A Paradise Built in Hell was opera in collaboration between students of the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) and the Royal Conservatory of Music. I was part of this project as artistic director and I directed the opera.

A Paradise Built in Hell was an opera that explored human strength and resilience in times of crisis. It was based on Rebecca Solnit’s book of the same title, which focuses on how people react to disasters and how they come together to help themselves and each other.

The opera was performed at the Korzo theater during the PRING festival in The Hague. Led by Gert Dumbar and Studio Van ‘t Hullenaar-Vis and myself, the students worked together to compose and design the opera, which was then directed by me and performed by the internationally renowned Ensemble Klang.

A Paradise Built in Hell was a unique project that reinvented the idea of opera and explored human strength and resilience in times of crisis. The performance was a great success and demonstrated how art and music can bring people together in times of crisis.