Marion van den Akker

Dutch alt-mezzo Marion van den Akker has enjoyed an impressive international career, performing more than 20 opera roles, appearing as a soloist with major orchestras, and giving numerous (international) song recitals with, among others, her late husband Rian de Waal, Martijn van der Hoek, Jeroen Sarphati, and Paul Komen. From 2006 to 2015, she served as a principal vocal professor at the Prince Claus Conservatoire and was also the vocal programmer for the Peter de Grote Festival during that same period. Today, she privately coaches many professional singers and continues to perform in concerts.
In the 2022/23 season, Marion toured with the program “A Tribute to Kathleen Ferrier (70 years †)”. Additionally, she portrays Clara Schumann in a staged production about the final years of Robert Schumann’s life, Sleeping Without Schumann, alongside actor Huib Ramaer and pianist Charlie Bo Meijering.
Besides giving recitals, Marion van den Akker performed the beautiful cycle Les nuits d'Été by Berlioz with the Haydn Youth Orchestra under the baton of Jan Ype Nota in May 2023. Marion remains highly active in opera. In 2021, she successfully performed the role of Auntie in Peter Grimes, La Maestra delle Novizie in Suor Angelica in 2023, and Filipjevna in Eugene Onegin in 2024 — a role that will be reprised in August 2025 due to its great success. In January 2026, she will sing the roles of La Comtesse di Coigny and Madelon at TivoliVredenburg.
In April 2024, Marion van den Akker became the first woman to receive the Drenthe Province Culture Prize.
Further news can be found at: www.marionvandenakker.com.