O.

Photo: Bas Czerwinski

The festival presents modern productions of the (inter)national top, but also work by young, adventurous makers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w-ReMCU2z0

O. is the new name for Operadagen Rotterdam since 2021. O. is a festival for curious visitors. O. stands for opera and breaking open the genre. O. focuses on adventure, talented makers and cross-links with genres: from performance to electropop and from smartlap to street culture. O. does not think in pigeonholes. O. is open minded. O. moves, renews and connects. O. is as diverse as Rotterdam.

Renewed cooperation de Doelen: new performances on sale or in advance
O. and de Doelen continue their solid relationship with a joint festival program in this iconic building. With concerts, performances and producers that fit with de Doelen, a concert hall that stands for tradition and class but also works innovatively and with a fresh view.
During O. in May 2022 you can experience in the halls of de Doelen the confrontational and poetic performance #uncut by the Nederlands Kamerkoor, the video concert The Garden with Claron McFadden and Songs of Nature, an ode to nature with Handel and new compositions.
MORE INFO & (PRE)SALES

O. x Dudok: unique real estate and legendary delicious apple pie
We are happy with the new collaboration with Dudok Horeca Group and Dudok Real Estate which brings together hospitality, monumental real estate and festival programming. Dudok is known in Rotterdam and far beyond for its delicious apple pie and hospitality at historic sites in the city. This collaboration offers O. the opportunity to program at these unique locations in the city and thus connect makers and audience.
Want to know more?

O. co-production on tour: Anthropocene, the musical
Club Gewalt plays a musical on steroids that uses the last weapon against the ecological crisis: make complexity digestible in a compelling epic with songs and dances.
Info & tickets

O. co-production on tour: VIAJERO DEL AMOR
Powerful vocals, raw stories, extravagant fashion; VIAJERO DEL AMOR [A Lover's Journey] is an eclectic musical (pop, jazz, folk) that reminds us that we have the power to overcome obstacles to fulfill our dreams.
Info & tickets

Some highlights with a Rotterdam twist:

Gabber4Life

The history of gabber is a very Rotterdam story. In the theater show Gabber4Life, a hard fairy tale, this story is told in a mash-up of hardcore, modern dance and opera. In an empty hall in the Westelijk Haven area, the energy of the 90s returns.

A crowdfund has been set up for Gabber4Life that has already caused a lot of commotion:

https://www.o-festival.nl/doneer

Sun & Sea - in collaboration with Brutus & Annabel

This international hit performance is coming to Rotterdam exclusively after New York, London and Moscow. Sun & Sea is a groundbreaking performance in spectacular form, in which concerns about the climate and typical first-world issues go hand in hand. The performance won The Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2019.

For the 'beach on the Maas' we are still looking for Rotterdammers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVkseGsdJlU&feature=emb_imp_woyt

First Dates

This year O. is once again pairing voices from different musical worlds together, which will again result in fantastic concerts. Imagine a duet between an opera diva and a rapper. Or: a pop queen jamming with a classical Arabic singer. During the festival, the two perform on stage together for the first time and are inspired by each other and the unexpected location.

This year's line-up includes Burak Savaş x Liselotte de Wilde (names and locations to be announced in collaboration with Dudok). Last year's participants included Luka and Stefanie Janssen: https://youtu.be/Pr2lCW5J4IY

Lost & Found

For five days there will be a glass house in the station hall in which writer Elfie Tromp collects stories from travelers and together with upcoming composer Meriç Artaç (ex-CODARTS) creates a daily piece of music. This mini opera/musical will also be performed in the station on the same day. The rush hour has never been so musical!

Lost & Found is a European collaboration and has previously been performed at stations in Antwerp, Brussels and London. In Rotterdam, O. will present the project together with Art Rotterdam between Monday, May 16 and Friday, May 20.

https://vimeo.com/648551009?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=20304630

Sheba Now! - in collaboration with Theater Zuidplein

Mix of music, dance, theater and stories from the Afrikaanderwijk. The makers (Miranda Lakerfeld in collaboration with Gemaal op Zuid and Koor op Zuid) continue what they started in 2018: bringing together the different cultures, religions and backgrounds that the district is rich. They do this through an ancient story about a mythical Queen Sheba. This story emerges in many guises, from the Bible and the Koran to Disney films and reggae, and so during O. also in Rotterdam Zuid.

RTV Rijnmond made a mini documentary about the working process with Het geheim van Feijenoord in 2018: https://www.rijnmond.nl/tv/aflevering/het-geheim-van-feijenoord-sheba-now/13028

Steefs O. Show - in collaboration with Luxor Theater & CODARTS

Make operetta great again! That's what Steefs O. Show stands for. Because is operetta really that frumpy? And is opera really always serious? Steef de Jong, together with Alex Klaasen, Brigitte Kaandorp* and the 75-piece CODARTS orchestra, has created a feast of recognition: well-known arias, soccer stadium classics and lots of humor.

* under embargo

https://www.luxortheater.nl/voorstellingen/5469/Steef%27s_O_Show

Portrait Series

Theater maker Annelinde Bruijs lives in the Tarwewijk and, together with the residents, goes in search of the question of what it means to live in the city, and in particular in this district. In this video-opera, everyday urban issues are addressed, but also fantasies about what Rotterdam should look like. And is it true that people don't really want to know each other, that individualization continues and life in the city is becoming increasingly anonymous?