Francine van der Heijden is a well known soprano in the Netherlands. Mendelssohn's concertaria 'Infelice, ah ritorna età dell'oro' from 1834 was first recorded and performed again in 1999 by Van der Heijden, after more than 250 years, in collaboration with Mendelssohn expert J. Michael Cooper and the Robert Schumann Philharmonie conducted by Oleg Caetani. For many years she worked closely with Ton Koopman and his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. She performed succesfully in the famous Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and during Koopmans Baroque festival in the Dordogne. With fortepianist Bart van Oort she propagated the performance of early romantic song repertoire with stylistically renewed insights. Long-term collaborations with fortepianist Ursula Dütschler and pianist Phyllis Ferwerda have also profiled Francine van der Heijden as a lieder singer. As a result of the collaboration with harmonium player Dirk Luijmes, the CD I speak your name was created in 2020, with work especially composed for this duo. Composers who composed (orchestral) songs for Francine van der Heijden include Andries van Rossem, Joost Kleppe, Micha Hamel, Chiel Meijering, Renske Vrolijk and Reyer Zwart. Francine van der Heijden is best known for her performance during the interment of HRH Prince Claus in the Grote Kerk in Delft, on October 15, 2002. Photography: Claudia Otten