De Apenrots

For centuries, the opera repertoire has been dominated by male perspectives. In many classical works, we experience the story through the eyes of a man, female characters are shaped by male ideas, and men often speak on behalf of women.

In a two-week workshop series, five singers from Dutch National Opera, led by stage director Rennik-Jan Neggers, worked on selected scenes from Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia and Mozart’s Così fan tutte, reflecting on the representation of masculinity in opera—then and now. What do these roles reveal about male behavior, expectations, and identity? And how do the singers themselves engage with these issues today?

Under the title De Apenrots, they present the outcome of their exploration at Studio Boekman—a valuable musical and social inquiry.