Behind the curtains of Belgium's opera world: 'People together can create incredible things'
Roos Rol moves easily between two demanding roles in the opera world: assistant director and stage manager, though, as she is quick to point out, never at the same time. The distinction matters. “The assistant director has much more to do with the artistic vision and the personalities of the cast and crew,” she explains. “As a stage manager, you have to make everything happen, but you’re not dealing as much with the creative process. It’s more like traffic control.”
Both roles carry weight, but in different ways. Stage management, Rol says, can be more direct. “It’s a huge responsibility, but also more down to earth.” What unites the two is her position at the centre of a complex system, where artistic ambition, logistics and human relationships constantly intersect.
Inspired by opera
Rol’s path to opera was far from straightforward. Born to Dutch parents, she grew up in the rural Aveyron region of southern France, surrounded more by countryside than culture until her early 20s. Opera was not part of her everyday world, but music was.
At secondary school, she followed a specialised music programme, guided by a teacher with a deep love of classical music and opera. Together they analysed works such as Don Giovanni and Carmen, and each year the class travelled across Europe to perform with partner schools.
"I thought: I’d love to do this. I didn’t know in which form at that age - singing, maybe - but the whole art form fascinated me"
Those trips left a lasting impression. “We went first to Vienna, then Rome and Edinburgh. Such unforgettable experiences when I was so young had a huge influence on me,” she says. Seeing La Traviata in Rome at 17 proved decisive. “I thought: I’d love to do this. I didn’t know in which form at that age - singing, maybe - but the whole art form fascinated me.”
Encouraged by her teacher, Rol began taking voice lessons, but her early attempts to enter conservatoire were unsuccessful. When she wasn't accepted in Toulouse, she refused to give up, continuing to study singing privately while obtaining a degree in English and Spanish.
A two-year stay in the US as an au pair followed, broadening her horizons further. “The US seemed like a place where everything appears to be possible,” she says.
Seeing older students return to music later in life gave her renewed confidence. Determined to try again, she tried different conservatoires across Europe. “A friend had suggested that I try to be where I want to study.” That search eventually led her, at 26, to the Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen (KCA).
A place behind the scenes
While singing remained central, her studies opened another door. During her bachelor’s degree in music, she was asked to work as assistant director on De spiegel uit Venetië by Hendrik Andriessen. At first, the job description was unclear.
“I didn’t really understand what the job was,” she admits. She soon discovered it involved organisation, structure and acting as the practical extension of the director’s vision. “It was very intense and hectic, but also great. I thought: oh, this is also an option for me.”
"People together can create incredible things, but it also means juggling a lot of egos that all need to flow in the same direction"
She realised she often served as an emotional buffer between director and singers, translating ideas, defusing tension and keeping rehearsals on track. A second assistant directorship, on Albert Herring with Benoît De Leersnyder, who later became a mentor, confirmed her instincts. Still, she chose to finish her master’s in singing before fully committing to this professional world.
After graduating, Rol secured internships at Opera Zuid and in Hamburg, and has worked steadily ever since. Her credits now include Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, La Monnaie, Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Opera Zuid in Maastricht. She works as a freelancer, embedded in productions but not tied to a single house, a freedom she values deeply.
Hard work and magic
“Each production is its own ecosystem, a capsule,” she says. “You integrate very quickly, work intensely, and then you’re saying goodbye again, but you know you’ll meet these people somewhere else down the line.”
The rhythm is demanding, but fulfilling. “You shake hands with people you’ve never met, and five or six weeks later there’s a whole show. You work incredibly hard for it, but it’s magic.”
That magic, however, comes with challenges. Opera brings together large groups of highly driven individuals. “People together can create incredible things,” Rol says, “but it also means juggling a lot of egos that all need to flow in the same direction.” Her approach to conflict is pragmatic and calm.
Diplomacy, egos and creative responsibility
“With diplomacy you always get people on the same line and where they need to be for the production,” Rol says. “It’s never based on what I want, but on what is best for the production. I’m always in between different people and their goals. It’s never my idea, but I have to treat it as the most important thing.”
In an industry often dominated by strong personalities, Rol is comfortable keeping her own ego in check, embracing a role that is largely behind the scenes but absolutely essential. She says the experiences that shaped her most were not at major opera houses, but during assistant directorships on the student productions at KCA.
“That’s where I really learned,” she says, observing different directing styles and discovering just how many ways there are to make opera.
Recently, Rol worked with a director best known for theatre rather than opera, finding the cross-pollination inspiring: “Bringing theatre techniques into opera opens up so much.”
As an audience member, her relationship with opera has inevitably changed. “Sometimes I miss the experience of seeing opera for the first time,” she says.
“I was overwhelmed, not aware of who anyone was or how it all worked.” Today, she watches with a more technical eye and envies audience members who can still surrender completely. “It’s so nice to be overwhelmed and just let the emotions happen. The music is so intense.”
That emotional impact, she believes, matters more than familiarity or melody. “With very contemporary opera, you don’t always leave humming something, but you leave with raw emotions. I don’t think audiences need to be aware of all the mechanics.”
Rol’s next project places her at the heart of one of opera’s more provocative visions as assisstant director in Calixto Bieito’s production of Mozart’s Idomeneo at La Monnaie. It is another new ecosystem, another intense collaboration and another reminder of why she chose a career built on balancing art, people and the fragile magic created when they come together.
(MOH)
#FlandersNewsService | Roos Rol © PHOTO HANDOUT AD VAN DUREN
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