Jetske Mijnssen's Boccanegra a coup for DNO season finale

George Petean (Simon Boccanegra) and Georg Zeppenfeld (Jacopo Fiesco)

Federica Lombardi (Amelia)

Federica Lombardi (Amelia) and George Petean (Simon Boccanegra)

Georg Zeppenfeld (Jacopo Fiesco)

Dutch National Opera Chorus

By Eleanor Knight, 05 June 2026

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Fabio Luisi... finding every contour in Verdi’s characteristically rich dramatic texture”

Reviewed at Dutch National Opera and Ballet, Amsterdam on 4 June 2026

Verdi, Simon Boccanegra

Dutch National Opera

Fabio Luisi, Conductor

Jetske Mijnssen, Director

Étienne Pluss, Set Designer

Hannah Clark, Costume Designer

Valerio Tiberi, Lighting Designer

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Chorus of Dutch National Opera

George Petean, Simon Boccanegra

Georg Zeppenfeld, Jacopo Fiesco

Federica Lombardi, Amelia Grimaldi

Riccardo Massi, Gabriele Adorno

Germán Olvera, Paolo Albiani

Jasurbek Khaydarov, Pietro

Yvonne Kok, Amelia's maid

François Soons, Captain

Edward Ananian-Cooper, Choirmaster / chorus director

The Dutch National Ballet’s Hans van Manen in Carré

Mark Vicente, 30th April

Dutch National Ballet give an exemplary account of a quadruple bill comprised of the late Hans van Manen’s works. It’s a wonderful tribute to the great master choreographer.

*****

Weinberg’s The Passenger at Dutch National Opera

Clare Varney, 17th April

Tobias Kratzer's 2024 Munich production makes its way to Amsterdam, proving that Weinberg's opera has the power to transfix.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's reimagined La Bayadère triumphs

Mark Vicente, 26th March

Dutch National Ballet's new production of La Bayadère does away with the ballet’s problematic gestures and movements, allowing the choreography to truly shine.

****1

Michel van der Aa’s Theory of Flames: defining opera for a modern age

Clare Varney, 6th March

British singers Mary Bevan and Roderick Williams lead the cast in Dutch National Opera’s latest ground-breaking opera, merging live music with pre-recorded film and electronics.

****1

Dutch National Ballet brings much needed heat to this winter season

Mark Vicente, 10th February

The Dutch National Ballet helped shake off those winter blues with a mixed programme that highlighted ballet’s love affair with Latin rhythms and movement.

****1

Semele at Dutch National Opera: myth, desire and fantasy

Mengguang Huang, 23rd January

Guth’s Semele turns myth into a contemporary domestic drama, where desire becomes obsession and illusion consumes reality. Handel’s music remains the true engine, driven by a thrilling, physically intense ensemble.

****1

More reviews...

Eleanor Knight

Eleanor is a writer and librettist. Her work has appeared in all kinds of places from the Royal Opera House to the foot tunnels beneath the Elephant and Castle roundabout, and she has written arts reviews and features for British papers and magazines. Having begun her working life in theatre, she switched to publishing and later taught creative writing at the University of Brighton and Birkbeck. Currently based in the Netherlands, she teaches at the University of Utrecht. Eleanor plays violin and sings, though not usually at the same time, and has recently taken up speed-skating.

Jetske Mijnssen's dazzling Simon Boccanegra a coup for Dutch National season finale