In this fifth episode, Simon Mundy meets Guy Coolen, the Artistic Director of O. Festival for Opera. Music. Theatre. in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This music festival, dedicated to the revival of forgotten musical repertoires, will run from 17 July till 5 August 2021.

The O. Festival for Opera. Music. Theatre. in Rotterdam, is an international festival for opera, music, and theatre that runs at various locations across Rotterdam. It aims to open up the art of opera and make it meaningful to the lives of a large and diverse audience.

O. breaks open the dramatic art form of opera and believes it has a powerful resonance and relevance to a broad and diverse audience. It strives to be the most ground-breaking opera festival in the world. O. brings together makers and audiences from the Netherlands and abroad. Its three core values are: curiosity, engagement and no boudaries.

The 2021 edition brings multiple and different types of performances such as: Moby Dick, at last Queequeg speaks, world-famous story reworked as jazzy opera; DOLLS, absurd opera parodies in which Barbie dolls play the lead; O. Lab: Absolonova, a music theatre piece about the absurd life of a former sportsperson/porn star; Claron’s Birthday Bash, Film registration of Claron's birthday party in De Doelen in Rotterdam; and MUCH MORE.

Check out their full programme here.