Van Nes, Jard
Van Nes, Jard
Van Nes, Jard, Dutch mezzo-soprano; b. Zwol-lerkarspel, June 15,1948. Following vocal studies in her homeland, she was active mainly as a concert artist, winning critical acclaim as a soloist in Mahler’s 2ndSym. in 1983 with Haitink and the Concertgebouw Orch. in Amsterdam; in subsequent years, became a great favorite with the orch. and toured with it abroad. She made her operatic stage debut also in 1983 as Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelindawith the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam, where she returned to sing such successful roles as Handel’s Orlando and Wagner’s Magdalena; also sang at the Holland Festivals. During the 1987-88 season, she toured North America as soloist with Edo de Waart and the Minn. Orch. She made her N.Y. recital debut at the Frick Collection during the 1994-95 season. In 1997 she sang in the premiere of the revised version of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabreat the Salzburg Festival. Her concert repertoire ranges from Bach to Berio, but she has won greatest acclaim as an interpreter of Mahler.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire