Liesbeth Devos
Made her debut in 2006 at La Monnaie (Bruxelles) as Despina in Così fan Tutte, a production in collaboration with the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth. In 2007 La Monnaie invited her again to perform the role of Ilse in the world premiere of Frühlings Erwachen by Benoit Mernier and the role of Papagena in Die Zauberflöte. That same year she sang her first Johannes Passion with The academy of Ancient music under the baton of Richard Egarr.
In the summer of 2008 she celebrated her debut in La Fenice (Venice) in Death in Venice with maestro Bartoletti.
The young Belgian soprano (°1983) studied at the music academy of Beveren-Waas where she graduated in theatre, diction and oboe. She studied singing with Lieve Suys and with Stephanie Friede at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp where she also attended the lied courses of Lucienne Van Deyck and Jozef De Beenhouwer and the opera course of Guy Joosten. She graduated with great distinction at the Chapelle musicale Reine Elisabeth were she studied with José van Dam and Susanna Eken.
In April 2004 she sang the role of Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, an Operastudio Flanders production staged by Guy Joosten. In April 2005 she sang the role of Meleagro in La Corona by Gluck produced by the Antwerp Conservatory. In 2006 she performed in Dido and Æneas at the Flanders Festival in Bruxelles. In 2007 she sang Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, a production of Aix-en-Provence staged by Vincent Boussard.
In the Flemish Opera she made her debut as Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro. She was later invited again to sing La Ragazza in Luc van Hove's world creation La Strada and Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia. Later this season she will sing in Don Carlos, Peter Grimes and the main role, Helena, in the worldcreation Rage of Life.
Besides her operatic career, Liesbeth Devos is a highly demanded concert singer. She has sung with The Academy of Ancient Music and the Belgian baroque orchestra Il Fondamento. She sang Les Illuminations by Britten with The Royal Flemish Philharmonic orchestra conducted bij Michael Schonwandt. She sang Petite Messe Solennelle by Rossini and Die Schöpfung by Haydn with the Flemish Radio Choir. She will go on tour with The Academy of Ancient Music through China to sing the solo soprano part in Haydn's Nelson Mass and in 2010 she will perform Stabat Mater of Pergolesi with Rinaldo Alessandrini in Boston (US).
She forms a Lied duo with her pianist Lucas Blondeel. They won the first prize at the Kurt-Leimer competition in Zürich and were finalist at the Liedwettbewerb des Bayrischen Rundfunks in Bayreuth.
She was awarded many scholarships offered by Belgacom, Inspiratum, Robus Foundation and the Oranjebeurs.