LYSANNE VAN OVERBEEK
Lysanne is a Dutch theatre and opera director, based in London.
Born and raised in the Netherlands, her interest in music developed as a young age as she began pursuing a career as a singer. She moved to the UK in 2010 to study at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance from where she now holds a BA(hons) in Musical Theatre.
After graduating, Lysanne decided to pursue a career in directing and rekindled her love for opera. Her first job was assisting Jenny Miller on Longborough Festival Opera's Alcina in 2016. Since then she has worked with many different directors in a variety of opera houses across the UK and Europe.
Lysanne started off directing profesionally with Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi, which had a sold out run at The Arcola's Grimeborn in 2019. She returned in 2021 with a double bill of Orfeo ed Euridice/Zanetto and was a finalist for the OFFIES' Best Opera Production award.
Directing
Directing credits include: La Traviata (Brent Opera), Opera Gala (Clonter Opera), Tutankhamun's Shoes (English Touring Opera), Dido & Aeneas (IF Opera), Rita (IF Opera), Double bill: Orfeo ed Euridice / Zanetto (Barefoot Opera, Finalist for 2022 OFFIES), The Tales of Hoffman (Opera Integra), Rigoletto (Brent Opera), I Capuletti e i Montecchi (Grimeborn, The Arcola), The Magic Flute (Opera Integra), Lady of Stavoren (Over the Pond Productions).
As assistant director her credits include: La Rondine (IF Opera), Little Women (Opera Holland Park), La Boheme, The Golden Cockerel, Amadigi, ETO at Home (English Touring Opera), Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria, Anna Bolena, Alcina (Longborough Festival Opera), Street Scene (Koln Oper, Germany), Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (Kiez Opera, Germany), Das Rheingold, The Rape of Lucretia, The Cunning Little Vixen (Grimeborn, The Arcola).
Work for Parkinson's Disease
In 2010, merely weeks before she moved to London, Lysanne's mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. They caught it late, because the initial symptoms were mistaken for mere stress. It wasn't until others noticed the tremor, that she realised it could be something more.
By the time she got diagnosed the disease had already progressed a lot.
1 in 500 people are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in their lives. It is a disease that changes people, inside and out. It is caused by a lack of nerve cells in the brain, which stops a chemical called dopamine being made. Some of the more well known symptoms are tremors and stiffness, but patients can also suffer with depression, memory problems and constant pain. We do not understand Parkinson's and there is no cure.
The fight for a cure and wish to create awareness for the disease led to Lysanne creating Limitless PD, a theatrical project to raise money and help find a cure.
So far there have been three successful events to raise money for the Cure Parkinson's Trust.
Dates for the 2023 Opera Gala will be announced soon.