Biography Lenneke Ruiten

Lenneke Ruiten studied flute and voice at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and opera at the Bayerische Theaterakademie in Munich. She studied with Maria Rondel and Meinard Kraak.

In 2002 she won the first prize, the press prize and the audience prize at the International Vocal Competition in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Today she is one of the most sought-after sopranos of our time, with an outstanding international career in both concert and opera.

In February 2023, the artist was awarded the Elly Ameling Ring. This prize, initiated by the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, is intended as a prize for song and was first awarded to Elly Ameling, then to Robert Holl and now to Lenneke Ruiten.

Concerts

In addition to her opera career, Lenneke also has an impressive concert career: Sir John Eliot Gardiner took her on several tours with his English Baroque Orchestra and the Monteverdi Choir, performing the Monteverdi Vespers, Bach solo cantatas (Jauchtzet Gott and Weichet nur betrübte Schatten) and Bach’s B minor Mass. She made a CD recording (SDG) of Bach’s Ascension cantatas. In 2019 she sang her first Verdi Requiem with Gardiner at the Festival Saint Denis in Paris.

Lenneke has a special musical relationship with Emmanuelle Haïm. As well as taking part in gala concerts with soloists such as Rolando Villazon and Magdalena Kožená, Lenneke tours with Haïm around the world performing Händel’s solo cantata ‘Il delirio amoroso’. She has performed this work with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Spanish Orchestra of Madrid, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra of Munich and the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. She has participated in concerts (Berliner Staatsoper and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées) and a CD recording of the 20th anniversary of Le Concert d’Astrée.

Orchestras and conductors

Lenneke has performed with many orchestras, including the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang / Andres Orozco-Estrada), the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich (Schubert Lieder, Mozart Vespers), the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg (Mozart Aria’s, at the Salzburg Festival), the Gürzenich Orchestra (New Year’s Gala), the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (CD recording of JC Bach’s Requiem, Harmonia Mundi), the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Philippe Jordan (Christmas Oratorio), the Staatskapelle Dresden (Ariadne auf Naxos) and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Marek Janowski (concerts and CD recording of Bruckner’s Mass in F minor). She sang Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra and Mozart concert arias with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Dublin. She sang with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome (Haydn Schöpfung/Gardiner) and Beethoven 9 with the Munich Philharmonic under Antonello Manacorda. With Les Musicièns du Louvre (Marc Minkowski), Lenneke sang Bach’s Christmas Oratorio on a European tour. With Les Talens Lyriques/Christoph Rousset she recorded the title role of Armida by Salieri (Aparte).

Lenneke has performed with conductors such as Daniele Gatti (Beethoven 9), Christian Thielemann (Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten), Frans Brüggen (Bach, Mozart, her first Konstanze), Ton Koopman (Bach, Telemann), Ivan Fischer with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin (Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream), Ottavio Dantone and the Accademia Bizantina (Bach, Händel’s Rinaldo/Armida) and Jérémie Rhorer (Beethoven, Mozart, gala concerts). She has recorded a CD of Mozart concert arias with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra under Ed Spanjaard (Pentatone). She has also recorded Carmina Burana with the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart. With Diego Fasolis/Lausanne Chamber Orchestra she performed/recorded the impressive Meyerbeer cantata ‘Gli amori di Teolinda’ (Claves). In 2022 Lenneke sang Mozart concert arias under Sir Mark Philip Elder/Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino live on Italian television RAI.

Festivals

She has sung at leading festivals including the BBC Proms, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Leipzig Bach Festival, Salzburger Festspiele, Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, Tokyo Spring Festival, Lucerne Festival, Prague Spring Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Holland Festival and Drottningholm Festival.

Lied

One of Lenneke’s great passions is Lieder. Having studied German and French Lied and poetry with great Lied singers such as Elly Ameling, Robert Holl, Hans Hotter and Walter Berry (Franz Schubert Institut in Baden bei Wien and Académie de Villecroze), she has gained a considerable reputation as a Lied singer and gives recitals with pianists Thom Janssen and Rudolf Jansen. She has sung recitals at the Wigmore Hall London, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, the Kaisersaal Frankfurt, the International Hugo Wolf Academy Stuttgart, the Palais de l’Athénée Geneva, the Spring Festival Tokyo, the International Chopin Festival Warsaw, La Monnaie Brussels, Madrid, Kanazawa, Dublin, Galway and the Delft Chamber Music Festival. She is a regular guest at the International Lied Festival in Zeist. As a recitalist she has made several CD recordings, including Mélodies Françaises (LRR) and Brahms Lieder (Brilliant Classics), and most recently Strauss Lieder including the Four last Songs (LRR).

Lenneke has recently begun a new chapter in her career by giving masterclasses in Lied. She teaches at the Udo Reinemann International Masterclasses Brussels, the International Lied Festival Zeist, the conservatories of The Hague, Amsterdam and Zwolle.

Opera

In 2013, Marc Minkowski gave Lenneke the great opportunity to step in as Ophélie in Ambroise Thomas’ opera Hamlet at La Monnaie in Brussels. This was to be her international breakthrough in opera. Since then Lenneke has worked regularly with Marc Minkowski, both in opera and on concert tours with his orchestra Les Musiciens du Louvre. She has also recorded the St John Passion with them (Erato).

Mozart

Lenneke sings many Mozart roles: Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) at the Salzburger Festspiele under Christoph Eschenbach and the Vienna Philharmonic (on DVD). At the Teatro alla Scala di Milano she sang Giunia (Lucio Silla) under Marc Minkowski (on DVD). She returned to La Scala to perform Konstanze (Die Entführung) under Zubin Mehta in the Giorgio Strehler production (on DVD). She sang Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) in Drottningholm under Marc Minkowski and Konstanze (Die Entführung) at the Netherlands National Opera in Amsterdam.

At La Monnaie, Brussels, Lenneke sang Aspasia (Mitridate), Giunia (Lucio Silla), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Madame Herz (Der Schauspieldirektor) and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni). Lenneke has sung Pamina (The Magic Flute) at the Opéra de Lausanne, the Opéra National du Rhin Strasbourg and Staatsoper Stuttgart. She also sang Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte) at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York and the Edinburgh Festival. Recently she sang Elettra (Idomeneo) at Teatro Carlo Felice Genova and Contessa (Le Nozze di Figaro) at de Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen / Gent.

In addition to Mozart roles, she has had many opportunities to sing other/romantic repertoire:

At the Opéra de Lausanne she sang the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor under Jésus López Cobos, the title role Alcina (Händel) Alcina under Diego Fasolis and Almirena (Händel/Rinaldo). She sang Angelica (Händel/Orlando) at the Holland Festival under René Jacobs, the title role in Iphigénie en Aulide (Gluck) at the Theater an der Wien, Gretel (Humperdink/Hänsel und Gretel) at the Netherlands National Opera in Amsterdam. At the Netherlands National Opera she also sang La Mort (Das Floss der Medusa/Henze) under Ingo Metzmacher and Romeo Castellucci (on DVD), Infanta (Der Zwerg/Zemlinsky), Patricia (Innocence/Kaija Saariaho). At the Théâtre du Chatelet, Paris, Lenneke sang St John Passion (staged version by Calixto Bieito).

Peter de Caluwe and Eva Kleinitz gave Lenneke wonderful opportunities to develop in the Romantic and Italian repertoire:

She sang at La Monnaie: Title role in The Cunning Little Vixen (Janáček), Title role in Maria Stuarda (Donizetti), Maguerite (Meyerbeer/Les Hugenots). At Staatsoper Stuttgart she sang Zerbinetta (Strauss/Ariadne auf Naxos), Sophie (Strauss/Rosenkavalier), La Folie (Rameau/Platée) and Gilda (Verdi/Rigoletto). She sang at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg: Pierrot Lunaire (Schönberg), Jessie (Mahagonny Songspiel/Weill), Anna (Seven Deadly Sins/Weill), Agathe (Weber/Der Freischütz), Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta, Stella (Offenbach/Les contes d’Hoffmann).