Johanni van Oostrum

Biography

South African soprano Johanni van Oostrum is in demand as interpreter of leading roles by Strauss, Wagner, Janáček and Mozart. She jumped in as Elsa (Lohengrin) at the Bavarian State Opera and won over audiences and critics alike. She has also appeared as Agathe in Weber’s Freischütz at Aix-en-Provence, the BOZAR in Brussels, the Theater an der Wien, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysèes in Paris and the Barbican Centre in London, sang the title role in Richard Strauss’ Salome at the Graz Opera, the roles of Marietta in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt at the Opéra de Limoges and the Countess Almaviva at the Bavarian State Opera.

She has worked with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Alan Gilbert, Ivor Bolton, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Adam Fischer, Antonello Manacorda, Oksana Lyniv, Bertrand de Billy and Laurence Equilbey as well as with directors such as Harry Kupfer, Barrie Kosky, Tobias Kratzer or Vera Nemirova.

The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier has become a signature role, which she has interpreted under Sir Simon Rattle at the Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, at the Royal Swedish Opera under the baton of Alan Gilbert, at the Komische Oper Berlin and at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

During the 2020/21 season, Ms. Van Oostrum made her debut as Leonore in a concert performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio conducted by Adam Fischer, her role debut in the title role of Janáček’s Jenufa at Konzert Theater Bern, and appeared as Agathe in Der Freischütz, recorded live in Paris and released by Warner Classics and Erato on CD and DVD. She also appeared in Hermann Levi tribute concerts at the Munich Opera Festival under Kirill Petrenko.

Ms. Van Oostrum begins the current season with both her house and role debut as Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, after which she will appear for the first time with the Prague State Opera orchestra in the Zemlinsky Lyrische Symphonie, the Wroclaw Opera as Agathe in Der Freischütz and return to the Bolshoi as Elsa in Lohengrin. She will also return to the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as Agathe in Der Freischütz.

On the concert stage, Johanni van Oostrum’s repertoire furthermore includes Four Last Songs and other orchestral songs by Richard Strauss, the German Requiem by Johannes Brahms, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Verdi’s Messa di Requiem. A special concern of hers is the performance of songs by South African composers. She was born in South Africa and studied at the University of Pretoria where she received her vocal training with Dr Mimi Coertse and was a member of the Black Tie Opera Studio.

Photo by Chloé Desnoyers