February 2020
Frida
WORLD PREMIERE Frida by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa was inspired by the life story of Frida Kahlo. One of the most intriguing artists of the twentieth century, the Mexican-born Kahlo refused to bow to misfortune, zealously fought taboos and championed women's rights, and painted portraits that became famous the world over.
Duration: 2:15 break incl.
March 2020
Unboxing Ballet 2
The Junior Company has became a fixture in the Dutch theatre firmament. This season they’ll once more be touring the whole country to showcase a cross-section of the ballet repertoire. Unboxing Ballet 2, with creations of Hans van Manen and other leading choreographers, is sure to delight both die-hard dance fans and first-time audiences.
Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny
Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny is a satirical parable by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht about capitalism running rampant. There are no limits on what’s allowed in Mahagonny, as long as you can pay. Weill’s fusion of classical, jazz and popular tunes makes for a roller coaster musical production.
Duration: 2:45
A song for the moon
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
Duration: 1:00
April 2020
Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny
Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny is a satirical parable by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht about capitalism running rampant. There are no limits on what’s allowed in Mahagonny, as long as you can pay. Weill’s fusion of classical, jazz and popular tunes makes for a roller coaster musical production.
Duration: 2:45A song for the moon
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
Duration: 1:00
Four Seasons
In Four Seasons Dutch National Ballet presents the state of the art in today’s dance landscape, with three new creations by three world-class choreographers. Injecting classical ballet techniques with new influences and impulses, they reveal just how electrifying, edgy and inventive twenty-first century academic ballet can be.
May 2020
Grimm
In the world of GRIMM, Cinderella walks in sneakers and other familiar fairy tale characters are all given a funky twist. This is no sugar-coated fable, but a modern-day romp in which ballet and hip-hop dancers propel each other to ever greater heights.
New Moves 2020
Under Artistic Director Ted Brandsen, Dutch National Ballet has made a commitment to investing in the development of choreographic talent. New Moves is an annual dance event organised since Brandsen's appointment in 2003 to give company members a chance to develop their choreographic potential.
June 2020
Rusalka
Dvořák’s Rusalka is about a water nymph who dreams of a life on land, rooted in the tradition of the ‘undine’ as well as the opposition between man and nature. While Rusalka sacrifices almost everything to live as a human with her prince, she ultimately returns to the water utterly disillusioned.
Duration: 3:35
Beethoven
At the 2020 Holland Festival, Dutch National Ballet will present the world premiere of Beethoven. George Balanchine once remarked that ‘Dance should leave Beethoven well alone – there’s no choreographing to his music’. But plenty of choreographers have since proved him false. Making ballet to Beethoven may not be easy, but the results are sensational! In honour of his 250th birthday, Dutch National Ballet presents two masterpieces and one new creation inspired by the grand master’s music.
The monster in the maze
In the kingdom of Minos, there lives a fearsome creature: half man, half bull. The king keeps it locked deep inside a maze, feeding it the flesh of his enemies. Now, the king has ordered the city of Athens to sacrifice its youth – its future! – in order to feed the monster of Minos. The young hero Theseus believes that he can defeat the monster, but will he be able to keep his courage in the heart of the maze?
July 2020
The monster in the maze
In the kingdom of Minos, there lives a fearsome creature: half man, half bull. The king keeps it locked deep inside a maze, feeding it the flesh of his enemies. Now, the king has ordered the city of Athens to sacrifice its youth – its future! – in order to feed the monster of Minos. The young hero Theseus believes that he can defeat the monster, but will he be able to keep his courage in the heart of the maze?
September 2020
October 2020
Innocence
The new opera Innocence is based on a true story that took place in Finland in 2007. An international school became the stage for a school shooting. The opera tells a modern-day story about guilt, forgiveness and the feeling of a ‘life sentence’ brought on by a traumatic experience. A theme that is still shockingly topical.
Kriebel
Ever imagined the sound of an itch (kriebel) … in your belly? What would happen if that itch crept up your throat and slipped out of your mouth? If it flew through the air and landed – plop! – on the viola, then jumped – pling! – inside the marimba? After successful performances in 2019, Kriebel will be back at Dutch National Opera this year.
Duration: 0:40
La Bayadère
The pure dance in the ballet classic La Bayadère offers all the dancers of Dutch National Ballet a chance to shine. And so they do! With this love ballet full of intrigue, jealousy and deception - and with one of the most beautiful white acts - they always manage to win a lot of hearts.
Duration: 2:40November 2020
La Bayadère
The pure dance in the ballet classic La Bayadère offers all the dancers of Dutch National Ballet a chance to shine. And so they do! With this love ballet full of intrigue, jealousy and deception - and with one of the most beautiful white acts - they always manage to win a lot of hearts.
Duration: 2:40
Modern Masters
In Modern Masters, top dancers from Dutch National Ballet show off their fabulous technique and extraordinary versatility. Whereas in Hans van Manen’s Adagio Hammerklavier they must demonstrate extreme control and balance, in William Forsythe’s Pas/Parts 2018 they plunge headlong into a dizzying avalanche of ever-changing formations.
Dorian
In these days of selfies in which we seem forever young, a psychological thriller from 1891, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde, is chillingly topical. The story about a young man who isn't getting any older inspired Meisner and Gerris to create their third joint choreography. This invigorating, modern dance performance, that brings together ballet and hiphop, will appeal to dance-lovers of all ages.
December 2020
Aida
With this production of Aida, one of Verdi’s best-loved works returns to Dutch National Opera after twenty years, with a star-studded cast and a world-renowned director. An opera in which two lovers are torn between their love for each other and their love for their family and country.
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
Make sure you have the most beautiful places in 2020 at the cheaper rate of 2019! Because of the overwhelming success in 2019, The Nutcracker & The Mouse King will return in 2020. Tickets have been made available early for 10, 16 and 18 December 2020.
Duration: 2:20
January 2021
February 2021
Der fliegende Holländer
In Wagner’s romantic opera Der fliegende Holländer, both the ghostly seaman – the ‘Dutchman’ – and the captain’s daughter Senta yearn desperately for redemption. The one is doomed to spend eternity sailing a ghost ship, the other is trapped in a stifling world where she does not belong.
Colours of Ballet
Colours of Ballet offers a vivid spectrum of the ballet repertoire, from classics to contemporary new works. The programme’s common denominator? All the choreographies are Dutch-grown and will be performed by the Junior Company’s budding talent.
Stravinsky Fairy Tales
The most important contemporary classical ballet choreographer, Alexei Ratmansky, made two brilliant ballet fairy tales to music by Stravinsky: The Fairy's Kiss and Firebird. Rousing group scenes, brilliant pointe variations and majestic music drag you right through drama and suffering to the 'happy end'.
March 2021
Dorian
In these days of selfies in which we seem forever young, a psychological thriller from 1891, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde, is chillingly topical. The story about a young man who isn't getting any older inspired Meisner and Gerris to create their third joint choreography. This invigorating, modern dance performance, that brings together ballet and hiphop, will appeal to dance-lovers of all ages.
Oedipus Rex / From ‘Antigone’
Opera and ballet join forces for this new production of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex. In this unique artistic collaboration, the British choreographer and director Wayne McGregor bridges the world of classical tragedy with the language of contemporary ballet and 20th- and 21st-century music. Composer Samy Moussa wrote a penetrating and poignant response to Stravinsky’s masterpiece.
Oedipus Rex / From ‘Antigone’
Opera and ballet join forces for this new production of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex. In this unique artistic collaboration, the British choreographer and director Wayne McGregor bridges the world of classical tragedy with the language of contemporary ballet and 20th- and 21st-century music. Composer Samy Moussa wrote a penetrating and poignant response to Stravinsky’s masterpiece.
Upload
Eternal life. It’s possible. As an upload, a digital version of ourselves. It might sound like science fiction. But developments in this area are racing ahead at warp speed. Upload investigates what this means for our ‘humanness’, our identity, and our relationship with others.
April 2021
May 2021
Anna Bolena
‘Success, Trumph, Delirium!’ – the audience practically raised the roof at the premiere of Anna Bolena in 1830. With his melodious music, Donizetti transposed a historical situation into a world of intense emotion. He still manages to touch listeners as no other.
June 2021
Stravinsky’s Masterpieces
During the Holland Festival 2021 we will round off our Stravinsky Year with Stravinsky’s Masterpieces: three enthralling choreographies by Michael Fokine, Krzysztof Pastor and Shen Wei. Exclusively for this programme, Dutch National Ballet will join forces with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which will perform all three compositions under the baton of the Spanish conductor Gustavo Gimeno.
