Goud!

Jacob lives with his father and mother by the sea in a hollow under an old tree. One day, he catches an extraordinary fish. It looks at him with little black eyes and begs: ‘Throw me back and let me live and I’ll grant your every wish!’

Jacob’s parents know what to ask for. A warm blanket for cold nights. A real bed. A home. They get all they wish for but are still unhappy. Jacob keeps being thrown back into the sea with an ever increasing number of wishes. But could it be that the fish looks a little weaker each time? And why is the sea more and more agitated each time?

Composer Leonard Evers and librettist Flora Verbrugge wrote Goud! in 2012 for Theater Sonnevanck. The family opera became an international hit: various opera houses in Europe added the work to their repertoire. One of Sophie de Lint’s first wishes when she became Dutch National Opera’s director was to produce Goud!. The opera's premiere was repeatedly postponed due to the corona pandemic, and eventually it premiered online last season. In April 2022, the show will be performed live in our theatre.

For Dutch National Opera, Leonard Evers has also written the award-winning opera for preschoolers Kriebel which goes on tour this year.