On 20 April Leandra Overmann died after a short but serious illness.

The Flanders Opera audience will always remember her as a heartrending Mother Lyubov in Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa (2008-2009 season) and, at the beginning of this very season, as the imposing Leokadya Begbick in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny.

With her impressive vocal sound, stage presence and utter dedication, she left no one unmoved. The opera world has lost an exceptional individual and a great personality.

By way of tribute, you can here watch an extended excerpt of Leandra Overmann in Mazeppa, where, as the mother, she confronts her daughter Mariya (here sung by Tatyana Pavlovaskaya).