ARIANNA A NAXOS / WHAT PRICE CONFIDENCE / L’ISOLA DISABITATA
(TRIPLE BILL)

JOSEPH HAYDN / ERNST KRENEK / JOSEPH HAYDN

Two months after our premiere of L’isola disabitata, maestro Kenneth Montgomery died. It was a privilege and a pleasure to work closely with him on this wonderful project at DNOA, in collaboration with “his” Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. The maestro – always with a twinkle in his eye – brightened up the rehearsal breaks with an abundance of entertaining anecdotes. His profound knowledge of music and his desire to get to the essence of the composer’s intentions guided us all during the rehearsal phase. His way of being persistent in the most gentle manner and his ability to combine precision with imagination are and will be an inspiration to me. (MD)

L’ISOLA DISABITATA

ARIANNA A NAXOS

WHAT PRICE CONFIDENCE

scène 1

scène 2

scène 4

scène 5

scène 6

scène 8

scène 9

PHOTO'S © Reinout Bos 2023

PRODUCTION

Dutch National Opera Academy
(a cooperation of the Conservatory of Amsterdam and the Royal Conservatory The Hague)
artistic director DNOA: Paul McNamara
première: 18 January 2023

conductor: Kenneth Montgomery (L’isola disabitata)
orchestra: Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century (L’isola disabitata)
piano: Daan Boertien (What Price Confidence)
fortepiano: Peter Nilsson (Arianna a Naxos)
stage director / set design: Michiel Dijkema
costume design: Mattijs van Bergen
light design: Jasper Nijholt

ARIANNA A NAXOS
Arianna: Sterre Decru / Rommie Rochell
Bacchus: Alexander Oliver

WHAT PRICE CONFIDENCE
Edwin: Jitze van der Land
Gloria: Hannah Gries / Taylor Burgess
Richard: Theodor Uggla
Vivian: Rommie Rochell / Sterre Decru

L'ISOLA DISABITATA
Costanza: Maria Warenberg / Hannah Gries
Enrico: Fabian Homburg/ Filips Krauklis
Silvia: Sharon Tadmor / Samantha Faina
Gernando: Hugo Kampschreur / Marcelo Alexandre
1st sailor: Filips Krauklis / Fabian Homburg
2nd sailor: Marcelo Alexandre / Hugo Kampschreur

PRESS QUOTES

“deep despair and loneliness beautifully expressed”

“Deep despair and loneliness beautifully expressed in a stylish, simple staging by a great talent. […] Krenek’s difficult, funny and somewhat forced chamber opera What price confidence was performed lively and sparkling. Director Michiel Dijkema had taught the young soloists quite a few stage skills, exactly what this kind of productions are intended for. […] We previously wrote about what conductor Kenneth Montgomery and director Michiel Dijkema brought with them in terms of knowledge and experience and all the singers eagerly made use of that. […] the perfect ending to a sparkling evening in The Hague”

Bo van der Meulen
Opera Magazine
23 January 2023

“the more risks the young opera singers take, the more fun it is to watch them”

“The students of the Dutch National Opera Academy showed what they were made of in three operas by Haydn and Ernst Krenek. The differences were great, but there was more than enough to enjoy. The round stage in the conservatory hall, on the top floor of the immense Amare in The Hague, resembled an arena on Wednesday evening. Accompanied by Kenneth Montgomery and his Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, among others, the young singers of the Dutch National Opera Academy took turns entering the ring […]
In Ernst Krenek’s What Price Confidence, the momentum really picked up. The more risks the young opera singers take, the more fun it is to watch them. […] The showpiece, Haydn’s L’isola disabitata, with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, was a hilarious story about lovers who find each other on a deserted island: a joyous opera party.”

Eva Peek
NRC
9 January 2023

“a wonderful performance […] directed by Michiel Dijkema with great imagination”

“an experience to never forget […] valuable evening in the Amare Conservatory Hall in The Hague. There, the Dutch National Opera Academy (DNOA) presented a wonderful performance with three different pieces. DNOA thus offers valuable stage experience to a dozen singing youngsters who are in the final phase of their training at the conservatories of The Hague and Amsterdam. In Haydn’s L’isola disabitata, directed by Michiel Dijkema with great imagination, Montgomery once again showed why he is unsurpassed in this repertoire. He led the orchestra and singers through this original score with just the right touch. What Montgomery achieved in the orchestrally accompanied recitatives was genius. This made this forgotten work sound like a real masterpiece.”

Peter van der Lint
Trouw
21 January 2023

“no fear of some roughness and physical contact”

“Wednesday evening, January 18, the premiere of a triple bill took place in which a chamber opera by Ernst Krenek was flanked by two works by Joseph Haydn. It was a great success in every respect. […]
Contemporary opera singers must be veritable all-rounders and, above all, have no fear of some roughness and physical contact. DNOA clearly pays a lot of attention to this, so that complete artists are delivered. […]
exciting theater […] very creative”

Peter Franken
Place de l’Opéra
20 January 2023

“Dijkema’s expert staging brings alive an imaginative triple bill”

Dijkema’s expert staging brings alive an imaginative triple bill
a dramatically impressive performance […] Dijkema decided to produce the cantata in its wider context by having Bacchus on the stage. […] It was an idea that worked exceptionally well and magnified the effect of the drama. Its conclusion also added a convincing twist, so that Arianna, suffering the effects of Stockholm syndrome, eventually falls in love with her captor, and the cantata ends with them kissing each other. This tied in perfectly with the myth: Arianna went on to bare Bacchus 13 children.

Alan Neilson
OperaWire
25 January 2023

“riotously funny […] The time flew by!”

Krenek’s rarely performed 1945 opera, What Price Confidence came as a real surprise and was undoubtedly the standout work of the evening, due in no small part to Dijkema’s direction and the excellent singing of the young, talented cast, who engaged so imaginatively and enthusiastically with their characters. Reading through the libretto does not exactly fill the reader with high expectations, yet in Dijkema’s hands, this was turned into a riotously funny piece, reminiscent of a Rossini farce, that kept the audience fully entertained. The time flew by!

Alan Neilson
OperaWire
25 January 2023

“energy, movement, and commitment”

L’Isola Disabitata, written in 1779 to a libretto by Metastasio, is defined as an azione teatrale, a serious opera without any comic element. […] Dijkema’s approach, however, was to search out all the possibilities for introducing comedy into the drama, and he found many and set them alongside Costanza’s heartfelt emotions. It was a risky strategy; introducing comedy into a serious drama rarely succeeds, but in this case, it worked perfectly. […] The floor of the stage was covered in rocks and what appeared to be black volcanic ash, which gave the impression that the island was not a hospitable place. Very little in the way of props was added. There was the boat and oars and some ropes to tie up Gernando, but little else. Yet the energy, movement, and commitment that the cast invested into their performances ensured that the audience was fully absorbed, lapping up the fun and frolicking while also sympathizing with Costanza.
[…] Dijkema’s direction was expertly crafted to bring out convincing performances from the singers while ensuring that each work was dramatically strong

Alan Neilson
OperaWire
25 January 2023