Did you say ‘modern opera’?

[Disclaimer: I am recent opera aficionado, with no ties to the Dutch National Opera Ballet and without classical music training]

There’s a few things I look forward to every March: the first buds appearing on the Magnolia tree outside my window, the sound of calmer waves to-ing and fro-ing in Kijkduin, and the Opera Forward Festival (OFF), a fortnight of new and experimental pieces by the Dutch National Opera & Ballet.

New. Opera. Is it just me, or do those words seem odd next to each other? Surely opera is some old relic that we everyday modern folk aren’t supposed to understand, much less enjoy. Whose Italian and German lyrics will just fly over our heads? What am I supposed to wear? I don’t even own lace gloves, let alone opera glasses! (the answer: layers, since Maart roert zijn staart…)

But this is the Netherlands—the land of realism, even in art. My theory: the Dutch knew that they would not stand in competition against Vienna or Venice. Instead they chose to focus on modern opera, often with socially driven themes. Last year, pieces like Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence, which depicts the (fictional) aftermath of a mass shooting at an international school, and The Shell Trials, named after the landmark 2021 trial against the fossil fuel company, premiered at Waterlooplein. The plots are nuanced and give room to humanity without diluting the essence of each topic (for example, in Innocence, we do not hear from the shooter). 

With ticket prices starting at 19€ for those under 35 years, the Festival attempts to make opera accessible. Students may take advantage of the last-minute 20€ ticket available online and offline. All performances on the main stage are accompanied by Dutch and English surtitles (which, I learned just now, is a real word for captions appearing above a stage).

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This year, I had my eyes set on We are the lucky ones, which interviewed more than 70 people born during/post-WW2 (1940-1949) in Western Europe. What do older generations have to tell us? As a fan of the stories shared by Millanonna (Jang Myung Sook), Pasta Grannies, and of course, my own grandmother (who’s turning 93 this year), I was curious. In troubled times, don’t we look to the past for answers?

What I found most remarkable were the Opera’s playful approach to the backdrop (the cast plasters white A4 sheets onto a wall, on which snippets of their lives are projected onto), and its honest approach to one of the singers falling ill and losing her voice. Alto Helena Rasker still took the stage, with most of her singing delegated to a colleague in a corner: 

Since this is a new piece, we do not have anyone who can replace Helena. But our colleague [mentions name] has learned her parts in just two days—So tonight, we have not eight, but nine talented performers!

Overall, I was disappointed in the storytelling. Limiting the story of a generation to the middle class from Western Europe and the USA did not do what could have been a very ambitious story justice. The protagonists, born in the 1940s, witnessed a historical time: the last geographically global war in our textbooks (and may we hope it stays this way). The rebuilding of communities, cities, and countries are glossed over through the Swinging Sixties, as our Silents and Boomers climb up the social ladder. The context and impact of global events like 9/11 are brushed aside to keep the good vibes up. The plot haphazardly throws in a gay character indulging in a kiss with a boy only to never bring the spotlight to this again, and ends with the protagonists reflecting on their lives as they retreat through the backdoor, one by one. 

The audience burst into applause. The lady next to me asked what I thought about the piece, as a young person. Truthfully, I had been ready to go home half an hour ago, and remembered how my friend had texted me the day before: “[this other piece at OFF] I saw was matig”. That’s how I felt about We Are the Lucky Ones too: moderate, or adequate. I decided not to tell the kind lady what I really thought about the piece, as she walked out the hall, arm in arm with her husband. 

While I wasn’t a fan of this particular rendition, I hope to see We Are the Lucky Ones develop further somewhere. After all, this is what makes springtime beautiful: the promise of something new, of growth, of possibilities.

What are you looking forward to this spring? Did you visit the Opera Forward Festival by any chance? What kind of flowers and leaves are blooming outside your balcony? Let us know in the comments.