The Shell Trial
World premiere of Ellen Reid's opera at the Opera Forward Festival
A new opera by Ellen Reid, artist-in-residence of The Concertgebouw and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, performed under the direction of Manoj Kamps by members and Academy members of the orchestra.
Concert programme
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Ellen Reid
The Shell Trial
Performers
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Manoj Kamps
conductor
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Members and Academy members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra
About this concert
Ellen Reid is composer in residence of The Concertgebouw and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra this season. The Pulitzer Prize-winning sound artist based her new opera on the play De zaak Shell by Rebekka de Wit and Anoek Nuyens, which premiered in 2020 and caused a stir on the Dutch and international stage. This world premiere at the Opera Forward Festival is performed by members and Academy members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the New Amsterdam Children's Chorus and soloists including Claire Barnett-Jones, Anthony Léon, Lauren Michelle, Carla Nahadi Babelegoto, Erik Slik and Nikki Treurniet.
In 2021, a Dutch court ruled that Shell was legally responsible for its contribution to climate change. In The Shell Trial, the various voices in the climate debate are heard and it becomes increasingly clear that we will not make any progress by endlessly pointing the finger at one another. The message of this topical opera is that the climate crisis is above all a crisis of responsibility.
Presenting a range of voices and perspectives in the climate crisis, the complexity of the case becomes increasingly clear during the opera. The boundaries between guilty party and innocent victim, between good and bad, and individual and collective responsibility become blurred as more and more viewpoints are expressed.
Dates and tickets
About this concert
Ellen Reid is composer in residence of The Concertgebouw and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra this season. The Pulitzer Prize-winning sound artist based her new opera on the play De zaak Shell by Rebekka de Wit and Anoek Nuyens, which premiered in 2020 and caused a stir on the Dutch and international stage. This world premiere at the Opera Forward Festival is performed by members and Academy members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the New Amsterdam Children's Chorus and soloists including Claire Barnett-Jones, Anthony Léon, Lauren Michelle, Carla Nahadi Babelegoto, Erik Slik and Nikki Treurniet.
In 2021, a Dutch court ruled that Shell was legally responsible for its contribution to climate change. In The Shell Trial, the various voices in the climate debate are heard and it becomes increasingly clear that we will not make any progress by endlessly pointing the finger at one another. The message of this topical opera is that the climate crisis is above all a crisis of responsibility.
Presenting a range of voices and perspectives in the climate crisis, the complexity of the case becomes increasingly clear during the opera. The boundaries between guilty party and innocent victim, between good and bad, and individual and collective responsibility become blurred as more and more viewpoints are expressed.