Program Booklet

St Matthew Passion

Saturday , April Saturday
7:00 p.m. to approximately 10:30 p.m.

Our favorite Easter tradition: a performance of Bach’s St . Matthew Passion —a moving masterpiece about suffering, betrayal, and sacrifice.

A free textbook of the Matthäus Passion is available at the Concert Hall entrance with the German texts. The Dutch translation by Ria van Hengel can be downloaded here.
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PROGRAM

Residentie Orkest Haag
Peter Dijkstra, conductor
Tilman Lichdi, Evangelist
Thomas Oliemans, Christ
Ilse Eerens, soprano
Anke Vondung, mezzo-soprano
Hugo Brady, tenor
Matthias Lika, baritone
Netherlands Chamber Choir (rehearsed by Boudewijn Jansen)
The Hague Sailors’ Choir (rehearsed by Peter van der Leeuw)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 ( 1727) 

The concert ends around 10:30 p.m.

Download the full version of the program booklet, including the German song lyrics, here.
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Biographies

Residentie Orkest The Hague
The Residentie Orkest has been setting the tone as a symphony orchestra for 120 years. We are proud of that. We have a broad, surprising and challenging repertoire and perform the finest compositions.
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Peter Dijkstra
Conductor
Peter Dijkstra is one of the leading choral conductors of our time. He is the chief conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir, principal guest conductor of the Netherlands Radio Choir artistic director of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
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Tilman Lichdi
Evangelist
This leading concert and lieder singer is best known for his portrayals of the Evangelist in Bach’s oratorios and Passions. Lichdi has performed at festivals such as the Salzburg Festival and regularly collaborates with leading orchestras and conductors on the European concert circuit, particularly in the Baroque and Classical repertoire.
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Thomas Oliemans
Christ
He has performed with orchestras such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Residentie Orkest. He has also performed numerous opera roles at leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Dutch National Opera, and the Berlin State Opera.
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Ilse Eerens
Soprano
Praised for her clear voice, musical sensitivity and versatility, Belgian soprano Ilse Eerens enjoys an international opera and concert career in repertoire ranging from Bach to works of the 21st century.
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Anke Vondung
Mezzo-soprano
The German mezzo-soprano studied at the Mannheim University of Music and made a name for herself internationally with roles by Mozart, Strauss, and Wagner. She has performed at opera houses such as the Bavarian State Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Theater an der Wien, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Salzburg Festival.
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Hugo Brady
Tenor
Born in 2002, this London-Irish tenor has performed with ensembles including PhilZuid, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also a Rising Star of The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He is making his debut with the Residentie Orkest.
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Matthias Lika
Bas
He received his first singing lessons from his father, the bass Peter Lika. In 2024, he won first prize in the concert category at the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang in Berlin. Lika performs as an opera, concert, and ensemble singer and is at home in a wide repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary music. He is making his debut with the Residentie Orkest.
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Netherlands Chamber Choir
The Netherlands Chamber Choir has been among the absolute best for nearly ninety years. Singing choral repertoire from the early Middle Ages to the music of today, the choir regularly collaborates with dancers, poets, actors, filmmakers and scientists.
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Haags Matrozenkoor
The Hague Sailors' Choir was founded in 1928 and performed for the first time with the Residentie Orkest Bach's St. Matthew Passion in 1935. The boys sing a wide-ranging repertoire, from classical to modern, give their own concerts, and participate in productions by well-known choirs and orchestras.
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Download the full playlist of choir and orchestra here
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Fun Fact

Johann Sebastian Bach

(Eisenach March 21, 1685 - July 28, 1750, Leipzig)

As far as is known, Bach himself conducted four performances of his St. Matthew Passion. After that, this passion, like much of his other music, fell into oblivion. It was the 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy who managed to get the "Grosse Passion" back on the lecterns. On March 11, 1829, some one hundred years after its premiere in Leipzig, he led the first performance at the Berlin Singakademie from behind the grand piano (!). However, with a huge choir - 158 singers - and numerous cuts, especially chorales and arias had to go. The Residentie Orkest first performed the St. Matthew Passion in 1907.

Today in the orchestra

Wouter Vossen

Concertmaster
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Florianne Remme

Cello

Martine van der Loo

Flute
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