Mass with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin conducted by Daniel Reuss, a European tour with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque orchestra performing J.S. Bach's Johannes Passion and a recording followed by perfomances, of Händel’s Dixit Diminus and Bach’s Magnificat with Peter Dijkstra and the Choir of the Bayerischen Rundfunks.
In May 2007 his debut solo CD of songs by Purcell, Dowland and Byrd, was presented during a recital at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The CD was on the top-10 list of best selling classical CD’s in The Netherlands for many months and enjoyed unanimous critical acclaim. In the mean time he also recorded Bach’s Johannes Passion and solo cantatas for Alto, the latter was released in January 2009.
Maarten Engeltjes graduated cum laude and with distinction from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in September 2007. He was coached by Maria Acda, Manon Heijne and Michael Chance. At this moment Maarten is coached by Andreas Scholl and his former teacher Richard Levitt.
