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After obtaining a pedagogical diploma, Belgian tenor Yves Saelens studied at the Brussels Royal Conservatoire of Music with Dina Grossberger, where he obtained the Higher Diplomas for Singing and Lyric Art, and at the Juilliard Opera Center in New York with Ed Zambara. He won the âConcours Nany Phillipart â96â, âJeugd en Muziek Vlaanderen â97â, âNew York Oratorio Society Competition â97â and the âMarilyn Horne Foundation Competition â97â; In Salzburg, he became second laureate of the âInternational Mozart Competition â99â. He was elected âYoung Musician of the Year 2004â by the Union of Belgian Music Press.
He has participated in masterclasses with Ernst Haefliger, Ruben Lifschitz and Martin Isepp; at the Steans Institute Chicago with Christoph Eschenbach, Peter Schreier, Ian Partridge, Roger Vignoles and David Owen Norris; at the Music Academy of the West with Marilyn Horne, Warren Jones and Frank Lopardo; at the Juilliard School with Christa Ludwig and James Levine and at La Monnaie with Helmut Deutsch.
Yves Saelens has been a soloist in many cantatas and oratorios throughout Europe, North America and Asia. His repertoire includes works by Haydn (Die Schöpfung, Die Jahreszeiten), Haendel (Messiah), Bach (the Passionen, Weihnachtsoratorium), Beethoven (9th Symphony, Misssa Solemnis), Mendelssohn (Paulus), Schumann (Das Paradies und die Peri, Der Rose Pilgerfahrt), Rossini (Petite Messe Solennelle, Stabat Mater), Berlioz (Requiem, Te Deum), Puccini (Messa di Gloria), Verdi (Requiem), Orff (Carmina Burana), Britten (War Requiem, Serenade, Nicolascantata), A.L.Webber (Requiem), Martin (In Terra Pax), Mozart (Requiem, Grosse Messe), Bruckner, Salieri, Dvorak, Benoit...
He participated in recordings of Der Tod Jesu (Telemann), Carmina Burana (Orff), the Serenade for Tenor and Horn (Britten), Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart), LâEnfance du Christ (Berlioz), Lucie de Lammermoor (Donizetti), La Capricciosa corretta (Martin y Soler), Impressions de Pelleas (Debussy), Wuthering Heights (Herrmann) and the Kosegarten Song Cycle (Schubert), among others. He made solo recordings with Lieder by Robert Franz (Etcetera), together with pianist Jan Vermeulen; Goethe Songs by Hugo Wolf (Eufoda), Romanze by Francesco Paolo Tosti (Eufoda), Wehmut und Liebeshauch, with lieder by Beethoven, Schumann, Grieg and Strauss (Eufoda), and This Wingâd Hour (Phaedra), with songcycles by Quilter, Vaughan-Williams, Britten and Finzi, all with pianist Inge Spinette.
An active recitalist, Yves Saelens has performed a.o. Schumannâs Dichterliebe, the Liederkreise and Kerner-lieder, Beethovenâs An Die Ferne Geliebte, Schubertâs Die Schöne MĂŒllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang, Brahmsâ Die Schöne Magelone and Brittenâs Illuminations and Nocturne. He performed Vaughan-Williamsâ Songs of Travel, accompanied by the Belgian National Orchestra, and his On Wenlock Edge, with the Penderecki String Quartet, in a Marilyn Horne Foundation Recital. He sung Mahlerâs Lied von der Erde with the Opera Orchestra de Tours and with the ASKO Schönberg Ensemble Amsterdam. He also performed and recorded this work with Het Collectief, transcribed and conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw.
His debut operarole was Paolino in Il Matrimonio Segreto by Cimarosa. Since then he has performed a number of major Mozart-roles: Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Belmonte (Die EntfĂŒhrung aus dem Serail), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Ferrando (Cosi Fan Tutte), the title role of Idomeneo, Titus (La Clemenza di Tito) and Gomatz (ZaĂŻde). Other major parts include Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Alfredo (La Traviata), Fenton (Falstaff), Narraboth (SalomĂ©), Admeto (Alceste), Bajazet (Tamerlano), Alwa (Lulu), Tambourmajor (Wozzeck), Steva (Jenufa), Tichon (Katia Kabanova), Toni (Elegy for Young Lovers), Belfiore (Il Viaggio a Reims), Pluton (OrphĂ©e aux Enfers), BĂ©nĂ©dict (BĂ©atrice et BĂ©nĂ©dict), GĂ©rald (LakmĂ©), Faust (La Damnation de Faust), Ulysse (PĂ©nĂ©lope), Jason (MĂ©dĂ©e), Camille (Die Lustige Witwe), Gonzalve (LâHeure Espagnole), Gernando (LâIsola Disabitata), Filippo (LâInfedeltĂ Delusa), Lelio (La Capricciosa corretta), Guido Bardi (Eine Florentinische Tragödie), Male Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia), Edgar Linton (Wuthering Heights), Ferdinand (The Tempest â AdĂšs) and David (Die Meistersinger von NĂŒrnberg). He also created the parts of Il Matto (La Strada â Van Hove), LâAvventore (LâUomo dal fiore in Bocca â Brewaeys), Le Chef de la Garde (Affaire ĂtrangĂšre â Villenave), Festus (Legende â Wagemans), Shoko (Andreas Weent â Wagemans) and Schatz/Big Uncle (An unserem Fluss â Navok).
He performed in the opera-theatres of Tours, Marseille, Nancy, Rennes, Caen, Lille, St.Etienne, Strassbourg, Bordeaux, Lyon, Montpellier, Avignon, Reims, Limoges, Rouen, Paris-LeChĂątelet, Paris-Champs-ElysĂ©es, Monte-Carlo, Brussel, Antwerpen, Gent, LiĂšge, Luxemburg, Lausanne, Barcelona, Madrid-LaZarzuela, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Mannheim, Weimar, Halle, DNO Amsterdam, Nationale Reisopera Enschede, Opera Zuid Maastricht, Toronto, Indianapolis; les ChorĂ©gies dâOrange, the Festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Montpellier and Saintes; and the Glyndebourne Touring Opera; Kameropera Transparant Antwerpen; in Carnegie Hall New York, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus Wien, Theater an der Wien, The Gulbenkian Foundation Lisbon, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Sydney Opera House; with LâOrchestre National de Lille, the MĂŒnchner Rundfunkorchester, LâOrchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the Philharmonisch Orkest van Vlaanderen, the Philharmonie Zuidnederland, La Petite Bande, Les Talens Lyriques and Anima Eterna. He sung with conductors such as Serge Baudo, Sigiswald Kuijken, Helmut Rilling, Michel Corboz, Peter Schreier, Marc Minkowski, Christophe Rousset, RenĂ© Jacobs, Jos van Immerseel, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Dennis Russel Davies, Marcello Viotti, Evelino PidĂČ, Friedemann Layer, Alain Altinoglu, Reinbert de Leeuw...
In the beginning of season 21-22, he sang in the production of Casa Ricordi at Zomeropera Alden Biesen, and also participated in the modern premiere of the opera De Kinderen der Zee (Mortelmans), in which he took on the main part of Ivo Mariën, performed with La Monnaie at Bozar, Brussels. Further engagements this season include concerts with Die Jahreszeiten (Haydn), with Anima Eterna in Brugge; Das Lied von der Erde (Mahler/De Leeuw) with Het Collectief in Utrecht; the Matthaeuspassion with deChorale and the Johannespassion with La Passione, both in Antwerpen; and further opera productions of Tropenliefde (R.Vermeulen / worldpremiere) in Hamme and Antwerpen, and of Ulisse (Dallapiccola) at the Oper Frankfurt.
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Updated February 2022
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