Dutch National Opera presents
This show was to been seen in March 2020
Venue: until the 25th of March in CC Amstel
FAMILY OPERA (6+)
The government’s temporary decision to ban events and gatherings until 1 June 2020, in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus, means that Dutch National Opera & Ballet will be closed until that date. Read more information here: operaballet.nl/corona-update
Feeling lonely, Mole decides to write a song that will cheer up the moon. Grasshopper rehearses his orchestra until they know the song by heart. Then, one night, they put on a beautiful concert. So why does the moon look so sad afterwards…?
Illustration: © 2012 Mance Post
Photographer: Bjorn Frins
The wondrous world of Toon Tellegen
A Song for the Moon [Een lied voor de maan] is based on the eponymous children’s book by Toon Tellegen, who has won worldwide acclaim for his short stories featuring animals. Beloved by all ages, his work gives a philosophical spin to amusing and bizarre situations. Several of his stories have been set to music, including the Holland Festival production The Cricket Recovers (2011). The narrative of A Song for the Moon instantly struck a chord with composer Mathilde Wantenaar: ‘The story appealed to my musical imagination . […] It tackles important themes such as loneliness, identity, disappointment and friendship, but it is also a story about the power of music and its ability to bring people together.’
Team and cast A song for the moon
Mathilde Wantenaar
Mathilde Wantenaar (b. 1993) is a young composer who has already earned her spurs in the Dutch musical arena as well as at Dutch National Opera. She contributed her composing talents to the community project BOOM! | Amsterdam is an opera and wrote the short chamber opera personar for the first edition of OFF in 2016. A Song for the Moon, created for younger audiences, is Wantenaar’s first major opera.
Young artistic team
A Song for the Moon has its origins in a workshop organised by the European Network of Opera Academies. This network is an initiative by a number of opera houses, including Dutch National Opera, which develops masterclasses and workshops for young musicians, singers as well as stage directors.
A coproduction with La Monnaie/De Munt, Brussels; Festival Aix-en-Provence; Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, Madrid; Theaterakademie August Everding; München and Opera Zuid, Maastricht.
With the support of ENOA and the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union
A co-production with OperaZuid
Team, Cast and Chorus
- Composer
- Mathilde Wantenaar
- Libretto
- Mathilde Wantenaar & Willem Bruls
naar het gelijknamige boek van Toon Tellegen - Stage Director
- Béatrice Lachaussée
- Set Design
- Nele Ellegiers
- Costume design
- Nele Ellegiers
- Light design
- Cor van den Brink
- Video design
- Coen Bouman
- Dramaturgy
- Willem Bruls
- Music Ensemble
- National Youth Orchestra
- Violin
- Louis Barme
- Viola
- Bart Folkers
- Cello
- Renée Timmer
- Flute/Field Mouse
- Mirna Ackers
- Guitar
- Piotr Lipowicz
- Clarinet
- Simon Karremans
- Musical coach
- Leonard Evers
- Repetitor
- Brian Fieldhouse
- Assistant stage director
- Ella Marchment
- De Mole
- Nina van Essen
- The Grasshopper/Earth Worm
- Berend Eijkhout
- The Frog
- Jan Willem Schaafsma
- The Field Mouse/Moon
- Ginette Puylaert
- The Dormouse/Cricket
- Francine Vis
- Gezicht van de maan
- Evi De Jean
Opera Forward Festival
13 to 22 March 2020, the fifth edition of the Opera Forward Festival will take place. With OFF '20, Dutch National Opera brings different art forms, new talent and established artists together.
This production is part of Opera Forward Festival and is made possible by:
Founding Partners Opera Forward Festival
Production partner Opera Forward Festival
Partner OFF-Talents
Main sponsor Dutch National Opera & Ballet
