Donemus, a publishing company based in the Netherlands is now listed in the website. Discover Dutch operas. The earliest Dutch opera in the database is Jan Felderhof’s Een serenade in St. Jansnacht written in 1932. Here is recording of Willem Pijper’s 1939 opera, Merlijn. You can hear the soprano saxophone behind the baritone.
Another fun work is Chiel Meijering’s 1998 opera, Gershwin in blue. This is a Dutch language opera about the American composer, George Gershwin. What makes this score unique is the instrumentation is a saxophone quartet with a rhythm section. Listen to the unique sounds of American popular music through the style of Meijering.
There’s more Dutch language operas listed in the database. I want to thank Kevin Whitehead’s book, New Dutch Swing for helping me find these operas. And he has a new book that I’m currently reading, Play the Way You Feel. It’s a new way to look at how Jazz music is portrayed in movies. If you’re a fan of movies and jazz, like I am, you’ll find new films to watch.
the Operatic Saxophone 