Opera in Dutch is a minor tradition in the opera history of the Netherlands. Since the earliest operas were staged in the Netherlands in the 17th century, the preference has always been for original Italian, French and German versions, or occasionally French translations of Italian and German works. The 1680s saw the first pastoral semi-operas in Dutch, ''

De triomfeerende Min ''De triomfeerende Min'' (Love Triumphant) is a 1678 pastoral semi-opera by Carolus Hacquart to celebrate the Peace of Nijmegen.John Warrack ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' 1996 -- Page 234 De triomfeerende Min (1678, to celebrate the P ...

'' (1678) and '' Bacchus, Ceres en Venus'' (1686). The 18th century saw development of the ''zangspel'' (

singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...

), such as ''

Zemire en Azor ''Zemire en Azor'' (Zémire and Azor) is a 1784 semi-opera, a musical play "with spectacles and a ballet" by Bartholomeus Ruloffs. It is one of the most successful attempts to create a Dutch-language opera in the 18th century. ''Zemire en Azor'' ...

'' (1784), but these failed to establish a vernacular opera tradition. With a few notable exceptions – such as the 1834 Dutch-language opera ''Saffo'' by

Johannes Bernardus van Bree Johannes Bernardus van Bree (29 January 1801 – 14 February 1857) was a Dutch composer, violinist and conducting, conductor. Van Bree was born and died in Amsterdam. He was a pupil of Jan George Bertelman. From 1829 to the year of his deat ...

to a libretto by

Jacob van Lennep Jacob van Lennep (24 March 1802 – 25 August 1868) was a Dutch poet and novelist. Early years He was born in Amsterdam, where his father, David Jacob van Lennep (1774–1853), a scholar and poet, was professor of eloquence and the classical la ...

(1802–1868), the 19th century saw no major Dutch-language operas. While there continued to be a tradition of art song and choral compositions in Dutch, in the 20th and 21st century original Dutch language opera compositions were to remain rare, and such as in the case of

Willem Pijper Willem Frederik Johannes Pijper (; 8 September 189418 March 1947) was a Dutch composer, music critic and music teacher. Pijper is considered to be among the most important Dutch composers of the first half of the 20th century. Life Pijper was b ...

's ''Halewijn'' (1932–34, after the tale of

Heer Halewijn Heer Halewijn (also known as ''Van Here Halewijn'' and ''Jan Albers'', and in English ''The Song of Lord Halewijn'') is a Dutch folk tale which survives in folk ballad. Although the first printed version of the song only appears in an anthology pu ...

) not always well received. Dutch-language translations of Italian standards were produced from 1886 by the Dutch Opera Company of Johannes George de Groot starting a minor strand in opera performance which persisted, with closures and openings of various opera companies, until World War I, and again in the inter-war years. A revived attempt to produce operas sung in Dutch was made by

Dutch National Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

in the years following World War II. Similarly in Belgium the

Vlaamse Opera The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwbu ...

sang French and Italian works in Dutch till the 1980s.

Peter Benoit Peter Benoit (17 August 18348 March 1901) was a Flemish composer of Belgian nationality. Biography Petrus Leonardus Leopoldus Benoit was born in Harelbeke, Flanders, Belgium in 1834. He was taught music at an early age by his father and the vil ...

produced his first opera in Flemish, ''Het dorp in't gebergte'' (A Mountain Village) in Brussels in 1856. Dutch composer Louis Andriessen's ''

De Materie ''De Materie'' (''Matter'') is a four-part vocal and orchestral work by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, written over the period 1984 to 1988.Arnold Whittall, "CD Reviews: Material Issues" (June 1997). ''The Musical Times'', 138 (1852): pp. 38–3 ...

'' (Matter) is a four-part vocal and orchestral work completed in 1988.

Peter-Jan Wagemans Peter-Jan Wagemans (The Hague, September 7, 1952) is a Dutch composer. Wagemans studied organ (diploma 1974), composition with Jan van Vlijmen (diploma 1975) and music theory (diploma 1977) at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. After his stud ...

' 2006 opera '' Legende'' premiered in 2011 at Dutch National Opera."''Legende'', Netherlands Opera, Amsterdam"
by Shirley Apthorp, '' Financial Times'', 3 February 2011

References

Notes Sources * {{Portal bar, Opera Dutch Opera in the Netherlands