The bass Martin-Jan Nijhof was born in Ravenstein in the Netherlands, studied at the Maastricht Conservatory (NL) with Barbara Schlick and completed his postgraduate studies at the State University of Music in Freiburg with Prof. Reginaldo Pinheiro. An important companion on his vocal and musical path is bass Prof. Dr. Jaakko Ryhänen (FIN). After permanent engagements in Passau, Regensburg and Magdeburg, Martin-Jan has been a permanent ensemble member of the Semperoper Dresden since 2016.
His repertoire includes, among others, Don Giovanni, Figaro ("Le nozze di Figaro"), Escamillo ("Carmen"), Wozzeck, Kaspar ("Der Freischütz"), the 4 Villains ("The Tales of Hoffmann"), Colline ("La Bohème"), Orest ("Elektra"), Raimondo ("Lucia di Lammermoor"), Orovese ("Norma") and Bottom ("A Midsummer Nights Dream"). He has already worked with conductors such as Christian Thielemann, Marek Janowski, Lawrence Forster, Omer Meir Wellber, Daniele Calligari, John Fiore, Keri-Linn Wilson, Jonathan Darlington, Paul Daniel, Pietro Rizzo, Antonio Fogliani and Giampaolo Bisanti.
Martin-Jan Nijhof has also appeared as a soloist on numerous CD, DVD and television recordings. For example, with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra in "Il Tabarro", with the NDR Radio Orchestra Hanover in "La Bohème", "Rigoletto", "Traviata" and "Tosca", with the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra in "La fanciulla del West" and with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in Don Giovanni.
In addition to his stage activities, concert work is also very close to his heart. His repertoire includes the bass parts in Bach's St. Matthew and St. John Passions as well as the Christmas Oratorio, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Handel's Messiah, Dvorák's Stabat Mater, Beethoven's 9th Symphony and Mendelssohn's Elijah.