deSingel is a vibrant campus for the arts offering a contemporary and international programme of the highest quality in the fields of theatre, dance, music theatre, music and architecture. Its programming encompasses everything from early music, classical symphonies, jazz and pop, to contemporary opera. The core task consists of showing contemporary artistic production and making it accessible for a larger public. This concerns both works by foreign artists and ‘native’ works that align itself with the international character of the centre’s orientation. Presentation and production happen in coherent wholes and are justified to the public by information and education.

Its large-scale infrastructure comprises a medium-sized concert hall seating 966, a large hall for theatre and dance seating 803, an exhibition space, a music studio seating 150 and a theatre studio seating 270.

The concert hall is called the Blue Hall (or in Dutch, Blauwe Zaal). Its furnishings and acoustics make it uniquely suited for non-amplified concerts. The stage can accommodate an orchestra of up to 120 musicians and a choir of up to 100 singers. Moreover, the stage can be adapted to smaller casts by the expert placement of acoustic, reflecting panels. The same holds true for the stage lighting. In order to reduce the size of the auditorium, the Blue Hall commands over an acoustically neutral curtain, which can be lowered where necessary.

(photo © Christophe Michielsen)