Tag Archives: Dutch National Opera

La Cenerentola Rossini: coloraturas by linear metre

Posted on December 21, 2019 by

  The first thing that catches the eye when entering the Dutch National Opera is the large number of young people who crowd into the cloakroom. The organisation has emphatically advertised its new production of La Cenerentola (Cinderella) as a … Continue reading →

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Tannhäuser at DNO: no ‘director’s theatre’ but subtle view on hypocrisy around love

Posted on April 11, 2019 by

Recently, a petition was launched for the restoration of Olivier Keegel’s press accreditation by Dutch National Opera. They no longer provide press tickets because he fiercely attacked Pierre Audi’s programming on the Flemish blog Operagazet and in the Dutch newspaper … Continue reading →

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George Benjamin on Lessons in Love & Violence: ‘Martin Crimp wrings music from me’ #HF18

Posted on June 16, 2018 by

The world premiere of George Benjamin’s opera Lessons in Love & Violence unleashed a true flood of 4 and 5 star reviews. Martin Crimp wrote the libretto, as he had done for Benjamin’s earlier operas Into the Little Hill and … Continue reading →

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Teodor Currentzis: Music to die for

Posted on May 5, 2018 by

He is praised and reviled for his idiosyncratic approach to classical masterpieces. According to Teodor Currentzis (1972) this is ‘a myth, I only do what the composer wants’. On Monday 7 May he will make his debut at Dutch National … Continue reading →

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George Benjamin on his opera Written on Skin: ‘We emphasize the unnatural’

Posted on February 8, 2018 by

George Benjamin (1960) is composer in focus of the coming Holland Festival. Apart from the Dutch premiere of his recent opera ‘Lessons in Love & Violence’ there’s a semi-staged performance of ‘Written on Skin’. Benjamin composed this highly successful opera in … Continue reading →

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Julia Bullock sings Anne Truelove in #TheRakesProgress: ‘Anne is a very mature woman’

Posted on January 31, 2018 by

At the first opportunity he abandons her. He leads a debauched life, marries someone else and ends up in the madhouse. Yet Anne Truelove keeps loving Tom Rakewell, the main character in The Rake’s Progress. On 1 February, Dutch National … Continue reading →

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