About
"The rebellious teenage daughter Susan gets a delicate touch of coquettish vibrato from soprano Judith Weusten. Remember that name."
- Joep Christenhusz, NRC
A Dinner Engagement
"The recording is stunning, as is the standard of performance from both live musicians; it is hard to credit that this is indeed live from that perspective. Weusten in particular seems to have limitless stamina. One of Knehans’s finest musical statements, this is a stunning release. This is what contemporary opera should be like."
- Colin Clarke, Fanfare Magazine
Backwards from Winter - CD review
Dutch soprano Judith Weusten (b.1993) has been singing since she was a little girl. She began singing along with the Kinderen voor Kinderen songs before turning to musical repertoire. At age eleven she toured the Netherlands in Albert Verlinde's production of Annie and later performed the roles of Aladdin's Jasmine and Maria in West Side Story in her school's productions (Valuascollege, Venlo, NL). Throughout her youth she was a regular participant in talent shows and performance competitions and could often count herself among the prizewinners.
As she grew older, her taste in music began to change. Namely, she discovered an overwhelming interest in classical music and opera. Her voice was more than eager to go along with this transition: in her very first classical competition, The Prix Dominique, she won both the first prize and the audience prize. Later she took part in the prestigious Prinses Christina Concours, where she was selected as a finalist and made it through to the nationwide semifinal.
Judith took singing lessons with Frans Schampers and Rob Meijers before being admitted to study at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in 2012, under the principal guidance of Pierre Mak and later Valèrie Guillorit. During this time she also received regular coachings from pianist Jan-Paul Grijpink. After graduating in June 2017, her next step began that September with the Dutch National Opera Academy under the guidance of Margreet Honig, and also regular coachings with Peter Nilsson and Nathalie Doucet.
At the Opera Academy, she performed Adina in Donizetti's Elisir d'Amore, Despina in Mozart's Cosí fan Tutte and Lucia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia among other roles. Recently she also sang the role of Marzelline in Opera Compact's production of Fidelio. Beginning 2021, in corporation with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, she had a successful Concertgebouw debut with the role of Jano in Janáčeks opera Jenufa as part of the NTR Zaterdagmatinee.
She has worked with conductors from all over the world, including Patrick Lange, Anthony Hermus, Kenneth Montgomery, Stijn Saveniers, Ed Spanjaard and Mikel Toms.
Upcoming projects are Anya in De Kersentuin from Holland Opera as well as other concerts and projects. For more information about Judith's upcoming performances, see Agenda.
In addition to the traditional repertoire, Judith has an affinity for modern vocal music. She has worked personally with many living composers on song and concert repertoire and performed the lead role in the Australian premiere of Douglas Knehans' opera, Backwards from Winter. In January 2020, she recorded his most recent piece, Cloud Ossuary, which has been released on CD in 2022.
Follow this link for Judith's performed repertoire.
