Jodie Devos: “The Queen Elisabeth Competition opened lots of doors for me”

Sometimes, as well as talent, you need to meet the right people and have a little bit of luck to get your career started. That was the case for Jodie Devos, the famous Belgian coloratura soprano. After studying at the Royal Academy in London, Jodie came second in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2014, which was a big boost to her fledgling career.

The start of a great journey

“My success in the Competition was a sort of seal of approval from the classical music world, and it gave me a huge amount of credibility as a young artist who was just starting out,” recalls Jodie. “After that, everything happened very quickly. I met my agent, and that led to auditions and performances in theatres all around the world.”

A partnership that opens doors

Supporting the talent of tomorrow is a goal that BNP Paribas Fortis has adopted by choosing to promote culture in all its forms. So it’s no accident that we’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of our partnership with the Queen Elisabeth Competition this year. “Thanks to BNP Paribas Fortis’ support, I was able to release my first album very quickly,” says Jodie Devos. “It was an opportunity that not many artists get, and the CD was a very useful calling card when I was starting out. Even today, it’s a wonderful souvenir, one I’m very fond of.”

Much more than classical music

Whoever said that a classical singer can’t listen to other types of music? It turns out that Jodie Devos has wide-ranging tastes. “It might seem surprising, but I don’t listen to much classical music, or rather only when I’m working,” she jokes. “Day-to-day, I listen to rock, pop and jazz. I grew up with those genres, listening to people like Queen, Jimmy Page and Hanson. It wasn’t until much later that classical music came into my life.”

If you want to discover more about the music that Jodie Devos loves, you can listen to the Spotify playlist that she’s compiled especially for you. You can also watch a video in which Jodie talks about this very personal selection of tracks.

Giving young artists every opportunity to develop their careers: another example of Positive Banking.