About this Artist

Dutch countertenor Maarten Engeltjes began singing at the age of 4 and, as a boy soprano, appeared as soloist at the Boys Choir Festival, Haarlem under Sir David Willcocks, while his early recordings include Allegri’s Miserere from the Dom Cathedral in Riga, Latvia.

As a countertenor, Maarten Engeltjes is now associated with both baroque and contemporary repertoire working regularly with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and also with Peter Dijkstra and Nederlands Kamerkoor, while his contemporary credentials include the world premiere of Lera Auerbach’s Dresdner Requiem with the Staatskapelle Dresden under Vladimir Jurowski, Gavin Bryars’ The War in Heaven at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, and the role of Adschib in Hans Werner Henze’s L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe as part of the NTR Zaterdagmatinee series at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam under Markus Stenz. Other notable concert performances have included Bach’s B minor Mass with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin conducted by Daniel Reuss, Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium in Tokyo and Osaka with Netherlands Bach Society, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Concerto Köln, and a European tour with B’Rock Orchestra performing Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus and Hasse’s Salve Regina. He has performed Händel’s Messiah with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Bach’s Johannes-Passion with the Münchener Philharmoniker and also with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Bach’s Magnificat with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Juanjo Mena, and he has given a recital of Handel opera arias with Netherlands Chamber Orchestra at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

Engeltjes’s Handel opera roles include Bertarido (Rodelinda) at the Via Stellæ Festival in Santiago de Compostela, Tolomeo (Giulio Cesare) with Capella Cracoviensis, Ottone (Agrippina) with the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, Mago Christiano (Rinaldo) at Opéra de Lausanne, and Polinesso (Ariodante) conducted by Federico Maria Sardelli at the Festival de l’Opéra Baroque de Beaune. He’s performed the role of David in Handel’s Saul with the Israel Camerata conducted by Avner Biron and the title role in Handel’s Solomon with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Peter Dijkstra. He’s also appeared as Meraspe (Cavalli's Artemisia) with La Venexiana, Creonte (Steffani’s Niobe, regina di Tebe) with Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) with NHK Orchestra conducted by Michiyoshi Inoue, and both L’humana fragilità and Pisandro in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse at Théâtre des Champs Elysées with Le Concert d’Astrée conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm.

Current season highlights include Bach’s B minor Mass with Koopman and Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium with Dijkstra and Ensemble 1700 and Bach’s Johannes-Passion with John Butt and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He performs Vivaldi and Pergolesi with Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo and, in addition, Engeltjes continues to give regular peformances of Bach, Vivaldi and Monteverdi with his own ensemble, PRJCT Amsterdam.

Engeltjes’ debut solo recording is a disc of songs by Purcell, Dowland and Byrd while other recordings include Handel’s Faramondo (Adolfo) with FestspielOrchester Göttingen under Laurence Cummings, and both Dixit Dominus and Bach’s Magnificat with Concerto Köln under Peter Dijkstra. Future recording plans include Winterreise to be released on Sony Classical.

Maarten Engeltjes was born in Zwolle and graduated cum laude and with distinction from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.