Biography

The Belgian bass Charles Dekeyser (Ghent, 1986), studied at the Brussels Royal Conservatoire and continued his singing studies at the Flanders Opera Studio where, in 2010, he obtained  the certificate of Laureate of  the Flanders Opera Studio, voice option. Afterwards he perfected himself for four years at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with José Van Dam. He is currently associated artist at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.

In 2014 Charles participates in the Queen Elisabeth Competition where he becomes a semi-finalist.

During the 2015/2016 season he gains further opera experience as a member of the International Opera Studio Opernhaus Zürich.

During his artistic training, he follows various masterclasses in Belgium and abroad with a.o. Helmut Deutsch, Graham Johnson a.o. As laureate of the Académie européenne de musique of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, he participates in masterclasses with Susanna Eken, Sarah Connolly and Jean-Yves Ruf. In 2013 he is selected by ENOA (European network of opera academies) to participate in workshops with Nelly Miricioiu at the Latvian National Opera in Riga (Latvia). As part of the Britten Pears young artist program, in Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh (G.B.), he attends masterclasses around Schubert lieder with Christoph Prégardien, Malcolm Martineau and Richard Stokes.

He participates in various stage productions of the Internaional Opera Academy, where he sings, among others,  the role of La Mort in La Mort au Bal masqué (Brackx) and of Melisso in Alcina (Händel). At the Opera Royal de Wallonie and the Opera of Rouen, he sings Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart). In 2010 he makes his debut at the Flanders Opera, in the role of L’Ombra di Nino in Semiramide (Rossini). In 2011 Charles celebrates his debut at La Monnaie in the role of monk in Les Huguenots (Meyerbeer) and later in the role of servant in Lulu (Berg).

Afterwards he is invited to the Verbier Festival 2014, for the role of Don Fernando in Fidelio (Beethoven) and of Brander in La Damnation de Faust (Berlioz).
At the Flanders Opera, he performs in <3RT 2GET, an opera production based on Mozart/Da Ponte. During the 2015/2016 season, Charles makes his debut at Opernhaus Zürich in the roles of Philidels Geist and the Waldgeist in King Arthur (Purcell) and the doctor in Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy). In 2017, he makes his debut at the Grand Théâtre du Luxembourg, in the role of  Pietro in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, a co-producion with Opera Ballet Flanders.

He performs with renowned conductors such as Marc Minkowski, Alberto Zedda, Fabio Luisi, Ludovic Morlot, Charles Dutoit, Sir Christopher Warren-Green, Giovanni Antonini, Christian Arming, Laurence Cummings, Almo Volmer, Herve Niquet, Alain Altinoglu and others.

Charles also develops a great affinity for the oratory and the Lied repertoire and sings many recitals at home and abroad. In various concerts he sings as a soloist in, among others, Dixit Dominus (Händel); Mélodies Russes (M.I.M. Brussels); Chamber music projects on Brahms; Requiem (Mozart); Juanelo, the Charles V oratorium (Brossé); C’est moi le monstre, production with P.Platel (Festival van Vlaanderen); Messa di Gloria (Donizetti); Die Schöpfung (Haydn); La Petite Messe Solennelle (Rossini), the Messiah (Händel). In 2012, with les Musiciens du Louvre, he performs the St.Matthew passion (Bach) in several European concert halls, performances with which he can subsequently be heard at  the Festival of Beaune, The Festival Ré Majeure (Ile de Ré) and the Köthinger Bachfesttage.

In 2013, at the Gala Concert Soloists Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and with the National Orchestra of Belgium, Charles sings Schubert's  Mass nr 1 (Bozar Brussels). He then toured with Les Musiciens du Louvre in Japan and various European concert hall with the Mass in C minor (Mozart) and Bach cantatas. Again with Marc Minkowski he sings Huit scenes de Faust of Berlioz (MC2 Grenoble).

At the 2013 Festival de Wallonie, he participates in the concert  l'Amour à la Chapelle, l'Amour dans la Musique. With Les Musiciens du Louvre, he sings Bach’s Mass in B minor in Essen, Amsterdam and Lausanne. Concert that he will perform again in Vienna March 2014. Together with the Brussels Philharmonic and the Flemish Radio Choir, he impersonates the role of Paulus in Paulus (Mendelssohn) (Flagey, Brussels). With the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège and Collegium Vocale Gent, he sings the bass role in the Grosse Messe (Mozart). In La Monnaie, with the Orchestre symphonique de la Monnaie  he sings the bass part  in a concertante performance of Pulcinella (Stravinsky), a performance that will be repeated during the Christmas Concert 2013 at the Royal Palace in Brussels. With the National Orchestra of Belgium, Jose Van Dam and soloists from the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, he cooperates in the Jose Van Dam and You Prelude Concert (Bozar, Brussels). On the occasion of a tribute to Gerard Mortier, Charles is invited to sing Lieder von Mahler in the Flemish Opera. For the Ghent Festival of Flanders 2014 he sings the romantic recital Nacht und Traüme during the closing evening Odegand by Night. In 2015, with the G.O.V., Charles makes his debut in the role of  Christ in the St.Matthew Passion (J.S.Bach) and he sings Mozart's  Requiem with the Orquesta Y Coro Nacionales de España in Madrid. During the Mozartwoche 2017 in Salzburg, Charles sings Mozart's Requiem under the baton of Marc Minkowski. Eternal Light : A requiem (H.Goodall) and the Advent Cantatas (Bach) are also on his program that year.

With Collegium Vocale Ghent, he makes his debut in Einstein on the Beach (Ph.Glass) in 2018, a performance with which he went on a European tour in 2019. Later that year he's going on  tour with 'Napoleon Ongehoord', a multimedia music theater production based on the books of and with Johan Op de Beeck.

In 2022 he was a soloist in 'The War', the opus magnum by Peter Benoit, which was performed again for the first time in 30 years. In 2023 he is invited by Choeur de Chambre de Luxembourg conducted by Antonio Grosu to sing the bass solo in Verdi's Requiem at the Philharmonie Luxembourg.

In addition to his solo assignments, from 2020 Charles is part of the new vocal sextet Air4Six.

He also occasionally surprises with concerts around the lighter genre with chansons by J.Brel, Ch.Aznavour, M.Sardou ... and songs by Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, ... and many others.