OPERA FORWARD FESTIVAL 2021 Announced

The fifth edition of the Opera Forward Festival (OFF) will take place from 18-21 March on a custom-designed online festival venue. Under the overarching theme "Where do we go from here?", OFF will present daily thematic programming, completely free of charge and with English subtitles, accessible via operaforward.nl.

OFF enables Dutch National Opera to build bridges between opera and other art forms and between major International Artists and upcoming talent. OFF is intended for everyone who is curious about opera and music theatre in the world of today and tomorrow. In recent editions, OFF has proved it's not a stand-alone festival, but something that has become part of Dutch National Opera DNA, explains DNO director Sophie de Lint: "I see OFF as the engine for the entire company. OFF is a trailblazer and motivates us to innovate, to pursue new avenues with new talent. For example, take a look at the alternative programming we offered last year. It clearly reflects the influence of OFF."

Anthony Heidweiller, OFF's associate artistic director, talks about the role of young creators in the festival: "Their ideas, their thoughts and their vision not only about art, but about society as a whole, are very inspiring. These are upcoming artists and during Opera Forward they will learn essential things about themselves and their ability to create. And now, in the middle of a pandemic, more than ever before."

Thursday 18 March, 19:30 hrs | Man/emotion/sin
Pride, greed, lust, jealousy, gluttony, anger and sloth. The first OFF Night is dedicated to the deadly sins. In addition, we reflect on the power and role of art. The seven deadly sins play a central role in the eponymous music theatre work by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. They are also given a modern interpretation in seven new performances by spoken word artists.
* Marieke Lucas Rijneveld - winner of the International Booker Prize 2020, opens the evening, with a specially created poem reflecting on the power and importance of art.
* The Seven Deadly Sins (20:00 hrs) - The Seven Deadly Sins by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht is a razor-sharp piece of musical theatre that, in director Ola Mafaalani's interpretation, explores new avenues. With Dutch star soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek, actress Anna Drijver and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Erik Nielsen) in the spotlight. This performance can be watched via a one-time live stream, broadcast directly from our theatre.
* Seven spoken word artists - Opera Forward asked seven spoken word artists to create short performances with the seven deadly sins as their starting point. Suehaylee Vergouwen, Stryder, Lev Avitan, Danny Kuiper, Isis van Geffen, Manu Kersbergen and Houda Bibouda delve into the seven deadly sins of today.

Friday 19 March, 19:30 hrs | Talent/topicality/artistry
This OFF Night is all about artistry and the exchange between established artists and young talents. How do artists deal with the disappearance of their live stage and the online possibilities that replace it? Where do they go from here? Discover the possible directions in six new short student operas, the physical performance HCoV-NL63 by Gregory Caers with students of the MBO Theaterschool Rotterdam, and the special OFFspring projects by participants of previous editions of the festival.
* HCoV-NL63 - Renowned Flemish theatre maker Gregory Caers has become an OFF fixture with his unexpected, surprising performances with students of the MBO Theaterschool Rotterdam. In this new creation - named after a coronavirus strain - he explores how cold, dark feelings of a single individual can infect an entire group.
* OFF Talents - The makers of the future are currently being trained at conservatories, theatre schools and universities. OFF's intensive collaboration with professional art education gives them the opportunity to work on new short operas.
* This edition of OFF presents four OFF Stagings, for which artistic teams were inspired by operas from the early days of the genre, and two OFF Compositions, in which the emphasis lies on the creation of a completely new opera.
* OFFspring - OFF allows young makers to discover what it means to make opera and music theatre. To follow up on this first exploration and to help makers take new steps in their creative process, De Nationale Opera has launched OFFspring: unique new productions by makers who previously took part in OFF.

Saturday 20 March | Technology/identity/change
Technological developments are radically changing the way we live our lives. Simultaneously, traditional power structures and ideas about colour and gender identity are being increasingly questioned. What does a changing world mean for our sense of identity, and how does our sense of identity impact the world? And what role can - or should - art play in this? With a preview of the new Van der Aa opera Upload, musical performances and stimulating discussions.
The steam engine, the Internet, the smartphone. Technological developments have radically changed our lives and the way we relate to others, and will continue to do so. The same goes for social movements such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQIA+ activism. What does the future hold? Where do we go from here? And what responsibility does the artist have?
* Upload - preview (19:30 uur) - In his latest opera Upload, composer Michel van der Aa explores the impact of technological developments on our humanity, our identity and our relationships with others. Upload tells the story of a father (performed by Roderick Williams) and a daughter (Julia Bullock), with the father making the radical decision to have his mind uploaded to the cloud. During OFF, Upload is present in the form of a preview. Later this season, after the festival, Upload will have its world premiere in a film version. Finally, the live stage version of Upload will follow after the summer.

Sunday 21 March, 15:00 hrs | Singing/Dreaming/Celebrating
OFF closes with a Sunday afternoon for all generations.
* a pre-performance programme especially for children, as well as important conversations for adults about the importance of art and music education in schools.
* Een lied voor de maan - A Song for the Moon (16:00 hrs) - For our youngest audience (6+) we present by Mathilde Wantenaar, a composer who took part in the first edition of OFF in 2016 as a student and now returns with her first full-length opera. In Een lied voor de maan, Mathilde Wantenaar brings the imaginative animal world of writer Toon Tellegen to life.
* we also celebrate OFF's fifth anniversary.

In addition to the programming mentioned, live musical performances and talks can be followed on the online festival site: operaforward.nl.

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