From Dutch to National and vice versa. DNO and NRO give lesson on name change and collaboration

A joint press conference by two companies. In the post-Zijlstra era, that often does not bode well. A merger then seems obvious, especially when it involves the two largest opera companies in our country: De Nederlandse Opera and the Nationale Reisopera. Only now we have to turn that around: the Netherlands Opera will become the National Opera. And the building will be called National Opera and Ballet.

A logical name change given the administrative merger of Muziektheater, Het Nationale Ballet and De Nederlandse Opera two years ago. But wait... National Opera, that looks a lot like Nationale Reisopera. And although the two companies work intensively together, they are and remain completely independent.

The former Orkest van het Oosten, which renamed itself the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, knows that changing your name without clear agreements can lead to heated situations. From next season, the orchestra will no longer be allowed to use that name by order of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. The argument that the Enschede-based orchestra toured abroad as Netherlands Symphony Orchestra was to no avail, the court decided after much ado from which only lawyers and legal advisers got better.

Such an inappropriate use of cultural funds did not suit De Nederlandse Opera, so it immediately opened up. And although the National Reisopera had just presented a new house style, there was nothing to talk about. And because the National Reisopera had presented itself in England last summer as The Dutch National Touring Opera, the solution was obvious: we swap the N. The Dutch Opera will pay for expenses to be incurred at the new Dutch Reisopera. To underline the goodwill between the two companies, they will collaborate in a new project for young talents.

See, that's how it can be done. No bickering, no name change upon name change, and above all no culture money down the drain.

The question remains what the National Music Quarter in Enschede actually thinks of this. After all, not even that long ago, Enschede wanted to put itself on the map as the Dutch music city under that name. But probably that board thinks it is fine. After all, no one uses that name anymore. The Enschede theatre, also in future home to the Dutch Reisopera, is now much more tastefully called Wilminktheatre, and the home of the soon-to-be former Dutch Symphony Orchestra is simply called Muziekcentrum Enschede.

Whether the Nationale Toneel, regular performer of The Hague's Koninklijke Schouwburg, was privy to this change is not known.