New 'Bach opera' will premiere; tour is cancelled due to Covid-measures
From January to March 2022, OPERA2DAY and the Netherlands Bach Society were to perform a unique opera production as part of the Bach Society's 100th anniversary: J.S. Bach - The Apocalypse, or 'the opera that Bach never wrote'. Unfortunately, due to the Covid measures as announced by the Dutch government on January 25, we had to decide that even though we can premiere this production, we have to cancel the tour of 26 performances throughout the Netherlands.
For the coming weeks the Dutch theatres will have to apply the 1,5-meter distance rule for their audiences. As a performing company we want to deliver music and theatre in all thinkable circumstances. However, the number of people we take on tour (about 70) in this production, is not in balance with the number of people allowed in the audience.
Moreover, part of this production has always been the ambition to reach a diverse and younger audience. Much effort has gone into setting up an elaborate education and participation program. We were also planning an outreach program that would go beyond the auditorium and reach a much wider audience by going into the topics of the opera. All of this was a fundamental part of the project from the beginning and is a big loss to have to cancel.
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We do feel it is very important to finish the preparation process and end this production on a high note. Therefore, we will go on with the try out in Haarlem on 30 January. On February 8 and 9, we will perform the pre-premiere and the world premiere in the Royal Theatre of The Hague for the allowed very limited audience number. Also, these performances will start at 19:00 to be able to end before 22:00 – as the Covid measures at this moment dictate.
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We are sad and disappointed that this opera, which we have worked on with so much energy while navigating around the limitations of the pandemic (rehearsal with face masks, cast and/or crew members ill or in quarantine, already cancelled performances, uncertainties about ticket sales), now has to be postponed to 2024: the year in which the agendas of the Netherlands Bach Society and OPERA2DAY allow us to stage the production again.