Cellist Dauwe Lentz about Doctor Atomic

In 2023, the Utrecht Student Concert celebrated its 200th anniversary with the performance of John Adam's opera about the inventor of the atomic bomb: Robert Oppenheimer.  The opera was part of a science festival where music and science came together. Once visitors entered the Werkspoor Cathedral, they imagined themselves in the Los Alamos of 1945, the military base where scientists worked on the test explosion of the atomic bomb. Through art, music and storytellers, visitors were made to think about the "shadow sides of creations.

Performances in July 2023 attracted over 5,600 visitors and the opera received rave reviews in national media. Visitors to the Place de l'Opera website even praised Doctor Atomic as the best opera performed in the Netherlands in 2023.

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  Dauwe during performance of opera Doctor Atomic - Photo Veerle Bastiaanssen
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Utrechtsch Studenten Concert

Since his first year of study, Dauwe Lentz has been playing in the Utrechtsch Studenten Concert. A very active society, a place where you can grow, not only musically. Besides being a cellist in the orchestra, Dauwe also became chairman of the opera production team. The team took the necessary initiatives and came up with the first ideas for the opera and the experience festival. Together with the artistic team, they worked out the plans in detail and this is how the special combination of opera and festival finally took shape.

Proud

We asked Dauwe what he himself is most proud of.  Dauwe: "There is so much to be proud of. But one moment in particular stands out to me. That was when the doors opened on the night of the premiere. Hundreds of people walked across the festival grounds. They enjoyed themselves, they were impressed and they complimented us before we had even played a single note. Of course we already had a picture of the opera, especially when décor, lighting and costumes were added in the Werkspoor Cathedral. But for the festival, it was more exciting. Suddenly it was there. And how successful it was."