World Opera Lab

World Opera Lab creates opera-performances that reflect the diversity of European society today. It aims to create opera that transcends cultures and borders. An intercultural form of opera could function as a tool for dialogue between cultures, and celebrate diversity. As a foundation for this work, artistic director Miranda Lakerveld studies traditional music drama in Mexico, Guatemala, India, Iran, Japan, the Tibetan community in exile, and music and rituals from the MENA-region. She is developing a unique work method based on her findings, through which artists from different traditions can have a dialogue. In the present year we aim to adress religious conflicts thorugh our work, about perspectives on veiling and beauty in 'Dance of the seven veils', and a new interreligious ceremony about sacrifice around the story of Abraham & Isaac/Ibrahim & Ishmael.   
Our goals are: 
• To explore new ways of working, and create new artistic forms to address social issues with opera, specifically those that result from migration and living in diaspora.
• To explore and apply traditional methods to support communities from rituals like Zar and music-drama’s like Ta’ziye, to opera. 
• To create a dialogue between artists, community-members, social institutions and academics.
• Find collaborating partners to exchange visions on opera in an intercultural context.
• To examine and test social applications of opera.
• To develop the work-method of intercultural opera in which heritage and oral traditions are equally important as the opera-repertoire.