Pieter De Praetere

Pieter De Praetere is a Belgian countertenor. As a soloist he mainly focuses on baroque music. He is also a much sought-after figure in musical theatre. Pieter was born into a musical family. At the age of 10, he started following voice training with Pascal Devreese in Ronse. At the age of 16 he moved to countertenor Steve Dugardin in Antwerp. During his studies in Literary Studies at Ghent University, he took lessons from Hilde Coppé. Shortly afterwards he moved to the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Lena Lootens.

As a soloist, Pieter has built up a solid repertoire. For example, he performs soloist roles in Handel’s Messiah, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Vivaldi’s Gloria and a significant number of cantatas, motets and oratorios by J.S. Bach. He has performed on stages at home and abroad. Pieter sings with the orchestras Musica Gloria, Il Gardellino, B’Rock, BachPlus, Apotheosis, etc. He has been working intensively with Beniamino Paganini and Nele Vertommen of the Musica Gloria ensemble for several years. Together they have already completed several successful European tours. In 2020 they recorded music by Vivaldi and Purcell that was well received by the public and in the media. This season they will once again be performing together on national and international stages and in the recording studio.

In 2024, Pieter will make his debut in the opera: in the Reaktorhalle in Munich he will sing a leading role in the opera creation Invitation to a Beheading by director Maria Chagina and composer Leon Zmelty. With the Midsummer Mozartiade festival and Orchester Royal de Wallonie he sings the role of Farnace in Mozart’s Mitridate, Re di Ponte in Brussels, Mons and Namur.

In addition to his work as a classical singer, Pieter is a much sought-after figure in the Flemish theater landscape. His role in the epic folk opera Wij, De Verdronkenen at Wintervuur ​​​​Antwerp, the Oerol Festival (Netherlands), Marstal (Denmark) and Theater aan Zee Ostend did not go unnoticed. With Muziektheater Broder he has been touring Belgium for years with poetic family performances with and about classical music (Franzerl, Babushka, Seaking…)

Photo: Marcel Lennartz