The sad news fell at midday this Sunday, June 16, 2024: Jodie Devos died suddenly this Sunday in Paris at the age of 35. The young Belgian soprano suffered from breast cancer.
“ Jodie Devos died, surrounded by her family and loved ones, on June 16, 2024 in Paris at the age of 35 following breast cancer (diagnosed this winter, editor’s note) which had forced her to cancel several recent commitments. She was considered one of the most talented lyrical artists of her generation.” It was through this press release, distributed by the artistic agency Intermezzo, that we learned of the sudden disappearance of the young Belgian soprano.
Born October 10, 1988 in Libramont, after studying at the Institute of Music and Pedagogy of Namur and the Royal Academy of Music in London, Jodie Devos was revealed to the general public when she won the 2nd Prize in 2014 and the Public Prize of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. At the time, she said: “ The Competition was an essential trigger (…) Without this recognition I would not have met my agents or started auditioning so quickly. It was the Competition that revealed me as an artist.”
“ A tragedy, an injustice, an immense loss”
During her short career, Jodie Devos has performed on the biggest international stages and collaborated with renowned conductors and directors. In France, we could see her in Hoffmann’s Tales And The gallant Indies at the Paris National Opera, Fantasy at the Opéra-Comique, Dialogues of the Carmelites at the Opéra National du Capitole in Toulouse, Guillaume Tell at the Chorégies d’Orange, Lakme at the Tours Opera and Hamlet in Montpellier or Parisian life And The Elisir of Love at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (TCE).
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It was also at the TCE that we were able to see her for the last time in Paris, on April 30, with the orchestra Centuries who accompanied her in the interpretation of a contemporary work by the Argentine composer Alex Nante and she was to sing there again in the opera The Olympiad by Antonio Vivaldi from June 20 with Jakub Józef Orlinski and Marina Viotti under the direction of Jean-Christophe Spinosi.
In a message on social networks, the Orchester National de Lille writes: “Talent, humanity, generosity. Jodie Devos has lit up the stages of the Lille Auditorium alongside our Orchestra on numerous occasions “. For Christophe Rousset, the founder of the ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, “JOY was written in your first name. We will miss you sorely“ and our Belgian colleague Alain Gerlache mentions “A tragedy, an injustice, an immense loss.”
This Monday, in her show Tempo (from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Radio Classique), Pauline Lambert will return to music on the journey of Jodie Devos.
Philippe Gault
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