The rarely performed Broadway opera Lady in the Dark by Kurt Weill/Ira Gershwin, the most recent production by Opera Zuid, was today chosen as Opera of the Year 2022 by the online magazine Place de l'Opéra. Under the direction of conductor and Weill expert David Stern and in the vibrant staging of Anna Pool, Place de l'Opéra says a sparkling performance was created, in beautiful costumes and sets by Madeleine Boyd. Of the over 1200 votes, 48% were cast for Lady in the Dark, for which the entire cast, but especially the Dutch soprano Maartje Rammeloo as Liza Elliott in the lead role was unanimously praised by press and public. Also nominated in the Top 5 were Giulio Cesare by the Dutch Reisopera and three productions by De Nationale Opera.
Lady in the Dark is – besides a piece about the demands that life and society place on a woman – above all delightful musical theatre with sharp humour, imaginatively portrayed dreams and fantastic songs. Besides the lead role of Liza Elliott (Maartje Rammeloo), the Dutch actress Sylvia Poorta as psychiatrist Dr. Brooks and the singers Jeremy Finch White, Quirijn de Lang and Elliott Carlton Hines as the men around Liza Elliott shone brilliantly. The group of dancers was led by American aerial acrobat Dreya Weber, who made a great impression on press and public with her performance in A Midsummer Night's Dream, earlier this year at Opera Zuid.
Lady in the Dark in the media
With soprano Maartje Rammeloo in the lead role, the opera element is filled with a wonderful singer and actress. And as a musical, the production is brilliantly executed with wonderful dance and show work.
— Place de l'Opéra
Lady in the Dark is a delightful, escapist performance, a spectacular piece that bubbles with repressed feelings and sparkles with musical and textual fun. Maartje Rammeloo has the role of her life as Liza Elliott: you believe in the rigidity and emotional outburst of her complex character and admire her for the pleasure with which she loosely shakes off her comfort zone as an opera soprano.
— NRC
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Reviews
Kurt Weill in Broadway style
For about a month, Opera Zuid tours through the Netherlands with a remarkable theatrical piece by Kurt Weill, Lady in the Dark....
Leading the philharmonie zuidnederland, David Stern returns to the work he conducted for a unique performance in early 2020, and he knows how to bring out all its facets, whether it's South American dance rhythms, jazz, or the "Threepenny Opera" style that still prevails in certain passages.
— Concertclassic.com
The acrobatics in the dreamed circus scene, the waltzing choir singers, the colourful costumes and Rammeloo's theatrical stage presence combined with an iron-strong voice make Lady in the Dark an irresistible show.
— de Volkskrant
Lady in the Dark was a co-production with Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, in collaboration with the philharmonie zuidnederland, and was supported by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music.