Alto Carina Vinke has won critical praise for the strikingly dark quality of her voice and her dramatic talent. Born in The Netherlands, she has performed widely in her home country and abroad since the age of nine. She sings opera, oratorio, lieder, and contemporary music.
Her operatic work includes the title roles of Bizet’s Carmen and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice as well as the roles of Hermia in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Zita in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Bradamante in Händel’s Alcina, Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco, and Schwertleite in Wagner’s Die Walküre. Her staged performances with New European Ensemble of Pierrot Lunaire by Schönberg and the title role in Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot by Peter Maxwell Davies were praised by the German magazine Ensemble as ‘world class’ interpretations. Carina Vinke also sang one of the Lehrbuben in Wagner’s Meistersinger von Nurnberg, which she performed with The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jaap van Zweden.
A frequent performer of oratoria, she sang numerous performances of both the St. Matthew and the St. John Passions, Verdi’s Requiem as well as a wide range of works by Händel, Haydn, Rossini, Dvorak, Mozart and Mendelssohn. Together with Netherlands Bach Society and conductor Jos van Veldhoven she toured the Netherlands performing masses by Joseph and Michael Haydn. Other highlights in her repertoire include Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, Respighi’s Il Tramonto and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. She sang with many of the Netherlands top orchestras including the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra.
Her strong affinity for the works of Gustav Mahler has lead to her to perform of all his vocal works on numerous occassions. Highlights include the Second Symphony with the European Youth Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Third Symphony with NJO (Dutch Orchestra and Ensemble Academy) conducted by Martin Sieghart. She has sung numerous performances of Das Lied von der Erde with the LaVerdi Orchestra Milan, the NJO (Dutch Orchestra and Ensemble Academy), New European Ensemble and Re-Orchestra with conductors Xian Zhang, Christian Karlsen and Roberto Beltrán-Zavala. Next to performances of Des Knaben Wunderhorn with a number of orchestras, Carina Vinke gave an acclaimed duo recital together with Maarten Koningsberger of the complete work in 2011 at the Dr. Anton Philipszaal, The Hague.
A champion of contemporary music she has performed extensively with conductor Christian Karlsen and the New European Ensemble. In 2010 they gave three performances together of Hans Werner Henze’s Voices as part of a special collaboration with Amnesty International. This project was presented in Stockholm and Gothenburg in 2012. Other highlights include the staged double bill Moonstruck Intoxication and performances of both Schönberg’s Serenade, Pierrot Lunaire and Pierre Boulez’ Le Marteau sans maitre. With the New European Ensemble Carina Vinke sang works by Dallapiccola, Stravinsky and Weill as well as numerous world premieres by composers such as Benjamin Staern and Djuro Zivkovic. Frequent Festival appearances have included the Gelderse Muziekzomer, Music Around (2010), Zwolle Chamber Opera Festival (2011) and Sound of Stockholm (2012).
Carina Vinke sang Boulez’ Le Marteau sans maitre with the ASKO|Schönberg in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Turnage’s Twice Through the Heart with NJO and Residentie Orchestra with conductors Christian Karlsen and Hans Leenders.
Carina Vinke has been featured in numerous radio and television broadcasts in the Netherlands and abroad.
She obtained her master’s degree at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (with Prof. Jard van Nes) and studied at the Dutch National Opera Academy. She also had the opportunity to work with the famous mezzo Teresa Berganza. Carina Vinke attended the Royal Conservatoire, Brussels’ International Lied Masterclass with Udo Reinemann in 2009-2010.