CLASSICAL SINGER · CHOIR CONDUCTOR
Mezzo-soprano
French-Belgian mezzo-soprano Astrid Defauw performs in opera, oratorio and chamber music, as well as in bespoke concert programmes, bringing a distinctive musical sensibility to a varied repertoire.
Recent highlights include the world premiere of The Seven Deaths of Maria Callas at the Bayerische Staatsoper, staged by Marina Abramović, her debut as Fricka in Die Walküre in Berlin with the Dramatic Voices Program, the role of Grimgerde at the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo, and Carmen at the Trentino Music Festival under Christopher Larkin. She has also performed on prestigious stages including the Gasteig in Munich, the Kölner Philharmonie, Philharmonie Essen, and with the Bamberg Symphony.
Her operatic repertoire encompasses a wide range of roles, including Carmen, Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Hänsel (Trentino Music Festival and DeSingel Antwerp), Vanina (cover) in L'Ancêtre (Prinzregententheater in Mucich), Babaricha (Tsar Saltan, Isny Opernfestspiel), La Badessa (Suor Angelica, Music Academy International, Italy), Dorabella (Così fan tutte, Laboratoire Lyrique Nei Stëmmen, Luxembourg), Dido (Dido and Aeneas, Junge Philharmonie Köln), The Mother (La Forêt Bleue, Royal Opera of Wallonia), and First Alto in Kris Defoort's contemporary opera The House of the Sleeping Beauties at DeSingel Antwerp.
A passionate interpreter of sacred and concert repertoire, Astrid regularly performs major oratorio works including Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Mendelssohn's Elias, Vivaldi's Gloria, Debussy's La Damoiselle Élue, Pergolesi and Dvořák's Stabat Mater. She has appeared with distinguished ensembles such as Barock Vokal Mainz, New Baroque Times Ensemble, Chapelle des Minimes, Junge Philharmonie Köln, and the Ensemble Polyphonique de Versailles, performing in venues including the Kölner Philharmonie, Philharmonie Essen, DeSingel, and the Cathedrals of Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg and Saint-Michel in Brussels.
Alongside her solo career, Astrid has built extensive experience as a professional choir artist in major venues such as the Bayerische Staatsoper, Gasteig Munich, Bamberg Symphonic, a.o. and with internationally renowned conductors including Valery Gergiev, Manfred Honeck, and Juraj Valčuha.
Astrid has started music at the age of six learning harp, choir and music theory at the Conservatoire National de Région de Nice, and then studied classical singing and singing pedagogy at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and opera performance at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp and in Berlin with Abby Furmansky and John Norris.
Performance Formats
From intimate recitals to prestigious venues, Astrid Defauw brings together classical excellence, crossover artistry and emotional storytelling.
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Concerts with piano accompaniment
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Recitals with orchestra
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Guest appearances
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Private and exclusive events
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Cultural and luxury events
Confluences
From Opera to Jazz
A new adventure begins in 2026, together with jazz pianist and composer Guillaume Marcenac.
Confluences is a unique musical journey from opera to jazz, where baroque arias, original arrangements and jazz improvisations come together. The distinctive talents of a jazz pianist and a classically trained singer merge into a captivating dialogue between tradition, freedom and emotion.
On June 12th was their first concert in The Hague, with the support of the Alliance Française, Reloconsult and with the presence of several embassies.
"A subtle and captivating blend"
"Effortless elegance (...) By the end, the audience was won over."
"This beautiful first edition of Confluences—marked by genuine artistic chemistry—was almost certainly not the last."
A vibrant testimony from the journalist Anne Leray (read full article here)