Janice van Rooy
When were you first enchanted by (musical) theatre? What was the experience?
I would say it was when I discovered opera for the first time, completely by accident, actually. I had accidentally downloaded an aria from Beethoven's Fidelio ("Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?"), thinking it was a violin sonata. I had just started taking violin lessons and was excited to explore more classical music, although I knew very little about it at the time. Then, suddenly, someone started singing, and I was absolutely intrigued. It was fascinating and so different from the kind of singing I was familiar with, which was mostly choral singing. From that moment on, I found myself singing along, trying to imitate what I heard, and searching for more opera once I learned that was what this style of music was called.
Looking back, that accidental discovery was really the beginning of my journey into opera. The awareness it sparked later planted the seeds for everything that followed
Why do people sing instead of speak?
Simply put, singing carries so much more emotion than speaking and can transcend language barriers. As a singer, I feel that singing is one of the strongest and most direct forms of human expression. Through singing, I can communicate emotions, colors, and nuances that I cannot always convey through speech alone.
Singing also brings out expressions that I didn’t even know I had in me. It allows me to discover and communicate emotions in a way that feels deeper and more honest than words alone.
When we speak, we often spend a lot of time thinking about how our words will be understood or whether they might be perceived in the wrong way. But when I sing, I experience a different kind of freedom. I don’t feel confined by the limitations of everyday language. Instead, it feels as though the music carries something directly from my soul to another person’s soul in a way that words alone often cannot.
Singing allows me to connect with people beyond language, which is especially powerful in opera, where audiences can be deeply moved even when they don’t understand every word. Across cultures and throughout history, people have sung to celebrate, mourn, pray, tell stories, and express feelings that words alone cannot fully capture.
In my own culture, singing has always been a family tradition – something everyone understands and happily takes part in. That experience showed me from a young age that singing is not just a form of communication; it’s a way of bringing people together.
What role can/should music theatre play in today’s society?
For me personally, music theatre is much more than entertainment. I come from Namibia, where I grew up singing with my family and where opera was not a common part of everyday life or even a style of singing people had heard before. So, as the first opera singer from my country, I have seen how powerful it can be when people encounter this art form and realize that the emotions, stories, and struggles on stage are universal. Whether someone understands every word or not, they can still be moved by the music and the humanity behind it. I believe music theatre should help us understand one another better. We live in a time when people are often divided by language, culture, politics, and social media, yet music theatre brings people into the same space and invites them to share a human experience together, eventuate for a few hours right ... I also believe music theatre has a responsibility to be accessible. Through outreach concerts and community performances, I have experienced how music can reach people who may never have considered attending an opera or music theatre performance. Those moments remind me that this art form belongs to everyone, not just a select or stereotypical audience. Today, music theatre should preserve great artistic traditions while also creating space for new voices, new stories, and people from different backgrounds to see themselves represented on stage. At its best, it builds empathy, sparks conversation, and reminds us of our shared humanity.
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Born in
Swakopmund, Namibia
Education
University of Cape Town
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
Important engagements
Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Staatsoper Hannover, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Collaborations that shaped you as an artist
One of the most important collaborations that shaped me as an artist was with my late violin teacher in Namibia. Looking back, he was the first person who truly believed in my musical potential. Even though I was only a beginner on the violin, he encouraged me as if I were capable of so much more. He also recognized my singing while I was in choir and constantly encouraged me to pursue music. What made his belief in me even more meaningful was that shortly after we started working together, he began to lose his memory. People often had to remind him about things, but somehow, whenever he saw me, he always remembered me as his student. He would speak about me with such pride and confidence that I sometimes felt he believed in me more than I believed in myself. At 84 years old, he was still teaching and sharing everything he knew. Sometimes I felt guilty receiving lessons from him, especially because he was so generous with his time despite his declining health. But later I realized that teaching music was not a burden to him. It was a gift and was what he loved most. He taught me what it means to dedicate your life to music with passion, generosity, and joy. Whenever I think about the artist I am becoming, I know that his belief in me played a huge part in making it possible.
Significant awards and honors
Competitions:
Hans Gabor Belvedere international singing competition:
The Royal opera house Covent Garden engagement award, 2024
Walter and Charlotte Hamel singing competition:
1st prize, 2024
Audience prize and Nachwuchs Preis for best bachelor student, 2023
Neues Lied Festival competition for Lied Duo:
1st prize and prize for the best interpretation of a song by a South African composer, 2022
Sultan of Arts online singing competition:
1st prize, 2022
Awards:
Opera Europa Eva Kleinitz award
Ernst von Siemens musikstiftung award
Gundlach Musik Preis
Website
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