Former artistic director of Dutch National Opera Pierre Audi (67) has passed away
It is with sadness and dismay that we have learned of the sudden death of Pierre Audi (67), former artistic director of Dutch National Opera (1988 – 2018).
With the passing of Audi, the opera world has lost an absolute icon, who has worked tirelessly and with great dedication for the art form. He was an enormous force in the arts, as artistic director, curator and, of course, as a stage director. He leaves a lasting mark on the Dutch opera, music and theatre world.
Audi played a crucial role in the development of Dutch National Opera and managed to build a reputation for the company that rose to international acclaim. During his thirty years as artistic director of Dutch National Opera, he tirelessly worked for the opera company to be a product of its time: progressive and accessible, with room for risks and innovation.
Audi approached opera as an inexhaustible source of expressive possibilities and contemporary relevance. He commissioned present-day composers such as Alfred Schnittke, Manfred Trojahn, György Kurtág and Louis Andriessen. He also collaborated with visual artists for the design of opera productions, such as Karel Appel, Georg Baselitz and Anish Kapoor, and worked with important directors such as Peter Sellars and Simon McBurney. In 2016, he initiated the annual Opera Forward Festival for the 50th anniversary of Dutch National Opera.
As a stage director, Pierre Audi celebrated great success at Dutch National Opera and beyond with, among other things, his Monteverdi cycle, Stockhausen’s aus LICHT and Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. The poetic, timeless and monumental quality of his productions have made an indelible impression.
His erudition, historical knowledge and broad taste made him an exceptional stage director and programmer. With his visionary and fearless artistry, he has been an inspiration to many and will continue to be so. His legacy lives on in our house.
After his departure as director, he returned to the company several times as a director with Fin de Partie (2019), aus LICHT (2019) and Eurydice – Die Liebenden, blind (2022). In February 2026, his production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde will return to Dutch National Opera & Ballet.
In addition to his directorship at Dutch National Opera, Audi was artistic director of the Holland Festival from 2005 to 2014. Since 2015, he has been artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory in New York and since 2018 of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
Pierre Audi has received various awards, including the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Theater Prize (2001) and the Johannes Vermeer Prize (2009). In 2000, he was appointed ‘Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion’, and in 2014 Audi received the ‘Silver Medal’ from the city of Amsterdam.
Our condolences go out to his wife, two children, and loved ones. We wish them much strength and courage in coping with this great loss.
Supervisory Board, management and employees of Dutch National Opera & Ballet.
The online book of condolence offers space to share a personal message or memory of Pierre Audi.