Tobias Kokkelmans
Tobias Kokkelmans studied theatre science and musicology. He currently is dramaturge at Wunderbaum, teaches at the Amsterdam School for the arts and Codarts Rotterdam, and writes about theatre for Theaterschrift Lucifer and Etcetera. He previously worked at Emio Greco | PC, Flanders Festival, Pascale Platel and at the Ro Theater.
Wunderbaum is a group consisting of actors, a designer, a dramaturge, musicians, writers, photographers and film producers. Their work is inspired by the energy that is released between their personalities and the outer world. Wunderbaums way of working is chameleonic; it can take on many shapes. Their performances are always the result of newly discovered theatre forms combined with new interests in humankind or social themes. He currently is dramaturge at Wunderbaum and Operadagen Rotterdam. (Photo Fred Ernst)
Linde Schinkel
Linde Schinkel, soprano, got her Master degree as a student of Xenia Meijer in 2011 (Fontys Conservatory). Earlier she got her bachelor degree at the Rotterdam Conservatory.
Linde sings solo in oratoria, like Bachs Matthäus Passion, the Messiah of Händel,the Requiem of Mozart and Hör mein Bitten of Mendelssohn. She is also a member of 2 ensembles of early music: ‘Udite!’ and ‘Rood Hout’. They perform regularly, and in February 2013 the first cd of ‘Rood Hout’ was a fact.
Besides her work as a spoprano solist, Linde develops contemporary music theatre with classic singing, under the name of VOX Music Theatre (voxmuziektheater.nl). Her programme ‘Vers Hartzeer’ with baroque and new solocantates won the ‘Almost Famous Award 2010’ of the Ostadetheater in Amsterdam. Linde is part of the collective Kameroperahuis, with whom she plays “Leonore’s Fidelio’ during the Operadagen Rotterdam. (Photo E.Wenting)
Nina Hitz
Nina Hitz was born in Switzerland, is currently living in The Netherlands and finished her graduate studies in Baroque cello at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. A very active, questing spirit who consistently seeks the unknown in life and in music, in addition to baroque music, Hitz is active with experimental music, improvisation and theatrical performances.
She is a member of Belfontis, with Forte Piano player Kaoru Iwamura, where they are specialized in early romantic music, Traces and Resonances, with dancer Sato Endo, Jargon, with leader Maurice Horsthuis. She has played in theater- and dance productions of Orkater, Olivier Provily, ‘t Barre Land, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and les Ballets C de la B.
Arjen Leendertz
Arjen studied classical double bass at the Rotterdam Conservatory with Peter Leerdam and graduated for his Masters degree in June 2007. In 2007, 2008 and 2009 he took part in masterclasses with Duncan McTier in Sion, Switzerland. He also had masterclasses with Rinat Ibragimov Ekkehard Beringer, Stephan Petzolt, Silvio Dalla Torre, Peter Luit, Teppo Hauta-Aho and David Heyes.
Arjen is a member of the double bass section of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He is often invited to work as an extra player with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Netherlands Philharmonic, and as guest Principal in the North Netherlands Orchestra. At the Rotterdam Conservatory Arjen became Double bassist of the tango department orchestra named “OTRA”, they went on tour to Argentina in 2006. Arjen is a member of the Gustavo Beytelmann trio and has also worked with other tango ensembles, notably Quarteto Mala Pinta, Quinteto El Despues (in Paris) and Quinteto Zárate.
Jacqueline de Maat
Jacqueline studied fashion design at the Art Academy in Rotterdam. She worked with (a.o.) Stichting Kamer Opera Nederland, O.T. Theater & Opera O.T., Ro Theater, Werkplaats L/V, Bonheur, Jeugdtheaterschool Gouda and Dordrecht, Het Nationale Toneel, Cosmic Theater.
Besides designing costumes for Theatre and Opera, she also worked with cloth in scenography. Sometimes small, like the puppets for ‘Tuin’ (O.T. Theater 2006), ‘Die Zauberflöte’ (2008, Nationale Reisopera) and the puppets for OT Opera ‘L’enfant et les Sortiléges’ (2012). Sometimes big, like the scenery of the Opera ‘Kwasi & Kwame’ (Opera O.T., 2007) and the houses in the youth performance ‘De Grote Wereld’ (O.T., 2008).
Cora Schmeiser
Cora Schmeiser, born in Germany, studied singing at the Royal Academy of the Hague in the Netherlands. There she specialized in Early music, especially medieval music, and as a member of the Dutch Vocaallaboratorium she developed her experience and love for modern music. The play of words, content, sound and voice is the base of her work, which is expressed in performances of different art disciplines and music-theatre productions.
Cora performed in festivals as Wien Modern, Operadagen Rotterdam, Oerol-Festival and YO! Operafestival serveral times as well as in theatre productions like Doedada with theatergroup Hotel Modern, Kurt Schwitters 'der verrückte Antibürger', 'Songbooks' by John Cage, as the solo-operas 'Four', 'A Song of fight and solution', 'News Real, a mediaoper' and 'Ordo virtutum' by Hildegard von Bingen with ensemble Ars Choralis Coeln. In her new programme 'Timetravel of a trobairitz' Cora found a way to melt both her fascinations: music of the middleages and music of our time.
Florien Hilgenkamp
The Dutch soprano Florien Hilgenkamp received her Master of Music degree from the Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam. She received a prize awarded by the public of the “Prix d’Harmonie” competition in Rotterdam. She gave a solo recital at Carnegie Hall in New York (Netherlands American Community Trust). She performed repertoire of Schumann on the Dutch Radio 4 in the show Viertakt Podium. Florien has sung the soprano soloist of the cantatas and passions of Bach and religious words of Händel, Purcell, Fauré, Buxtehude and Vivaldi. She was the soprano soloist in Magnificat(Bach), conducted by Philip Pickett. She also sang solo in modern repertoire like Dances (L. Andriessen, Codarts Symphony Orchestra) and Folk Songs (Berio, Rotterdam Ensemble). She worked with conductors like Roy Goodman, Henk Guittart and Hans Leenders.
Lukas Simonis
Lukas Simonis is a musician, composer, performer, radiomaker and cultural coordinator, mainly active in the experimental music and sound art. He started his musical career in Dutch punk and experimental bands such as Demogorgon, Dull Schicksal, Morzelpronk, Trespassers W and later Aa Kismet, Vril, Static Tics and Coolhaven. He also worked at The Jazz Bunker, Dodorama and WORM.
Simonis worked with a large series of experimental musicians (a.o. Pierre Bastien, Eugene Chadbourne, Anne La Berge, Chris Cutler, Bob Drake, Alan Jenkins, Adam and Jonathan Bohman). He made several cd's with these and other musicians. His works are sometimes referred to as electronic opera's. With G.W. Sok (ex-singer of The Ex) he did the movie soundtrack for the short film 'Illusies' (2011) and started the band 'Zoikle'. Simonis is also working for dutch (VPRO Radio 6, Cafe Sonore) and international (ao. Radia network) radio, and is producing and curating radiophonic pieces and radioplays.
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Erik-Ward Geerlings
Erik-Ward Geerlings (1963) is a director and an author, working for theater and opera. He created more than 30 theatre plays and libretti, most of them for (music)theatre companies like Onafhankelijk Toneel, Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Els Inc., K.V.S. Brussel, Huis van Bourgondië, Com.Plot, Artemis, Zuidelijk Toneel, ZTHollandia, Het Vervolg.
His work is unique in the Dutch theater world. Geerlings uses a rich and poetic language. He plays with words and characters, and likes to use rhymes and comparisons. Press about Mephisto, 2012: ‘the quotations are alarmingly up to date and cause strong after-effects, thanks to Erik-Ward Geerlings. He gave Klaus Mann’s book words that not only picture an historic period, but also reveals the painful elements of our time’
Isabella Scholte
Isabella Scholte, singer with a wide repertoire; from classical music and opera to musicals and light music! After her classic conservatory training (Rotterdam and Dresden) she sang as a solist in various concerts, like 'The Medium' (G.C. Menotti), “Petite Messe Solemnelle” (G. Rossini), “Mattheus Passion” (J.S. Bach), “Messe des Morts” (J. Gilles), “Das Buch der Hangenden Garten” (Schonberg) and “Die Zauberflote” (W.A. Mozart). She's part of singers act 'Noblesse Oblige'.
Besides being a host for Wake up in Opera, Isabella also organizes a special evening with music (by Isabella) and food (by Mucho Gusto). This event will take place during Operadagen Rotterdam. Book for this dinner/music evening at info@wakeupinit.com
Marielle Verdijk
Marielle Verdijk is a scenographer and organizer in the music- and music theatre scene.Until recently she worked as a programmer and organizer for DE PLAYER, a polymorph production platform for experimental music, performance and art. Her scenographic work for theater and ensembles is characterized by simple gestures and tactility.
At the moment she is active as a member of TRICKSTER, a multidisciplinary performance collective with a focus on group-dynamics and the mechanisms of instant collaboration. With backgrounds in art, music and theatre, TRICKSTER uses the concept of 'emergent-form composition', a very open structure in which the performers discover or create forms together, without any preconceived ideas about how the performance should look like. Continuous interaction between individual and group create an ever evolving and fragile edifice of sound, movement, object, action and text.
Falk Hübner
Falk Hübner is a composer and theatre maker, creating experimental stage works which fall between concert, installation and performance as conceptualist, composer and director. Falk is part of the first collective of the Kameroperahuis Zwolle (chamber opera house Zwolle, NL). During the Operadagen they perform ‘Leonore’s Fidelio' in the old prison in Rotterdam.
Falk works as senior lecturer at the Utrecht School of Arts (HKU) for the new master study in Performance Design, and is programme coordinator of this study. Related to this new challenge Falk is member of the team of the Research Centre for Theatre Making Processes around Nirav Christophe, also part of the HKU. He is currently finishing his PhD dissertation: "Shifting Identities" on musicians as theatrical performers. The trajectory will result in a new performance and a doctoral dissertation.
Keimpe de Jong
Keimpe de Jong (1957) graduated in 1981 from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He operates as a composer and player in the field of musictheatre and modern opera: songs, sung monologues, instrumental- and theatrical scene and underscore.
For the 'Hofplein Youth Theatre', he composed music for dramatizations of 'Odysseus' travels', 'Animal farm' and 'Don Quixote'. For the RO theater he wrote music for 'Reuzen', 'We zijn blij' and 'Het Misverstandt.
Since 15 years he writes the music for the theater monologues of John Buysman: often biographical plays about famous jazz-musicians, poets, boxers and other men living on the edge.
Press about 'De Broekneus': "Musician Keimpe de Jong creates a wonderful new genre: the opera of fornication"(NRC)
Rotterdamse Salon / Anja Berkelaar
It is a miracle this 18 " century building is still there. It survived the bombing of Rotterdam in 1940, the fire following it, a shell in the roof and modern threats like urban renewal plans.
The Rotterdamse Salon is inspired by the French Salon, known for 'either to please or to educate'. Exchange of idea's, Enlightment, idealistic views on politeness, civility and honesty were the main forces behind the succes back then. Our 21" century Salon breathes the Rotterdam Spirit. You are invited to breath with us; People, minds and senses are stimulated. Part of the activities is organized by Salonnière Anja Berkelaar. She has a preference for modern opera and theater concerts, and likes to welcome you as a guest to spend the night at the Rotterdamse Salon. The Salonnière will serve you breakfast and would like to have an artistic conversation with you!
Karin Netten
Karin Netten studied for stage director at the Regie Opleiding of the Theaterschool (Amsterdam). For her graduation play ‘De Nacht, de Moeder van de Dag’ she received an honourable mention of the Ton Lutz jury at the ITs festival 2008. Netten directs repertoire theatre, new texts, musictheatre and improvised performances. She worked (a.o.) for the Ro-theater, Productiehuis Brabant and the Kameroperahuis.
Currently she is a director and a trailblazer for the collective Kameroperahuis. Her goal as a director is to develop and expand the opera and musical theatre genre together with talented members of her own generation. Her further ambition is to inform and enthuse the wider public about these artforms. Karin is a team player, and her dream is to create a new opera that will remain in the repertoire for many years to come. She wants to create moving, tragicomic musical theatre performances allowing the talents of all those involved to blossom.
