Gré Brouwenstijn
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The Dutch lyric-dramatic soprano Gré Brouwenstijn (August 26, 1915–December 14, 1999) was a famous opera singer whose stage career spanned from the early 1940s to the mid-1970s. She was admired for her warm, radiant voice, her stage presence, her dramatic instincts, and her "Ingrid Bergman" looks. Brouwenstijn was above all associated with the role of Leonore in Beethoven's Fidelio. Considered one of the finest Leonores of the post-World War II period, she performed the role to great acclaim at the Vienna State Opera, the Paris Opera, Stuttgart, Berlin, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, London, and Glyndebourne.
Brouwenstijn was born Gerda Demphina in Den Helder. She studied voice at the Amsterdam Muzieklyceum, with Jaap Stroomenbergh, Boris Pelsky and Ruth Horna. She made her operatic début in 1940 as the First Lady in The Magic Flute. Brouwenstijn then became a member of the Hilversum Radio Choir, later performing as a soloist in operatic broadcasts. In 1946, she joined the Netherlands Opera, where she made her debut as Julietta in Les Contes de Hoffmann.
In 1949, Brouwenstijn made her debut at the Holland Festival as Leonore in Il Trovatore, the beginning of a long association with that event. In subsequent years, she sang Reiza, Jenufa, Amelia, Donna Anna, Desdemona, the Countess, Tatyana, Leonore (Forza), Senta, Iphégenie (en Tauride), and, Leonore (Fidelio) at the Festival.
In 1951, Brouwenstijn made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Aida (in English), conducted by John Barbirolli. In 1955, under Rafael Kubelík, she sang Desdemona. In 1958, she sang Elisabetta in a famous production of Don Carlos designed by Luchino Visconti and conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini. In 1958 she sang Leonore at the Teatro Colón in a production of Fidelio conducted by Thomas Beecham.
From 1954 to 1956, she appeared at Bayreuth, as Elisabeth, Freia, Sieglinde, Gutrune and Eva. Two Wagnerian roles she performed elsewhere, Senta and Elsa, she never performed there, however, due to a breach in 1957 with Wagner family.
In 1959, she made her American debut as Jenufa at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
She made her farewell appearance, singing Leonore, with the Netherlands Opera in 1971.
Brouwenstijn died in 1999 at age 84 in Amsterdam.
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Dutch music critic Paul Korenhof wrote of Brouwenstijn:
- Her gifts were even more evident in seemingly passive roles such as Verdi’s two Leonoras (Il Trovatore and La Forza del destino) and Desdemona. When Gré Brouwenstijn sang these roles, she was more than a soprano who sang her arias beautifully but was otherwise little more than a decorative element in the drama being presented by the tenor and baritone. As a contemporary of Callas, Olivero, Rysanek, Varnay and Mödl and influenced by many great conductors and directors of the fifties, she realized that beautiful singing alone did not make an opera, but that the singing must emanate from the character being portrayed.
