Koenraad Desiré Arthur (Koen) Crucke (born 11 February 1952 in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

) is a Belgian

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and actor of stage, television, and film. As an opera singer he has been particularly active at the

Vlaamse Opera The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwbu ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

where he specializes in character roles. He has appeared in numerous

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

productions as well. Since 1990, he stars as Albert 'Alberto Vermicelli' Vermeersch on the long-running Flemish-Belgian children's television series ''

Samson en Gert ''Samson & Gert'' is a Flemish children's television series produced by Eline van Noppen, centered on the talking dog Samson and his owner Gert. In its entire run, the show was originally aired on TV1 from Christmas Day 1989 until 1 December 19 ...

''. In 2009, Crucke told the Belgian newspaper

Het Nieuwsblad ''Het Nieuwsblad'' (; en, The Newspaper) is a Flemish newspaper that mainly focusses on "a broad view" regarding politics, culture, economics, lifestyle, society and sports. History and profile In 1929, ''Het Nieuwsblad'' was published by ...

, Albert is based upon the role of the gay hairdresser, he played in the movie

Koko Flanel ''Koko Flanel'' is a Belgian comedy movie directed by Stijn Coninx starring Urbanus, Bea Van Der Maat, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Herbert Flack and Ann Petersen. The movie was released in 1990 and was until 18 February 2009 the most successful F ...

but does not reveal anything about the sexual orientation of Albert.(nl) Koen Crucke wordt weer Albertoooooooo

Filmography

Films

TV

Personal life

In 2004 he married his long-time partner; becoming one of the first Belgian celebrities to take advantage of the newly established Same-sex marriage laws in Belgium.

References

External links

Official Website of Koen Crucke
1952 births Living people Belgian operatic tenors Belgian LGBT musicians Belgian gay actors Musicians from Ghent 20th-century Belgian male opera singers 20th-century Belgian male actors 21st-century Belgian male opera singers 21st-century Belgian male actors Politicians from Ghent {{Belgium-opera-singer-stub