Judith van Wanroij

Scofield: You have been thrilling audiences around the world with your roles, ranging from Monteverdi to Benjamin Britten. But I think it is your career interpreting French Baroque music, which has really made you a name in this opera field. And you’ve been working with William Christie, René Jacobs, Christophe Rousset, you know many of the big names in this field. Is Baroque opera really your calling now?

van Wanroji: Yes, it might be my calling. It certainly is my passion, because I was trained to be a normal romantic singer. And through auditioning for Mr. William Christie, I rolled into this music of early music. For me, it was a discovery because I’ve never been acquainted with this field of music. Up until that point, I was singing like Mozart, or Smetana, or Puccini, and so I got a big introduction in this early music field, I just I fell in love, especially with French Baroque music. It reminds me a little bit of pop music and jazz. When I was a small child, I listened to heaps of pop music, and also jazz, and blues, and I think there is a connection between the two.

Scofield: Really? Where do you make that crossover there between pop, jazz and French Baroque opera?

van Wanroji: It’s the way they treat the texts, the music, the chords, the modulations, the melody that goes with it. It’s very sweet, but it can also be very dancy. It reminds me a lot of jazz actually. I have been doing some crossovers with at the Robeco Summer Night, where we put chansons and duets of just French Baroque songs, and also songs of Debussy and combine this with a jazz tune. It worked really well.

Scofield: No kidding!

van Wanroji: Yes! Even the jazz musicians said, “this is funky stuff!” [Laughter]

Scofield: That is fantastic! [Laughter]