Petra Berger
Petra Berger | |
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Born | Petronella Burger October 23, 1965 |
Occupations |
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Website | petraberger |
Petra Berger, born Petronella Burger (
Biography
Petra Berger was born into a musical family, but did not pursue a musical career until later on in her life. Berger earned her secondary school diploma in 1982 and landed a job at a computer firm job. During an annual party of the computer firm, Berger formed a band with some colleagues to play music just for fun. That evening, however, she realised that singing was what she really wanted to do.
Chess
In 1987, Petra Berger and her sister Lida decided to compete on the television program
Musicals
Having ended her career as a member of Chess in 1992, Petra Berger shifted her focus to perfecting her musical theatre skills. She took singing classes with a variety of different teachers, as well as piano, dance, and acting classes. Her first musical audition was for
In late 1993, theatrical impresario Joop van den Ende Theatre Productions asked Berger to come audition for the role of Johanna in the musical Sweeney Todd. She got the part, making Johanna her first lead role in a musical production. Later, Berger got the part of Belle[1] in the musical Beauty and the Beast in Germany and the part of Maria in The Sound of Music in 1995 in Belgium.
In the following years, she gave birth to two children, Boris (1997) and Babette (1999), together with her husband
Eternal Woman
In 2000, Berger recorded some demos with producers Jeroen Englebert and Pim Koopman, one of which being the aria "O mio babbino caro" from Giacomo Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi. Upon hearing this demo, the Universal Music Group offered Berger a record deal as a solo artist. In 2001, her first solo album Eternal Woman was released. This album, produced by Jeroen Englebert and Pim Koopman, contained a fusion of classical and pop musical themes. Each of the eleven songs on the album addresses the story and struggle of a legendary woman from world history:
- Marie José of Belgium in "Terra Promessa"[3]
- Marie Antoinette in "Close Your Eyes (He'll Be Just Fine)" (based on Fauré's "Pavane")
- Boudiccain "Boadicea"
- Mata Hari in "The Girl Looking into Me" (based on Alexander Borodin's "Gliding Dance of the Maidens")
- Empress Elisabeth of Austria in "If I Had a Wish"
- Piano concerto No. 23)
- Juana la Locain "Eres Todo para Mí"
- Joan of Arc in "I'm Coming Home"
- Catherine the Great in "Now's the Time"
- Handel's Sarabande from Keyboard suite in D minor (HWV 437))
- Cleopatra in "All for Love"
Eternal Woman was successful in the Netherlands, but also received international acclaim: The album became popular in countries like Taiwan, Israel, Turkey as well. During the Night of the Proms concert series of the 2002 season, Petra Berger gained a significant deal of national acclaim and fame.
Mistress
In 2003, Berger's second studio album Mistress was released. Complementing the thematic tenet of Eternal Woman, Mistress was wholly dedicated to famous mistresses and deceived wives from the past and present. Mistress featured new compositions as well as adaptations of famous classical works. In 2004, the duet "Every Time" (with the American singer Joshua Payne) and the Italian version ("Cerco Te") were added to the album.
Having developed a full repertoire of her own, Berger went on to tour Dutch theaters in 2004 for the first time in her solo career. The tour performance revolved around her first two albums, Eternal Woman and Mistress. Berger personally developed the conceptual framework for the performance, while Bas Groenenberg was assigned as director and screenwriter. Jeroen Englebert and Pim Koopman were assigned as producers for the performance.
Live in Concert DVD
In 2004 Berger released a live recording of her Eternal Woman and Mistress theatre tour on DVD. Besides the live concert, this DVD also featured behind-the-scenes footage of the tour, several music videos, and two short documentaries on the albums Eternal Woman and Mistress.
After the release of the Live in Concert DVD, Berger went on a second theatre tour: Petra Berger Live.
Here and Now
In 2006, Berger launched her third album: Here and Now. Here and Now was produced by Tjeerd Oosterhuis and Jurre Haanstra and centers around Berger's personal emotions and thoughts; Berger left behind the past, a central theme in her previous albums, to focus the "here and now." The album was relaunched in 2007 with the bonus track "Life Goes On," a duet with the Italian tenor Alessandro Safina.
On the Here and Now tour, which began in late 2006, Berger sang pieces from her first albums and works from her recent project Here and Now.
In October 2006, Berger was asked to sing two duets with the Italian star
In early 2006, Berger began to collaborate with the Dutch virtuoso pianist Jan Vayne. They went on a collaborative tour named Van Bach tot ABBA in 2006, which brought the audience a diverse fusion of classical music with pop and musicals. Berger and Vayne began their joint tour Dichtbij! in October 2007.
Crystal
In 2008, Berger released an album in collaboration with Jan Vayne: Crystal. The album touches on a wide variety of musical genres, including pieces written by Ennio Morricone and John Ewbank, for example, but also tracks originally performed by Herman van Veen and Simon & Garfunkel. All of the songs were recorded during a live studio session.
Touched by Streisand
Petra Berger's dream of becoming a musician began with Barbra Streisand. In this album, released in 2011, Berger sings songs by Streisand that hold great value for her. On Touched by Streisand not only the most beautiful melodies of Barbra Streisand are heard, but the songs that have been personally important in her life and that fit this style of music perfectly. This makes the album like a dream that becomes reality.
De Hoogste Tijd
For the theater performance 'Quest for Happiness' pianist/composer Edwin Schimscheimer wrote the song 'De Hoogste tijd'. It was Petra's first single in Dutch to be released.
Passione
In 2019 was the release of the album Passione, sung entirely in Italian. The album includes pieces by composers Ennio Morricone, Tomaso Albinoni and Gaetano Donizetti. The album was realized through crowdfunding and is produced by Joost van den Broek. Linked to this, the theater tour Passione Italiana will start in 2019. Petra works together with the Italian singer Alessandro Neri. Together with him she releases the duet single "Notte a Venezia".
"In perfetta Armonia" is the duet single Petra Berger recorded with her daughter Babette Englebert.
Discography
Albums
Eternal Woman (2001, platinum)
Mistress (2003, gold)
Here and Now (2006)
Crystal (2008)
Touched by Streisand (2011)
Passione (2019)
DVDs
- 2004: Live in Concert
Television shows
1987: Soundmixshow
1996: Vrouwe Goeds in de film Hugo (voor de attractie Villa Volta in de Efteling)
2001: Eternal Woman Special
2001: TV show (TROS)
2001: Barend en van Dorp (RTL4)
2002: Night of the Proms
2002: Kopspijkers
2003: Tropisch Curaçao (TROS)
2003: Mistress Special
2004: Muziekfeest in de sneeuw
2004: Jubileumfeest in de ArenA (TROS)
2004: TV-special Mistress
2005: Notenclub
2006: Katja vs De Rest (Patty) (BNN)
2006: Muziekfeest voor dieren (TROS)
2006: Stop Aids Now (met Jan Vayne)
2006: 40 jaar BZN (TROS)
2007: Muziekfeest op het ijs (TROS)
2007: Kids Rights Gala (solo en met Alessandro Safina)
2007: Leader televisieprogramma Korenslag van Henny Huisman
2008: Bella Italia (TROS)
2008: Light of Live concert in Great Hall of the People in Beijing
2011: Muziekspecial Touched by Streisand (MAX)
2011: Koffie Max (October)
2011: Koffie Tijd RTL 4 (December)
2013: Beatrix Bedankt
2016: Tijd voor Max (June)
2018: Tijd voor Max (October)
2019: Tijd voor Max (March)
2019: Koffietijd (with Edwin Schimscheimer)
2020: Met Hart en Ziel (KRO-NCRV)
Tours
2003: Eternal Women & Mistresses
2004: Petra Berger Live in Concert
2006: Van Bach tot ABBA met Jan Vayne
2006: Here and Now
2007/08: Dichtbij! met Jan Vayne
2009: Tango Dorado
2009/10/11/12: Kathedraalconcerten met Jan Vayne, Martin Mans en Formation
2011: Touched by Streisand
2012: 25-jarig Jubileumconcert
2013/14: Closer than ever” met Jan Vayne
2014: Eternal Songs
2014/2015: Diner voor twee i.s.m. Nationale vereniging De Zonnebloem
2015: You raise me up met Martin Mans en Voice
2015/2016: "Zoektocht naar geluk"
2017/2018: "Tribute to Barbra Streisand"
2019/2020: "Passione Italiana"
References
- ^ "Petra Berger".
- ^ "Petra Berger Biography".
- ^ Berger, Petra (12 June 2011). "Terra Promessa". YouTube (in Italian). Retrieved 5 June 2018.
Clip from the DVD Live in Concert (2004)
External links