Holland Festival

 The oldest and largest international arts festival in the Netherlands, the Holland Festival celebrates theater, dance, music and opera. Since its inception in 1947 the Holland Festival has made a remarkable impact on the arts community, with the world premiere of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, the introduction of Maria Callas to Holland and the first live performance of 200 Motels-The Suite; a large symphonic tribute to Frank Zappa. In recent years the Holland Festival has sought to include more contemporary forms of art and in 2005 added EarFuel, EyeFuel and MindFuel, which cover the areas of multimedia, visual arts and film.

Opening the festival on June 4 will be world-renowned dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. Baryshnikov and star dancer Ana Laguna will perform Three Solos and a Duet, a program of works by Mats Ek, Alexei Ratmansky and Benjamin Millepied. Amsterdam is one of the few cities where Baryshnikov and Laguna will perform the piece in 2009, making this performance one of the highlights of the festival.

Other performances sure to garner a lot of attention are Installation Teenage Lontano by New York composer and visual artist Marina Rosenfeld, described as “a music theatre installation for the iPod generation”, and Orfeus South African director Brett Bailey’s modernized take on the mythological tale of Orpheus.

While Installation Teenage Lontano and Orfeus seek to appeal to a more contemporary audience, there will be plenty on offer for those interested in more classical fare, including the Dutch National Ballet’s homage to Les Ballets Russes and the Netherlands Opera production of Carmen.

The Holland Festival runs from June 4 through June 28, with most performances taking place at various venues throughout Amsterdam.
For more information regarding program specifics and tickets, visit the festival website.

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