Peter van der Bilt

The Dutch bass Peter van der Bilt was born on August 30, 1936 in Batavia (Jakarta), on the Isle of Java in Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). He studied in Amsterdam at the 'Amsterdam Muzieklyceum' as pianist as well as singer and was a pupil of Herman Schey and Hans Cleuver.

Upon 1958 he gave numerous opera and oratorio appearances in the Netherlands. He he made his operatic debut in Amsterdam as Horn (Samuel) in Verdi's 'Un ballo in maschera', 1958. After appearing as Rossini's Don Basilio in the San Francisco Opera in 1963, he joined the 'Deutsche Oper am Rhein' in Düsseldorf in 1964. He made guest appearances in Vienna, Munich, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, and other music centres. Among his prominent roles were Don Giovanni, Figaro, Don Pasquale, Beckmesser, and Gianni Schicchi. As guest he appeared through hole Europe and he worked regular at performances of the St Matthew Passion in the Netherlands (under Kurt Thomas). He also appeared in the St. John Passion and Bach's 'Hohe Messe' under Karl Richter, a.o. in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and Moscow, and in 1969 in Japan. He mastered a wide repertory, with as well serious- as buffo roles and appeared at some Holland Festival productions, most of time in modern works. He also sang widely in concerts. He was connected to the Opera of Düsseldorf, where he one week before he died, still sang in the opera 'Fra Diavolo' (Auber).

Peter van der Bilt died at September 25, 1983 in Apeldoorn, Holland

Giuseppe Verdi, Un giorno di regno: 'Diletto genero'