A vos jeux mes amis

THE SONGBIRD: Belgian soprano Jodie Devos was born in 1988. She studied at the Institut de Musique in Namur and then attained a Masters degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London (studying with Lillian Watson). She did well in several voice competitions and then joined the Paris Opera-Comique in 2014 appearing as Adele. In 2018 her debut came at La Monnaie in Brussels as Queen of the Night, a role she has also sung in Caen, Dijon, Limoges, and Paris. Other roles in France and Belgium include Ophelie, Gilda, Titania, Marie, and Adina. Her 2019 solo recital "Offenbach Colorature" is outstanding -- I recommend it highly! Here is a review a wrote for Operawire.com:

THE MUSIC: "Hamlet" is a grand opera in five acts by Ambroise Thomas, with a libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier based on a French adaptation of Shakespeare's play. It premiered at the Paris Opera in 1868. Swedish soprano Christine Nilsson had just been engaged at the Opéra and Thomas chose her for the role of Ophélie, adapting the score in places to fit her talent, including interpolating a Swedish folk song into the mad scene -- which was suggested by Nilsson. The mad scene is one of the longest and most demanding in the coloratura soprano repertoire. This performance includes the haunting coda after the aria proper where Ophelia disappears gradually into the lake and drowns herself.