Contralto Helena Rasker graduated with the highest distinction from the Royal Conservatory of Music of The Hague and continued her studies at the Tanglewood Music Center in the USA and with Margreet Honig in Amsterdam.

Helena Rasker continues to be praised for her expressive qualities, her versatile musicianship and the sheer beauty of her voice.

In recent years she has sung operatic roles such as Ramise in Händel's Arminio under Laurence Cummings at the Göttingen International Händel Festival, Erna in the world premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas' Morgen und Abend at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden under Michael Boder, Third Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte under Raphaël Pichon at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and with Antonello Manacorda at the Dutch National Opera, the contralto in Sir George Benjamin's Into the little Hill with the Ensemble Modern under Sir George Benjamin and Deaconess in a concert version of Szymanowksi's Król Roger with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Sir Antonio Pappano.

Further roles include Magd 1 in Strauss' Elektra, Grimgerde in Wagner's Walküre, Hedwige in Rossini's Guillaume Tell, Claudio in Händel's Lucio Silla, Leocasta in Händel's Giustino as well as numerous first creations such as Ursula in Peter-Jan Wagemans' Legende, Bryna Pulman in Michel Van der Aa's After Life, Mother in Martijn Padding's Laïka and Paula Strassberg in Robin de Raaff's Waiting for Miss Monroe. Dutch composer Rob Zuidam wrote his one act opera Troparion especially for her, which premiered at the Holland Festival 2013 staged by Pierre Audi.

Helena Rasker also appeared as a soloist in a varied concert repertoire such as Mozart's Requiem and Bach's Christmas Oratorio, St Matthew Passion and St John Passion with Les Musiciens du Louvre under Marc Minkowksi, Mahler's Symphony Nr 8 with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra under Marc Albrecht, Stockhausen's Drei Lieder with the London Sinfonietta and Oliver Knussen, Leonardo Leo's Sant' Elena al Calvario with Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante, Frank Martin's Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke under Reinbert de Leeuw and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.

Further conductors she has worked with include Edo de Waart, Michel Corboz, Hartmut Haenchen, Paolo Carignani, Christian Zacharias, Jaap van Zweden and Yannick Nézet-Seguin at orchestras such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Bamberger Symphoniker, Gulbenkian Orchestra and Münchener Kammerorchester.

In addition to this Helena Rasker has sung numerous Lied recitals with pianist Simon Lepper and chamber music with ensembles such as Calefax Reed Quintet, ASKO|Schoenberg Ensemble and Combattimento. She appeared at festivals throughout Europe and Australia and participated in numerous radio-, CD- and television-recordings.

 

For future engagements look at AGENDA →