September 2026 will be all about TESEO by G.F. Händel
The opera will be cut (also some roles are cut), because it’s too long. The total will be around 2x 50 minutes.
In our version Teseo has 6 roles, (12 with double cast.)
Teseo: (mezzo) soprano
Agilea : soprano
Clizia: soprano
Arcane: mezzosoprano
Egeo: mezzosoprano
Medea: soprano
NOTE: At the time of writing, Medea has already been fully cast.
The story in a nutshell:
Agilea and Clitzia have been brought to the safety of Egeo’s court while Teseo is still out there fighting. Agilea and Teseo are in love with eachother. And Agilea is eager to know about his state. She send Arcane and Clitzia to check up on Teseo. Arcane is in love with Clitzia and is not afraid to show it. Clitzia however is not convinced about his feelings. She wants to see if Arcane is brave and sends him over to Teseo to check his state of being and report back to her.
Medea and King Egeo have an understanding that, when the troubled times are over, they will marry since she helped him a lot to overcome many difficulties.
But once the turbulent times are over, Egeo rathers marries the beautiful Agilea. Medea is OK with that since she is interested in the brave Teseo.
This is classic opera. Lets see who is gonna marry who in the end….
TEAM:
Jörn Boysen: Musical Director
Meneka Senn : Stage Director
Gregor Lamers: Production Leader on loaction
Saskia Pfaeltzer: Set design
Sjoerd van de Velde: set and prop building
Dates:
The total project takes place from:
SATURDAY september 12 to OKTOBER 4th
Arrival: september 11
departure oktober 5th
This is a draft schedule, but subject to change!
There are 2 rehearsal locations. Most of the rehearsals will take place in teh Maranathakerk in The Hague.
ON sundays we will also use a space in Utrecht, in the cutural Center called: PARNASSOS
Staging rehearsals:
There are a lot of staging rehearsals where we need your precise attention. When you are not singing, you are part of the chorus, the silent actors, who have a very impotant part in thie production.
There are 2 shows in the Amstelkerk Amsterdam. For these concerts all members of the collective have 1 free ticket and 1 discount ticket. (discount code comes asap)
We are working towards another 4 shows after Amsterdam. Locations TBA.
Concert:
We plan 1 or 2 gala concerts during the project. These are concerts for the Foundatin where the ticket sales goes to Teseo. All musicians work free of charge on this. The repertoire is of your own choice, but from the baroque period. Your accompaignist will be Jörn Boysen as well. Rehearsals for this concerts TBA.
For this concert, its not obligatory to sing if you don’t want to, but your attendance in the hall is highly appreciated.
How does it work?
The Yala Music Opera Collective works in a different way that many other opera projects.
Every singer invests EUR 900,- into the collective. From this all BASIC NEEDED things can be paid to make the production and get everything rolling. (Think about: Rehearsal space, instrumentalists, stages parts, costumes, instrument hire, performance location, marketing, posters, lamps, camera and photographers, etc.etc.) The 4 exra shows, which the Foundation Yala Music is working towards booking for TESEO, part of the profit made will be divided over the singers. So after the normals costs the production has, an equal part of the profit will be divided over the singers. This way you can earn part or all of your investment back.
What is different from other similar projects?
Although the booking of the performances and the organizing of the general rehearsals is done by Yala Music, all members of the collective have other tasks to help getting the production rolling.
Think about basic things: getting the coffee and tea ready during rehearsal days, clean up the dressing rooms after the show, helping out Gregor with putting the stage up before the show, be in charge of subtitles during the show, etc etc.
Dutch speakers or people living in the Neterlands are also required to help out with visiting different radio broadcasts to sing and/or talk about the project, spread around posters/flyers etc, if you own a car: brings props to the different loactions , help at the ticket stand before the performance etc etc.
The operacollective does things together. Together we build this opera production and it takes a lot of extra work extra hours, extra energy, extra thoughts.
We look for people who want to be part of a group, working and learning together and are not afraid of doing something extra. In a worls where leaders are ectively trying to divide us, lets ememer what we have in common and work together as a group.
If you only want to sing a role for your CV, this is NOT the right place for you.
For this project, you do not have to live in the Netherlands, but it is preferred, since all members of the cast have other taks for which some knowledge of Dutch and knowing your way around could come in handy. However, we have enough tasks for non dutch residents. Please note that you have to be responsible for your own accomodation and tavelcosts. Note that there is a gap of 3 days between the premiere weekend and the 4 other shows.
At Yala Music Foundation we will continue to apply for funding for this project, but the subsidy landscape is pretty tough now. You shouldn’t underestimate it. Even with a new government coming, I fear it will get worse, therefore the initial personal investment of the singers in the opera project is necessary to even get started.
If you are interested to see what the Yala Music Opera Collective did in 2025, look at its website: www.operacollective.nl
Singers interested in joining our TESEO operaproject, can send an email to: join.yalamusic@gmail.com
Send us a a video of you singing any kind of baroque aria.