
WORLD PREMIERE
Dates
16-21 Mar 2024
Location
Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Main Stage
Running time
TBA
Tickets
From € 16

A crisis of responsibility
In 2021, a Dutch court ruled that Shell was legally responsible for its contribution to climate change. In The Shell Trial, the various voices in the climate debate are heard and it becomes increasingly clear that we will not make any progress by endlessly pointing the finger at one another. The message of this topical opera is that the climate crisis is above all a crisis of responsibility.
Photo: Marta Syrko
Start of ticket sales
General ticket sales for The Shell Trial start on 24 August 2023 at 12.00 midday. Want to make sure you don’t miss this moment? Then sign up for the ticket alert, and we’ll send you a reminder as soon as ticket sales begin.
Based on the prizewinning play
De zaak Shell
Performance information
Sung in English
Libretto Roxie Perkins; based on the play De zaak Shell by Anoek Nuyens and Rebekka de Wit
Musical direction and co-creation Manoj Kamps
Stage direction, concept and co-adaptation Gable Roelofsen and Romy Roelofsen
Set design Davy van Gerven
Lighting design Jean Kalman
Dramaturgy Willem Bruls, Saar Vandenberghe, Jasmijn van Wijnen
The Law/The Artist Julia Bullock
The Government Claire Barnett-Jones
The CEO Audun Iversen
The Consumer Anthony Leon
Nieuw Amsterdams Children’s Chorus (part of Nieuw Vocaal Amsterdam)
Children's choir conductor Anaïs de la Morandais
Academists and members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Commission by Dutch National Opera, in co-production with Het Geluid (Maastricht), Opera Philadelphia and Bregenz Festival
The lawsuit against Shell
The case against Shell was won by the environmental organisation Milieudefensie and supporting individuals in 2021. Shell lodged an appeal against the ruling, which will be heard in court in 2024 – the same year as the world premiere of The Shell Trial.
Order tickets
General ticket sales start on 24 August 2023 at 12.00 midday.

Composer Ellen Reid on The Shell Trial
Composer Ellen Reid on The Shell Trial

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is one of the world’s top orchestras. Since it was founded in 1888, it has worked with leading conductors and soloists. Klaus Mäkelä is the orchestra’s artistic partner and will become its chief conductor in 2027. The orchestra plays around eighty concerts a year in the Concertgebouw and forty in other prestigious venues. It also reaches music lovers around the world with its videos, streaming, radio and TV broadcasts, CDs and DVDs.
Photo: Simon van Boxtel

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