Op zoek naar Evita

Last updated

Op zoek naar Evita
Starring Frits Sissing
(Host)
Pia Douwes
(Judge)
Erwin van Lambaart
(Judge)
Peter van de Velde
(Judge)
Country of originNetherlands
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Producer Eyeworks
Original release
Network AVRO
Release19 August (2007-08-19) 
21 October 2007 (2007-10-21)
Related
Op zoek naar Joseph (2008)
Op zoek naar Mary Poppins (2009)
Op zoek naar Zorro (2011)
Op zoek naar Annie (2012)
Op zoek naar Maria (2021)
Op zoek naar Danny & Sandy (2022)

Op zoek naar Evita (Looking for Evita) was a 2007 talent show-themed television series produced by the AVRO in the Netherlands. It documented the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Eva Peron in the 2008 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita .

Contents

The show was hosted by Frits Sissing who announced Brigitte Heitzer as the winner of the final public telephone vote on 21 October 2007 and masterminded by Willem Nijholt.

It became the first of a series of the Dutch themed talent contests to be produced by the AVRO in collaboration with Willem Nijholt. Op zoek naar Joseph followed in 2008 to find a new male lead to play Joseph for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , In 2009, it was followed by Op zoek naar Mary Poppins searching for a new lead to play Mary Poppins in a production of the musical Mary Poppins , In 2010, it was followed by Op zoek naar Zorro searching for a new lead to play Zorro in a production of the musical Zorro , Ten years later in 2021, it was followed by Op zoek naar Maria searching for a new lead to play Maria in a production of the musical The Sound of Music . In 2022, it was followed by Op zoek naar Danny & Sandy searching for a new lead to play Danny & Sandy in a production of the musical Grease .

Format

Expert panel

To assess and train the potential Evitas and judge them during the live shows, an expert panel was chosen. The panel included:

Live finals

The final ten contestants competed in the live studio finals held on Sunday nights over eight weeks. Each week the contestants sang and performed during the live show, receiving comments from the judges following their performance. The public then got a chance to vote for their favourite Evita, and the two contestants with the fewest votes performed a sing-off in front of Nijholt, who then decided which Evita to keep in the contest. This was repeated with the top ten, the top nine, the top eight, the top seven, the top six, the top five and the top four.

Nijholt had no say in the final casting decision, when in the concluding edition of the series it was left to the public to choose who should play Evita out of the final two contenders, Brigitte Heitzer and Suzan Seegers. After more votes were cast, the winning entrant was revealed as Heitzer, who won a contract to play Evita at the Nieuwe Luxor Theater in Rotterdam.

Finalists

Ten potential Evitas made it through the auditions process to perform during the live shows.

FinalistAge*Date of birthDress colourStatus
Tineke Blok 2521 April 1982Light pinkEliminated 1st in week 1
Sabina Petra 2623 April 1981Light greenEliminated 2nd in week 2
Sophie Veldhuizen 246 March 1983Dark pinkEliminated 3rd in week 3
Babette Holtman 2627 May 1981OrangeEliminated 4th in week 4
Wieneke Remmers 2812 August 1978Light blueEliminated 5th in week 5
Anne Stalman 2529 November 1981Dark greenEliminated 6th in week 6
Marleen van der Loo 372 January 1970Dark blueEliminated 7th in week 7
Marjolein Teepen 276 August 1980YellowThird place
Suzan Seegers 2613 November 1980PurpleSecond place
Brigitte Heitzer 2823 August 1979RedWinner

* at the start of the contest

Results summary

Results summary
PlaceContestantWeek 1Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5Week 6Week 7Final
1BrigitteSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeWinner
2SuzanSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSecond place
3MarjoleinSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeBottom 2Third place
4MarleenSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeBottom 2EliminatedEliminated
5AnneSafeBottom 2Bottom 2SafeBottom 2EliminatedEliminated
6WienekeSafeSafeSafeBottom 2EliminatedEliminated
7BabetteSafeSafeSafeEliminatedEliminated
8SophieBottom 2SafeEliminatedEliminated
9SabinaSafeEliminatedEliminated
10TinekeEliminatedEliminated

Live shows

The live shows saw the finalists eliminated one by one following both individual and group performances. Once eliminated, the leaving contestant ended the programme by receiving a suitcase and leading a performance of "Dag en bedankt nog (Goodnight and Thank You)\Jij blijft bij mij (You Must Love Me)" from Evita with the remaining contestants.

Week 1 (September 2, 2007)

Following the first week of competition, Tineke was the first Evita to be eliminated from the competition. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the first live show
ContestantPerformance PairOrderSongResult
Marjolein TeepenPair 11"Flashdance... What a Feeling"Safe
Anne Stalman2"One Moment in Time"Safe
Sabina PetraPair 23"Als ze mij zo zouwen zien (If My Friends Could See Me Now)"Safe
Wieneke Remmers4"One Day I'll Fly Away"Safe
Tineke BlokPair 35"These Boots Are Made for Walking"Bottom 2
Marleen van der Loo6"Inspiratie"Safe
Brigitte HeitzerPair 47"It's Oh So Quiet"Safe
Babette Holtman8"The Way We Were"Safe
Sophie VeldhuizenPair 59"Cabaret"Bottom 2
Suzan Seegers10"Because of You"Safe

Sing-Off

ActSing Off SongResults
Tineke Blok"I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar Eliminated
Sophie VeldhuizenSaved by Nijholt

Week 2 (September 9, 2007)

Sabina was the second contestant to be eliminated from the series. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the second live show
ContestantPerformance PairOrderSongResult
Anne StalmanPair 11"Think"Bottom 2
Sabina Petra2"Geen kind meer"Bottom 2
Marleen van der LooPair 23"Fever"Safe
Suzan Seegers4"Minutenwals"Safe
Sophie VeldhuizenSolo Performance5"Send in the Clowns"Safe
Brigitte HeitzerPair 36"I Am What I Am"Safe
Marjolein Teepen7"Over the Rainbow"Safe
Babette HoltmanPair 48"I'm Every Woman"Safe
Wieneke Remmers9"New York, New York"Safe

Sing-Off

ActSing Off SongResults
Anne Stalman"Memory" from Cats Saved by Nijholt
Sabina PetraEliminated

Week 3 (September 16, 2007)

The third potential Evita to be eliminated was Sophie. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the third live show
ContestantPerformance PairOrderSongResult
Babette HoltmanPair 11"Misschien dit keer (Maybe This Time)"Safe
Brigitte Heitzer2"Margherita"Safe
Sophie VeldhuizenPair 23"Waarom zeggen ze nee (Everybody Says Don't)"Bottom 2
Suzan Seegers4"All by Myself"Safe
Anne StalmanPair 35"Na die ontmoeting (Now That I've Seen Her)"Bottom 2
Wieneke Remmers6"Telkens weer"Safe
Marjolein TeepenPair 47"Geen wolken voor mijn zon (Don't Rain on My Parade)"Safe
Marleen van der Loo8"I Will Always Love You"Safe

Sing-Off

ActSing Off SongResults
Sophie Veldhuizen"Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast Eliminated
Anne StalmanSaved by Nijholt

Week 4 (September 23, 2007)

Babette became the fourth contestant to hear she was not Evita. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the fourth live show
ContestantPerformance PairOrderSongResult
Suzan SeegersPair 11"Ik geloof (I Have Confidence)"Safe
Marleen van der Loo2"Stuff Like That There"Safe
Marjolein TeepenPair 23"Ik hou van jou"Safe
Babette Holtman4"Als ik jou niet krijg (If I Can't Have You)"Bottom 2
Anne StalmanSolo Performance5"Raise the Roof"Safe
Wieneke RemmersPair 36"Take That Look Off Your Face"Bottom 2
Brigitte Heitzer7"Hij kan niet zonder mij (As Long As He Needs Me)"Safe

Sing-Off

ActSing Off SongResults
Babette Holtman"Heel alleen (On My Own)" from Les Misérables Eliminated
Wieneke RemmersSaved by Nijholt

Week 5 (September 30, 2007)

Wieneke became the fifth contestant to hear she would not be Evita. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the fifth live show
ContestantPerformance PairOrderSongResult
Wieneke RemmersPair 11"Dat zegt het hart (A Change in Me)"Bottom 2
Anne Stalman2"Jij woont in mijn hart (You'll Be in My Heart)"Bottom 2
Brigitte HeitzerPair 23"A Piece of Sky"Safe
Marjolein Teepen4"De man van La Mancha (Man of La Mancha)"Safe
Marleen van der LooPair 35"Het Dorp"Safe
Suzan Seegers6"Big Spender"Safe

Sing-Off

ActSing Off SongResults
Wieneke Remmers"Thuis (Home)" from The Wiz Eliminated
Anne StalmanSaved by Nijholt

Week 6 (October 7, 2007)

In the quarter-final, the sixth Evita to be eliminated was Anne. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the sixth live show
ContestantOrderFirst songOrderSecond songResult
Brigitte Heitzer1"Al die jazz (All That Jazz)"6"Somebody to Love"Safe
Marleen van der Loo2"Tegen alle verwachtingen in"7"Whatever Lola Wants"Bottom 2
Suzan Seegers3"Ik ben een brassband (I'm a Brass Band)"8"Somewhere"Safe
Marjolein Teepen4"Ik weet het nu (I Know the Truth)"9"Let Me Dance for You"Safe
Anne Stalman5"Mannen (Men)"10"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"Bottom 2

Sing-Off

ActSing Off SongResults
Marleen van der Loo"De winnaar krijgt de macht (The Winner Takes It All)" from Mamma Mia Saved by Nijholt
Anne StalmanEliminated

Week 7 (October 14, 2007)

In the semi-final, the seventh and final Evita to be eliminated was Marleen. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the seventh live show
ContestantOrderFirst songOrderSecond songResult
Marleen van der Loo1"Met één blik (With One Look)"6"Woman in the Moon"Bottom 2
Suzan Seegers2"This Is My Life"5"Jij speelt een spel (Maybe I Like It This Way)"Safe
Brigitte Heitzer3"Waar bleef die zomer? (Where Did That Summer Go?)"8"Proud Mary"Safe
Marjolein Teepen4"Mein Herr"7"Astonishing"Bottom 2

Sing-Off

ActSing Off SongResults
Marleen van der Loo"Één van ons (One of Us)" from Mamma Mia Eliminated
Marjolein TeepenSaved by Nijholt

Week 8 (October 21, 2007)

The grand finale saw Brigitte win the competition, with Suzan coming second and Marjolein third. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the first live show
ContestantOrderSongResult
Marjolein Teepen1"Mijn leven is van mij (I Belong to Me)"Eliminated
Brigitte Heitzer2"Het is over"Winner
Suzan Seegers3"Een nieuw leven (A New Life)"Runner-up

After the series

Brigitte Heitzer and several other finalists appeared in a special programme on 25 December 2008 with the winner and finalists from Op zoek naar Joseph titled Kerst met Joseph en Evita (Christmas with Joseph and Evita).

Reception

Awards

On 1 October 2008, it was announced that Op zoek naar Evita was nominated for the Gouden Televizier-Ring 2008, for the best television from the season 2007–2008. On 24 October 2008 showed that this nomination was not silver, the Golden Televizier-Ring was won by Mooi! Weer De Leeuw.

Follow-up

The success of the series lead to it becoming the first of a series of the Dutch themed talent contests produced by the AVRO in collaboration with Nijholt. 2008 saw Op zoek naar Joseph search for a new male lead to play Joseph for a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . This was followed in 2009 by Op zoek naar Mary Poppins , which searched for a new lead to play Mary Poppins in a production of the musical Mary Poppins . 2010 saw Op zoek naar Zorro cast Zorro in the forthcoming stage production of Zorro . Ten years later in 2021 saw Op zoek naar Maria cast Maria in the stage production of The Sound of Music . This was followed in 2022 by Op zoek naar Danny & Sandy , which searched for 2 new leads to play Danny & Sandy in a production of the musical Grease .

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