Last weekend in Boston, the early music ensemble Handel and Haydn Society performed J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor. The vocal soloists included mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen. Her bio in the program is excellent in many respects. In particular, the content, organization, and tone of the bio support the main goal of the text, to portray a youthful yet fully professional performing artist.
The Dutch mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen has established herself in recent years as a versatile soloist on the international stage. She made her debut at the Berlin State Opera as Turno in Steffani’s L’Amor vien dal destino under the musical direction of René Jacobs, toured Europe with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and appeared as a soloist in Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust at London’s Barbican Hall under Daniel Harding and the London Symphony Orchestra. In July 2022 she was announced as one of Classic FM’s Rising Stars (30 under 30).
As an internationally sought-after concert singer, Ms. Vermeulen devotes herself with great passion to the Classical and Baroque repertoire. She has performed with Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor (the latter released as a recording on the BIS label). Equally in demand as a soloist in Bach’s Passions, she recently worked with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and Residentie Orkest The Hague for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, while at the International Baroque Days at Melk Abbey in Austria she appeared with Concentus Musicus under Stefan Gottfried as the Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and in a solo matinee featuring works by Geminiani, Handel, and Pepusch.
To elaborate on specific strengths,
• The bio opens with a bold statement about the artist’s widespread acclaim and versatility. It’s substantiated with references to work with leading performers and ensembles.
• The organization of the content, into sections on dramatic and concert repertoire, reinforces the image of a versatile performer.
• In the biography guide, I recommend avoiding lengthy lists. This bio does not shy away from them, but it avoids monotony with varied turns of phrase: “made her debut at,” “toured Europe with,” and “appeared as a soloist in.”
• Finally, the bio conveys freshness, without any whiff of inexperience, by characterizing the singer’s achievements as “recent,” including an indirect reference to her age (i.e., under 30 in 2022), and excluding references to educational activity.
Of course, she sings well, too.
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