Lucas van Lierop | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 (age 36–37) Hilversum, Netherlands |
| Education | |
| Occupation | tenor |
| Website | www |
Lucas van Lierop (born 1988) is a Dutch-Canadian tenor based in Amsterdam. [1]
Van Lierop was born in Hilversum, in 1988, and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. [2] He began his professional vocal studies at the Schulich School of Music, under the instruction of baritone Sanford Sylvan. [3] While at McGill University, he collaborated with musician Grimes, and Adam Scotti – the future official photographer of Justin Trudeau – on the recording of one of her first music videos, in an abandoned warehouse. [4]
In 2012 he was invited to perform at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (China), with the newly establish iSing! young artist program. [5] While in China he appeared on a popular China Central Television program, performing George Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So" alongside American soprano Meghan Picerno and American Tenor Jamez McCorkle. [6] In 2013 van Lierop performed with the Vancouver Opera on a tour of British Columbia's schools with an adaptation of The Barber of Seville, that takes place in Barkerville. [7] Van Lierop continued his professional operatic studies in 2015, at the Yale School of Music, studying with Richard Cross (bass-baritone). [8] In 2018 he made his European operatic debut in a double-bill of Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti and James MacMillan's Clemency at the Dutch National Opera's Opera Forward Festival. [9] The success of these productions resulted in his being offered a position in the newly created opera studio at the Dutch National Opera. [10]
In 2017, he was a prize winner at the International Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques competition, [11] and at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra competition in Montreal, [12] resulting in an invitation to perform at Helikon Opera in Moscow. [13] During his tenure in the Dutch National Opera Studio, he covered the role of Joe Cannon in the European premiere of John Adams (composer)s Girls of the Golden West (opera) , singing the final two performances. [2] [14] [10] In 2020, he created the role of Man Ray in the world premiere of Ritratto by Willem Jeths, also at the Dutch National Opera. [15] In December 2022, he created the role of Orphée in Orphee l'Amour Eurydice , in which he also played electric guitar. A review praised his performance as being "astounding. The depth of emotion portrayed, coupled with the sheer technicality required to master such a performance, was nothing short of amazing". [16]
In addition to his operatic work, van Lierop has worked as a recitalist and a concert soloist, notably appearing with Helmuth Rilling at the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, [17] with Toshiyuki Shimada performing Carmina Burana (Orff) with the Yale Symphony Orchestra, [18] and with Kent Nagano at the Concertgebouw, performing The Prince in The Snow Queen (Abrahamsen) . [19]
In February 2024 he made his Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra debut with the Amsterdam premiere of the "lost opera" Het pand der goden, by Suriname composer Johannes Helstone, as a last-minute replacement for another tenor, who was indisposed. [20] Following this, in March 2024, he made his German Operatic debut in the role of Der junge Diener in Elektra (opera) at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, with the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Kirill Petrenko. [21] In July 2024 he made his Austrian Operatic debut in the role of Diener 7 in Capriccio (opera) at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Christian Thielemann. [22]
In 2021 van Lierop appeared on the premiere episode of Matthijs van Nieuwkerks television program Matthijs gaat door, where he performed a medley of David Bowie songs, alongside Laetitia Gerards and the Sven Hammond band. A YouTube clip of the performance has been viewed over 88 thousand times. [23] In December 2022 he performed the duet The Prayer with Stefania (singer) in Symphonic Christmas: Fource & Friends, which was broadcast nationally on NPO Zapp. [24] In August 2025, Lucas performed as a soloist alongside Karsu and Laetitia Gerards with Concertgebouw Orchestra Young during the opening concert of the SAIL Amsterdam music programme at the NDSM‑werf, conducted by Elim Chan. [25]