Yves Saelens
Tenor
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The Belgian tenor Yves Saelens is back at Oper Frankfurt, where he recently sang Demodocus and Tieresias in the first ever performances of Dallapiccola’s Ulisse in Frankfurt (2022 Rediscovery of the Year - International Opera Awards), repeated his wonderful portrayal of Bajazet in Handel's Tamerlano and sang Pietro, the robber chieftain's deputy, in a wonderful new production of Offenbach's The Bandits, to sing the Kurfürst of Brandenburg in this new production of Henze's The Prince of Homburg. In addition to leading Mozart roles, his repertoire includes Alfredo (La traviata), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Admeto (Alceste), Alwa (Lulu), Steva (Jenůfa), Gérald (Lakmé), Lelio (La capricciosa corretta), Ferdinand (The Tempest), Guido Bardi (A Florentine Tragedy) and David (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg). He has taken part in world premieres singing roles including Il Matto (van Hove’s La strada), L’Avventore (Brewaey’ L’uomo dal fiore in bocca), Le Chef de la Garde (Villenave’s Affaire Étrangère), Festus (Wagemans’ Legende) and Shoko (Wagemans’ Andreas Weent). Recent engagements have included Ulysse (Pénélope), Basilio / Don Curzio (Le nozze di Figaro), Herr Vogelsang (Der Schauspieldirektor) and Ivo Marien (De Kinderen der Zee) at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Faust (La damnation de Faust) and Jason (Medée) at the Nationaltheater in Mannheim, Alwa (Lulu) at Oper Leipzig and Le Père (Mayuzumi’s Kinkakuji) at the Opéra National du Rhin. Concert work has included Carmina Burana at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Handel’s Messiah with the Orchestre National de Lille, Bach’s Matthew Passion with Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in the Concertgebouw in Brügge, Beethoven 9 with Anima Eterna at the Sydney Festival and Mahler’s Lied von der Erde in the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam. Future plans include Valzacchi (Der Rosenkavalier) and Jarischkin (The Nose) in Brussels, his return to Oper Frankfurt for Bajazet, Berlioz’ L’Enfance du Christ at the Festival des Pierres Lyriques, Honegger’s Le Roi David in Rotterdam and Mozart’s Requiem in Antwerp.