Camping 030
In 2010, Yo! Opera went through the final phase of an important change in its existence. It had in 2001 started as a festival organisation which had as its main goal to produce national and international youth opera repertoire, but now it decided to change track.
After Yo! Opera had for years in a row presented itself in Utrecht through all kinds of easily accessible projects, bringing young audiences into contact with opera, the balance between opera and audience was definitively turned around. Yo! Opera now wanted to first contact a young audience and subsequently formulate its own values again. 'What can opera mean to a young audience?' was changed into 'What can young audiences do for opera?'
Camping Site 030 marked this change. As part of the Utrecht Uitfeest, the town hall square in Utrecht was on 12 September 2010 transformed into a 'camp site' hosting many different activities: street badminton tournaments, bands performances, debates, and a theatrical wedding ceremony in the city council chamber together created a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere that many people enjoyed for several hours. Apart from offering the city a nice event, the goal of this activity was to present Yo! Opera in front of a large audience and to discover the opportunities a festive context can offer to our profession: presenting and creating exciting shows which are about the here and now.
High-level music and theatre were played all day long. Thousands of people enjoyed the well-filled programme. There were performances by Handsome Poets, The Fudge, Tamar Lewis, NONA, Last Night, Maud & The Milfs, The Fudge, The Q! and The Dance. Dancers of Theatre Group DOX presented a show inside the town hall and a public workshop in the street; people could make their own composition on a laptop in the town hall; Tjerk Ridder presented one of his 'Theatrical Roadshows' and Cees Grimbergen led debates on national and local politics. The local youth wings of political parties (JOVD, ROOD and JD) were present, next to organisations such as Critical Mass, U-Shake and STRAAT. Theatre by Het Filiaal, HKU students, the performances Cowboy bij Nacht and De meeuwen van Tinbergen were run alongside presentations by community theatre group STUT. The entire programme was covered by youth radio station UCEE.
For Yo! Opera, this was the final step towards a new era, which dawned many years ago: to open our doors, step out into the streets and use our senses to see, hear and feel what's going on. And to then reconsider our own métier – opera.
After Yo! Opera had for years in a row presented itself in Utrecht through all kinds of easily accessible projects, bringing young audiences into contact with opera, the balance between opera and audience was definitively turned around. Yo! Opera now wanted to first contact a young audience and subsequently formulate its own values again. 'What can opera mean to a young audience?' was changed into 'What can young audiences do for opera?'
Camping Site 030 marked this change. As part of the Utrecht Uitfeest, the town hall square in Utrecht was on 12 September 2010 transformed into a 'camp site' hosting many different activities: street badminton tournaments, bands performances, debates, and a theatrical wedding ceremony in the city council chamber together created a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere that many people enjoyed for several hours. Apart from offering the city a nice event, the goal of this activity was to present Yo! Opera in front of a large audience and to discover the opportunities a festive context can offer to our profession: presenting and creating exciting shows which are about the here and now.
High-level music and theatre were played all day long. Thousands of people enjoyed the well-filled programme. There were performances by Handsome Poets, The Fudge, Tamar Lewis, NONA, Last Night, Maud & The Milfs, The Fudge, The Q! and The Dance. Dancers of Theatre Group DOX presented a show inside the town hall and a public workshop in the street; people could make their own composition on a laptop in the town hall; Tjerk Ridder presented one of his 'Theatrical Roadshows' and Cees Grimbergen led debates on national and local politics. The local youth wings of political parties (JOVD, ROOD and JD) were present, next to organisations such as Critical Mass, U-Shake and STRAAT. Theatre by Het Filiaal, HKU students, the performances Cowboy bij Nacht and De meeuwen van Tinbergen were run alongside presentations by community theatre group STUT. The entire programme was covered by youth radio station UCEE.
For Yo! Opera, this was the final step towards a new era, which dawned many years ago: to open our doors, step out into the streets and use our senses to see, hear and feel what's going on. And to then reconsider our own métier – opera.
