Playing the violin and learning how to read music as a little child gave Francine an ear and musicality that feels at home in all classical music from baroque to quarter tone music. After her studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where she received her Master’s degree with distinction for musical talent and artistry, she moved to Copenhagen to study at the Royal Danish Opera Academy, with professor Kirsten Buhl Møller, where she graduated in 2013. Here she got the opportunity to sing Flora in Verdi’s La Traviata and Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen.
During her studies in Denmark, she sang the part of the Squirrel in Richard Ayres’ opera The Cricket Recovers, directed by Pierre Audi, for the Holland Festival. After her education she sang Pernille (Nielsen’s Maskarade) and Cherubino at the Royal Danish Opera. She had her Swedish debut with a leading role, Gwendolen, in The Importance of being Earnest (B Tommy Andersson) in Vadstena.
In 2018 she sang and conducted a new music theatre production with music by a.o. Ligety at the Opera Forward Festival in Amsterdam. In the same year she had her role and house debut as Carmen with the Danish National Opera. She sang a liedrecital with Magnus Svensson at the Stockholm Konserthus, Tisbe in Cenerentola at the Royal Swedish Opera, Cherubino in Danish with Den Ny Opera in Esbjerg, the Dormouse and the Cricket in the contemporary children's opera by Mathilde Wantenaar A song for the moon, with the Dutch National Opera.
In 2022 she toured through Scandinavia with the contemporary opera Drömdöden with Nordic Opera. She had her role and house debut as Gertrude in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at Malmö Opera. In 2023 she succesfully jumped in as Faust in Malmö Opera’s tour production Marguerite. Summer 2023 she is singing the part of Angelina at Opera Hedelands La Cenerentola.
In the field of contemporary music, Francine can be called a specialist. During many years she took part in avantgarde projects with Silbersee, based in Holland. She gracefully performs vocal acrobatics by a.o. Georges Aperghis, Luciano Berio, Giacinto Scelsi, John Cage and many living composers.
Francine won the 1st prize at the Copenhagen Lied-Duo Competition 2015 with pianist Christian Westergaard and the Händel Award and the Diorapthe Award for the best performance of a new composition by Willem Jeths at the International Vocal Competition 2014 at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Holland. Francine can also be heard with Westergaard on a cd box with Heise songs, released in February 2021.
As a concert soloist Francine performs baroque, contemporary and romantic repertoire with a.o. Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Concerto Copenhagen, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Phil, Camerata Øresund, Esbjerg Ensemble, Asko Schönberg Ensemble and Orchestre de Chambre de Genève.
