The Supervisory Boards of The Amsterdam Music Theatre, De Nederlandse Opera and Dutch National Ballet have appointed Els van der Plas as general director of the new entity resulting from the merger of the three organizations, effective 1 August 2012.
Together with Pierre Audi as director of opera and Ted Brandsen as director of ballet, Els van der Plas will become the third member of the executive board, which will fall under the authority of a single Supervisory Board.
Van der Plas (1960) has been director of Premsela, The Netherlands Institute for Design and Fashion, since January 2011. From 1997 through 2010 she was the first director of the Prins Claus Fund for Culture and Development, which she helped build into an international institute known for quality and innovation, and which is deeply rooted in the cultural field. Van der Plas studied art history in Utrecht. From 1987 to 1997 she was founder and director of the Gate Foundation, which stimulates intercultural exchange in the field of modern and contemporary art.
Supervisory Board chairmen Anthony Burgmans and Jos Nijhuis: “We are extremely pleased that as general director, Els van der Plas, with her extraordinary cultural experience, will help shape the merged foundation and guide its future development.”
Pierre Audi and Ted Brandsen: “We warmly welcome Els van der Plas into the extended Music Theatre family and look forward to fruitful and innovative co-operation.”
Els van der Plas: “I look forward to joining this outstanding cultural institution and to developing it further together with Pierre Audi and Ted Brandsen. I also eagerly anticipate working with the teams of the three merging organizations to meet the challenges of the coming years.”
Els van der Plas will introduce herself to the press at a later date, accompanied by Pierre Audi, Ted Brandsen and members of the Supervisory Board. She has indicated that until that time she is not available for interviews.