Veerle Sanders is a mezzo-soprano from the Netherlands, with a broad musical background.
She has been working for years now in Opera and Cross-over productions (opera/music theatre).
Her current singing teachers/coaches:
Hans Pieter Herman, Marjan Kuiper, Ira Siff and Peter Nilsson.
As a young girl singing was Veerle's passion, just like dancing and acting.
A combination resulted in the role of narrator in the musical 'Joseph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat', directed by Mark van Haasteren.
In 2009 Veerle was granted to the Music Theatre education at the Conservatory Tilburg. During this period she played in musical productions like 'The Secret Garden', 'Jekyl and Hyde' (Emma and Lucy) and 'De Spooktrein' (Julia).
Towards graduation her love for Opera became evident. This resulted in a role of 'Macbeth' Verdi (Dama and 2nd witch) directed by Corina van Eijck (opera Spanga) and the Operette 'Trial By Jury' (Plaintff). She worked intensively with Choreographer Barry Stevens. In the same period Veerle also obtained her teaching certificate.
In 2013 Veerle finished her bachelor degree and graduated with great help of her singing teacher Edward Hoepelman. Therefore she rewrote the theatre piece 'Masterclass'. This was about the life of Maria Callas. In May 2015 she finished her Master degree 'Music Theatre Classical' cum laude.
In the summer of 2013 Veerle participated in a masterclass of Miranda van Kralingen at the 'Orlando Festival' in Kerkrade. After this she became part of Opera Zuid, a operahouse focusing on young upcoming talents. So far Veerle participated in several plays like 'Carmen' (G. Bizet), 'Jenny' in 'Wie is Loesje?', 'Sound of musical' in collaboration with the NNO (North Dutch Orchestra), Flora (Traviata), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) and as Berta (Il Barbiere di Siviglia).
In the production ‘Karousel’ from Bierens Productions, she sung ‘You never walk alone’ (Carousel) she played ‘Anna’ (The King and I) and ‘the Sound of Music’.
The North Dutch Orchestra (NNO) reclaimed Veerle as a soloist in several concerts for their classical musical repertoire.
January 2016 she performed as a soloist for the EU Commission in The Flagey Hall (Bruxelles).
Veerle worked with language coaches Valentina di Taranto, Trille Bedarrides, singers Miranda van Kralingen, Paul Triepels, directors Floris Visser, Hans Nieuwenhuis, Lotte de Beer, Leopold Witte, Geert Lageveen, Frank van Laecke, Sybrand van der Werf, Waut Koeken, Daniel van Klaveren, Marc Krone and coaches Peter Nilsson, David Bollen and William Shaw.
She sung in various productions like 'The New Prince' of The National Opera directed by Lotte de Beer, in the opera 'La Traviata' a production of 'De Reisopera' directed by Floris Visser, but also Oratory (Matthäus Passion, Johannes Passion)
In the winter of 2017 she sung at ‘ZeemeerminXS’, a production of Holland Opera.
At the Fat Lady company she sung the role of ‘Dame 2' in die Zauberflöte
And again at Opera Zuid in Bernstein's "A Quiet Place/Trouble in Tahiti' as trio member, later she also performed the same part at Theatre Aachen in a concert.
On her list, she sung ‘Lola’ in Cavalleria Rusticana with the ‘Bossche Opera Vereniging’ and the ‘Bredase Opera’.
Last summer she sung in the production ‘Mahagonny’ (Weill/Brecht) at the festival of Aix-en-Provence, under the direction of Ivo van Hove.
This spring, the same production will be produced at The Dutch National Opera (Amsterdam) during the Forward Festival.
"Discovery of the evening however is Veerle Sanders. Singing the sole aria her character Berta may perform, she creates the desire for a Rosina sung by her."
-Brabant Cultureel about Il Barbiere di Siviglia >>
"Veerle is very engaging as Cherubino."
"Stefan Stoll as Bartolo, Marcel van Dieren as Basilio and Veerle Sanders as Berta also deliver fine performances. The closing of the first act is particularly memorable."
-Volkskrant about Il Barbiere di Siviglia >>
"The singers act with dedication and sing remarkably well."
Review theaterkrant (Dutch) Performance 'Meermeisje' Holland Opera
‘Meermeisjes zussen, die in de voorstelling behendig dubbelen als strandmeisjes én de driekoppige heks, krijgen avontuurlijker noten en worden overtuigend gespeeld en gezongen door Kelly Poukens, Florien Hilgenkamp en Veerle Sanders. Indrukwekkend is daarbij de begeleiding door het Ragazze Quartet, op het hele podium spelend zonder partituur.’
Review NRC (Dutch) 'Meermeisje' Holland Opera
'De samenzang van de zeedochters doet denken aan Wagners Rheingold, waaraan ook de kabbelende klanken van het goed spelende Ragazze Kwartet bijdragen.'
‘a tireless Jazz Trio advertising the charms of an idealized 1950s suburban America.’
‘“One of the main achievements of the night was to treat all these delicate subjects with a graceful lightness. The musical trio, for instance, was absolutely wonderful at all times, serving as comic relief for most of the scenes, while still helping to build the idealized suburban atmosphere.”
"Toutes ces voix s’accordent fort bien ensemble, créant un effet de troupe assez agréable, auquel il faut ajouter le trio jazz – trois personnages déjantés, dont toutes les interventions sont chorégraphiées, introduisant une note d’humour décalé et de dérision très bienvenue dans le deuxième acte et qui sont très bien incarnés par Veerle Sanders, Jeroen De Vaal et Rick Zwart, créant l’effet comique souhaité’ ✨
English:
‘. All these voices fit together very well, creating a pleasant troupe effect, to which must be added the jazz trio - three crazy characters, all of whose interventions are choreographed, introducing a note of offbeat humor and derision very welcome in the second act and which are very well embodied by Veerle Sanders, Jeroen De Vaal and Rick Zwart, creating the desired comic effect’
Roles
PERFORMED ROLES
‘Cherubino’ in ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’ (Mozart) *recent
‘Berta’ in ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’ (Rossini) *recent
‘Tisbe’ in ‘La Cenerentola’ (Rossini)
‘Orlofsky’ in ‘Die Fledermaus’ (J.Strauss)
‘Flora’ in ‘La Traviata’ (Verdi)
‘Ida’ in ‘Die Fledermaus’ (J.Strauss)
‘Dama’ in ‘MacBeth’ (Verdi)
‘2nd Witch’ in ‘MacBeth’ (Verdi)
‘Maddalena’ in ‘Rigoletto’ (Verdi)
'Dame 2' in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart)
ROLES IN PROGRESS
'Dido' in 'Dido & Aeneas' (Purcell)
‘Nicklausse in ‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann’ (Offenbach)
‘Dorabella’ in Cosi Fan Tutte’ (Mozart)
‘Siebel’ in ‘Faust’ (Gounod)
‘Ruggiero’ in ‘Alcina’ (Händel)
'Sesto' in La Clemenza di Tito (Mozart)
'Sesto' in Giulio Cesare (Händel)
'Der Komponist' in Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss)
'Dinah' in Trouble in Tahiti (Bernstein)