Resonanz

Resonanz is the project where classical and urban meet, makers move across borders and the border region of Limburg-NRW finds its own cultural sound. No neat coexistence. Real contact, real friction, real new things. On 1 June 2026, the starting shot will fall. For three years, Maaspoort and 11 partners will build something that wasn't there yet: a border region that belongs to itself. Resonanz, Where Makers Move Borders and Futures Take Shape.

Pillar 1: Talent development

You don't have to go to Amsterdam or Berlin to get somewhere. Resonanz gives young creators aged 16 to 35 space, coaching and stages, here, in the region. Two annual competitions, six master classes and a budget for artistic development mean that personal growth does not depend on where you happen to be born. One of the first tracks is already starting this spring: the Viva Classic Vocal Contest 2026, with the semi-final on 22 June at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and the final with orchestra on 30 August at Domani Venlo. Coaching, master classes and showcases for impresarios run alongside. More than 1,500 creators will get the chance they deserve.

Pillar 2: Co-creation and experimentation

In four cities, we open places where makers come together weekly to experiment, collide and create something new. No presentations of finished ideas, but work in limbo. Singers alongside beatmakers. Choreographers next to opera directors. Out of that awkward encounter grows something you can't plan.

Pillar 3: Major productions

Resonanz culminates in three major productions that rock the region.
In its first year, Urban meets Opera (2026-2027), urban moves into the theatre. The flagship is Samurai X, inspired by Akira Kurosawa' s Seven Samurai. Urban dance, martial arts, live music and opera come together around a question no one can avoid: what values do you stand for? The artistic direction lies with Takao Baba and Mischa Tangian. Rehearsals start in June 2026, premiere on 26 September 2026 in Düsseldorf.

In its second year, Opera meets Urban (2027-2028), opera takes to the streets. A skate park tour brings classical singing talent to places it normally never goes. Classical becomes its own, urban becomes classical.

And in 2028, everything melts together in Urban Opera (2028-2029): a new form born from three years of experimentation. More than 20,000 visitors, from skater to opera fan, come to see what emerges when you exclude nothing.

Pillar 4: Storytelling and knowledge sharing

What we make, we also tell. From short video to immersive work, technology becomes a carrier for new stories that showcase the region to a new generation. A kick-off and a closing symposium share what works and what doesn't, so that Resonanz resonates in halls, schools and communities after 2029.

"Cross-pollination creates a new cultural language that connects creators, institutions and audiences." Leon Thommassen, director-director Maaspoort

The creators behind Resonanz

Resonanz exists because five core partners from Limburg and North Rhine-Westphalia found each other. Not in a meeting room, but in practice, on stages and in rehearsal rooms on both sides of the border.

Maaspoort is penciller and driving force. Venlo's culture house believes in one thing: it can be done here. This conviction drives Resonanz. Maaspoort opens the doors, connects the parties and ensures that makers get the space they need to really dare something.

D'Haus Junges Schauspiel brings from Düsseldorf a radical belief in theatre as a place for social questions. Young, urgent and without detours. Stefan Fischer-Fels and his team know how to appeal to a new generation of spectators who are not waiting for the familiar.

House of Movement, founded by Mona Buschhaus in Mönchengladbach, is the home of urban dance in the region. Movement as a language, the body as an instrument. "In the friction is the energy," says Buschhaus. "Opera and urban collide, and it is precisely there that something new is created."

Based in Roermond,New Heroes Next Level works on theatre that does not overlook young people, but puts them at the centre. Artistic director Jose Verhaegh: "Resonanz is more than just art. It is an investment in the new generation of the border region."

Venlo-basedViva Classic Live takes classical music out of the concert hall and highlights young singing talent. Founder Sef Thissen sums up the stakes: "Opera does not only belong in theatres. With Resonanz, we bring art to the streets and show that classical and urban give wings to each other."

Around them are seven associate partners strengthening the ecosystem: Street Culture Venlo, Theater de Oranjerie (Roermond), Opera Zuid and Via Zuid (Maastricht), Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf and Duisburg), tanzhaus nrw (Düsseldorf) and Urbanatix (Bochum). Together, they do not form a network. They form an ecosystem that puts the Rhine-Meuse-North Euroregion on the cultural map.

Resonanz is made possible by the Interreg VI-A programme Deutschland-Nederland, co-funded by the European Union, the Province of Limburg and the Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Enthusiastic? An idea? An interface? Mail Sikko Cleveringa, Resonanz project leader, at s.cleveringa@maaspoort.nl. He is happy to think along with you.