Janny Zomer began her musical studies as a flautist at the Conservatorium of Groningen, before deciding to change to singing with Mya Besselink at the Conservatorium of Maastricht. She went on to study further at the International Opera Centrum Nederland with Margreet Honig. She was a finalist as Donna Elvira in the International Don Giovanni Wettbewerb in Athens and was runner-up in the Internationale Concours de Chant Toulouse 1998 and the Christina Deutekom
Concours 1999.
In 2006 she replaced Carol Vaness at short notice with great success in the role of Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana) conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Janny Zomer has also sung the Countess (Le nozze di Figaro) for Opera Zuid and Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos 2001), Tosca (Tosca 2002/5), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana 2004), Hanna (Die Lustige Witwe 2005) and Gabriele (Wiener Blut 2006) for The International Opera Stichting Amsterdam. Outside the Netherlands she has sung Nella (Gianni Schicchi 2003) in Luxembourg and Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw 2004) in Germany. With the Nationale Reisopera she sang Miss Jessel in 2002 and 2006. She also sang Anna in a concert performance of Le Villi in 2005.
In 1996 she made her debut with the Netherlands Opera singing Vertraute in Willy Decker’s production of Elektra conducted by Hartmut Haenchen. Further work followed with Masha (Pique Dame 1998) and Dama (Macbeth 2003).
Her 1996 debut with the Nationale Reisopera singing Diana in L’Arbore di Diana was followed by 2nd Flower Maiden (Parsifal 1997), Feklusa (Katya Kabanova 1998), Sacerdotessa (Aida 1999), Die junge Dirne (Reigen/Boesmans 1999), 2nd Niece (Peter Grimes 2000), Vrouw van de menseneter (Pollicino/Werner Henze 2003).
On the concert podium she has sung Lady Macbeth (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk) with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta in the Concertgebouw and Masha and Prilepa (Pique Dame) on radio. She was also soloist in a Kurt Weill programme with the Nationale Ballet.
Her contemporary music performances include, L’Oiseau de la Guerre (Harlap) with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest conducted by Jan Stulen and Les Aveux de Phèdre(Johan Wagenaar) with the Radio Symphonie Orkest under Eri Klas. She has a wide oratorio repertoire, including the Verdi and Dvorak Requiem, The Company of Heaven (Britten), La Petite Messe Solenelle (Rossini) and Stabat Mater (Szymanovski).
Her future plans include Sieglinde (Die Walküre) in Bangkok in 2008, Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn and the Fourth Symphony with Michael Tabachnik and Wagner’s Wesendoncklieder and Isoldes Liebestod with the Holland Symfonia. She will also sing Helmwige in Die Walküre with the Vlaamse Opera.
Janny Zomer has worked with conductors like Eri Klas, Thierry Fischer, Reinbert de Leeuw, Julian Reynolds, Carlo Rizzi, Semyon Bychkov, Hartmut Haenchen, Lawrence Renes, Ed Spanjaard, Nikolaj Alexeejev, Peter Selwyn, Mark Elder, Gert Albrecht en Mark Wigglesworth.