After completing her Master’s of Art Degree at the Utrecht University in theatre science and in arts policy and management, Caecilia studied Stage directing and Acting at the Theaterkade in Amsterdam. Since 2003 she has been working as a freelance arts manager and entrepreneur in projects and productions ranging from opera to modern dance, and from industrial design to films. The last few years, she focuses on opera and staged concerts.

‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.’  This quote of George Bernhard Shaw inspires me to create new work and manage my company every day with curiosity, passion and joy. ‘

Cultural entrepreneur

In 2008, Caecilia set up TIS Theater and created two innovative music productions. In ‘Jij verlaat mij voordat ik jou verlaat’ she murged Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’ and Schumann’s ‘Frauenliebe und –Leben’ into a moving music theatre performance. On stage: a singing mime player, a physical acting mezzo-soprano and acting musicians. The other TIS Theater production was a refined theatre adaptation of Mendelsohn’s ‘Heimkehr aus der Fremde’, performed by four singers and two acting pianists. It was mentioned as ‘the surprise of Festival Oude Muziek 2009’ by the Dutch journal NRC.

A few years later, she founded WannaPlayGround together with stage designer Jan Boiten. WannaPlayGround is an interactive platform for contemporary composers. A playground for adults, where music, light, landscape and audience come together.

 

Crossing borders

In 2010, her curiosity led Caecilia to Osnabrück, Germany, where she has been working for two years at Dance Company Nanine Linning. With Linning she created the dance opera ‘Madama Butterfly’ (Pucini) and the successful multi-disciplinary dance production ‘Requiem’ based on the work of Fauré. ‘Voice Over’, her last production as a dramaturg at Nanine Linning, was nominated for ‘Der Faust 2012’, Germany’s most important theatre award.

 

Award winning stage director

Back in Holland, Caecilia works as a stage director with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on a regularly basis. In 2013 she created the semi-staged version of Wagner’s ‘Der fliegende Holländer’, followed up by ‘Lohengrin’. Lohengrin was nominated for the “Opera of the Year 2015” by Opera Magazine. In 2018 she directed Honegger’s ‘Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher’- that was praised by press and public. At Oorkaan, she developed her vision on staging music and musicians, which she defined in the Oorkaan Method. Her production ‘Tickle’ for the Dutch National Opera won the Yamawarard 2020 and the staged concert she created at the Salzburger Festspiele was nominated for the Yamawards 2022.

 

Artistic executive director at Oorkaan

Since 2015 she is the artistic executive director (intendantin) of Oorkaan, an Amsterdam based company that creates staged concerts for young audiences. In this position she combines a lot of her talents: her craftsmanship as a stage director, her talent for cultural cooperation and her heart for classical music and physical acting.

And of course, to keep up with young audiences, you have to stay curious and keep on playing – don’t grow old!