There are reactions of shock and sadness to the death of singer Jodie Devos. Jodie Devos died of breast cancer on Sunday aged just 35. The conductor Dirk Brossé told VRT News that "Jodie had enormous talent”.
Music world mourns soprano Jodie Devos: “We have lost one of the greatest Belgian musicians of all time”
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The soprano Jodie Devos came second in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2014, also receiving the audience award. Her career took off and soon she could be seen and heard in concerts and operas, many of which in Paris.
Jodie Devos died from the effects of aggressive breast cancer on Sunday aged just 35. Until very recently, she was still on stage. She last sung at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris on 30 April this year.
Her death sent a shock wave through the music world. The conductor Dirk Brossé learned of he death yesterday, just before he conducted a concert with the London Sympony Orchestra in London.
He told VRT News "The evening started with a lot of pain. It was a bolt from the blue. I only learned a week ago that she was terminally ill," In December, Dirk Brossé worked with Jodie Devos during a number of concerts in Antwerp.
"She was a gigantic talent, a fantastic singer with a crystal-clear voice, a brilliant actress too, and above all a very charming lady to work with. We have lost one of our very greatest Belgian musicians."
On social media, many fellow musicians, orchestras and opera houses expressed their condolences. "The opera world has lost a star, that sparkled and was full of talent" Paris’ Opéra Comique wrote. Jodie Devos sang there as recently as last winter.
Katelijne Boon of the VRT’s classic music and arts station Klara wrote "A unique, roguish woman. So much talent, charm, mastery... Jodie Devos was destined for the biggest stages. She leaves us with immense sadness."
Jodie Devos shone in operas by Mozart, Delibes, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Gluck, Strauss, Offenbach or Bernstein, but her repertoire went wider than purely classical.