Lennox

Lennox knows his father is suffering from a mysterious illness, but nobody tells him what's exactly going on. When his father forgets to take his lucky chain with him on the way to the hospital, Lennox decides to go after his father together with his best friend. 

Based on prize-winning book

The book’s author Zindzi Zevenbergen won a Zilveren Griffel, a prominent Dutch award for children’s books, in 2022; the illustrators Hedy Tjin and Brian Elstak won a Zilveren Penseel award. Their dynamic illustrations were a major source of inspiration for the aesthetics of this production.

Multi-instrumentalist and producer Bnnyhunna (Benjamin Ankomah) wrote the music for Lennox, his first opera. He received a Buma Music In Media Award in 2023 for his work, which combines jazz, gospel, afro and hip-hop influences. Maarten van Hinte (2023 Playwriting Award) adapted the book into operatic libretto and Marjorie Boston is the stage director.

During the creation process, text and music were further developed during working sessions in the studio with artistic team, musicians and cast. The process has been inspired by working methods from hip-hop (the cypher) and jazz, as well as from the Camerata fiorentina, the group of artists and thinkers who pioneered the very first operas in the late 16th century.

Director Marjorie Boston and librettist Maarten van Hinte are pioneers of hip-hop theatre in the Netherlands and the founders of hip-hop and urban production house RIGHTABOUTNOW INC. They produced the successful stage adaptation of Brian Elstak's children's book Tori in 2020. Besides operas for the big stage, Dutch National Opera also produces small-scale youth productions with creators working at the interface of artistic disciplines, such as Kriebel (2019), Hup Herman! (2023) and De theorie van alles (2023).