Dutch National Opera & Ballet
The Netherlands' main opera and ballet house, part of the riverside Stopera complex on the Amstel.
Dutch National Opera & Ballet is the country's principal lyric theatre, home to Dutch National Opera, Dutch National Ballet and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. The Main Stage seats about 1,600 and is complemented by Studio Boekman, a flexible smaller space used for chamber opera, talks and new work. Sets, costumes and wigs are made in workshops inside the building, and seasons combine repertory staples with newly commissioned pieces and touring productions.
The theatre forms half of the Stopera, a complex that also houses Amsterdam's city hall, built on Waterlooplein where the Jewish quarter once stood. Designed by Cees Dam with the Austrian architect Wilhelm Holzbauer, it opened in 1986 after years of public protest over the redevelopment. The long brick and marble front follows the curve of the river Amstel, and the public passage through the building contains Normaal Amsterdams Peil, a marker showing Dutch sea level.
Highlights
- Main Stage seating about 1,600, the largest auditorium in the country
- Resident companies: Dutch National Opera and Dutch National Ballet
- Studio Boekman for chamber opera and new work
- Part of the Stopera, shared with Amsterdam's city hall
