(Credit: David Peskens)

On May 20, Waut Koeken (intendant of Opera Zuid/Opera South), Sophie de Lint (director of the Dutch National Opera), and Bart van Meijl (interim director of Nederlandse Reisopera/Dutch National Touring Opera), signed a covenant in which the three opera houses will collaborate to develop talent.

The new agreement marks the first time that the three companies have explicitly expressed their ambition to work together.

The three houses will use their resources and experience for a long-term cooperation program and there will be an annual co-production with the three companies, which will be distributed nationally with a tour.

The National Opera Studio will play a major role in these co-productions and young Dutch singers or singers trained in the Netherlands will also collaborate within these productions.

In a statement, Koeken said, “Talent development and offering quality opportunities to young professionals is one of our top priorities. We see this long-term collaboration with the Reisopera and Dutch National Opera as an inspiring and necessary step towards further strengthening the young talent climate in the Netherlands. In the short term, we will act as a springboard for young talent to enter the professional field, and in the longer term we will guarantee the through-flow and quality of opera in the Netherlands.”

Meanwhile, De Lint noted, “We are convinced that this will be a real win-win collaboration, especially for the young talents we want to support, but also because the three opera companies will inspire each other, each from their own expertise. It’s a pleasure to work with my colleagues at the Nederlandse Reisopera and Opera Zuid.”

Finally, Van Meijl stated, “We are delighted that we will be further strengthening and shaping the collaboration with Dutch National Opera and Opera Zuid in the area of talent development in the coming years. Especially as we will be making a broad-based commitment to talent development. From singers to composers and from artistry to technique. We offer young talent the opportunity to experiment and develop further in various disciplines of opera and music theatre. In doing so, these three opera companies take on the shared responsibility of securing innovative and high-quality opera for future generations.”