5 reasons to look forward to... Operetta Land

1. Steef de Jong

For years, the director, designer, performer and operetta aficionado Steef de Jong has enjoyed success with his productions that excite his audience’s imagination with ingeniously constructed cardboard sets. From a small tent at the travelling theatre festival De Parade to a grand show at Rotterdam’s Oude Luxor Theater, Steef casts an irresistible spell on his audiences, taking them along into a world of fantasy, operetta and fun. At Dutch National Opera he will appear on his biggest stage to date

Learn more about Steef de Jong in this article

2. Operetta

Up until a few decades ago, the Netherlands still had a fair number of operetta societies, but in recent years the genre seems to be caught in a negative spiral: the less familiar it is, the less that people are inclined to seek it out; the less that people seek it out; the less familiar it becomes. Operetta has acquired a reputation for being dusty and old-fashioned. Completely unjustified, says Steef de Jong, who has devoted his career to the genre: operetta is witty, opening the doors to our imagination and bringing a welcome breath of fresh air into our lives.

3. Young Dutch talent

In the pit is the National Youth Orchestra, made up of top musical talent between the ages of 18 and 26. On stage there are many young Dutch singers, including Elenora Hu, Frederik Bergman, Laetitia Gerards and Raoul Steffani. The Dutch National Opera Studio, the talent development programme of Dutch National Opera, is also well represented: in addition to Elenora Hu, the Israeli Maya Gour and the American Ian Castro also appear in Operetta Land.

4. Texts by Paulien Cornelisse

In Operetta Land, the main language is Dutch. To translate the sung texts and flesh out the dialogues, Steef de Jong enlisted the help of Paulien Cornelisse. This Dutch writer, comedian, columnist and presenter has a keen sense of the nuances of language and a humorous and slightly cockeyed view of the world. She is known for the books Taal is zeg maar echt mijn ding; De verwarde cavia; En dan nog iets and Taal voor de leuk, the documentary series Tokidoki (about Japan) and the podcast Echt Gebeurd (with Micha Wertheim).

5. From 8 to 88 (and above)

Operetta Land is suitable for all audiences: from young to old, with or without children or grandchildren. An immersion in the imaginative world of Steef de Jong has a positive effect on everyone!

• Operetta Land will run from 20 November to 30 December 2022 at Dutch National Opera