By Herman Haverkate:
Next month she will be back at the Vrijthof in Maastricht again. For thirteen evenings. Rieu fans from all over the world will come to Limburg. In a dress where all the details have been determined by the waltz king himself, Donij van Doorn, will sing in the shadow of the Servaas basilica, the great aria of Violetta from the opera La Traviata by Verdi. "All those thousands of people on that square: that's when you know why you do all of this."
"The music must always go on, but sometimes there are times when it is better to be silent". (Donij van Doorn)
Benefit Concert
Friday at 8 pm, in the intimate atmosphere of the Arkezaal of the Enschede Music Center, not much of the great show will be of notice. Donij van Doorn, permanent soprano soloist in the André Rieu orchestra, will be back in her hometown for just a short time. Together with her brother Brandon on the piano and fellow singer Erik Slik, she will sing at the charity concert of the KWF (fight cancer), organized by her own mother. "My father died of lung cancer in 2010. He was only 53. The hole he left behind is still great, I was unable to sing at his funeral, and we then played a recording of a song I had previously recorded. The music must always go on, but sometimes there are times when it is better to be silent."
Ewige Liebe (Eternal love) The charity concert will somehow be also overshadowed by the thoughts of her father. Especially for him she'll sing the song "Ewige Liebe" (Eternal Love) by Brahms. "Unbelievably beautiful, unconditional love: that is what determined his life. After seven years I now feel that I am able to sing this. Also Erik will make this a personal gesture. He has lost, just like me, his father through cancer."
The concert will be a mix of opera/arias, songs, duets and pieces for piano solos. "We want to show people how beautiful classical music can be. André Rieu is a master in that. He is not only a musician, but also an artist." The fun of our concerts will burst out. And it is only possible if you are really gripped by music."
Dreaming of the stage
"A fairytale, just like the piece itself. Looking back I think that that was the moment I decided to become a singer." Opera you do that all together, playing piano you do that alone. That is why I stopped."
Click - During the third year at the conservatory in Maastricht she first came into contact with André Rieu. "He urgently needed someone for his choir, they were recording in "De Efteling". Although at that time the conservatory was making it difficult, I said: "Yes." We clicked from the first moment. I never regretted that for a second."
"From the very first moment I clicked with André". (Donij van Doorn)
For two years now she has been a regular singer with his orchestra. She sings the big solo arias and joins him on all the tours. "Mexico, Japan, America: we travel the entire world. Like a a pop artist he travels the entire world. There is no other conductor in classical music who has achieved that."
Repertoire
She does not have problems with her repertoire. "Some people think it is one-sided, I do not agree. André chooses very broadly and deliberately seeks out the limits. I can follow him very easily in that endeavor." Sometimes she is away from home for weeks. Besides performing eighty to one hundred concerts a year with Rieu, she also does her own song recitals and plays roles in operas.
"Sometimes I see nothing else in the world than touring cars, airports and hotel rooms, but the trick is to ensure that the public does not notice that". (Donij van Doorn)
Romania
Her most beautiful concert was in Romania. She was there for the first time. Nearly ten thousand people filled the big square in front of the former palace of Ceausescu. "From the stage I saw them sit there. Ordinary people, often very poor, but with a big heart for music. They knew André's music, but had never heard him live before. And when you see them afterwards, radiating with happiness, then you realize that he has really changed something in classical music with his orchestra."
Thank You to John for this Translation.
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