Opera The Master's Voice with Nina van Essen

First Act

Meet young Estelle (Nina), who needs a time-out due to the high demands she places on herself. She decides to go to an ashram in Sweden and apprentice with a guru for a year. She wants to balance her life, and (re)find her place in life.

Her best friend Sophie (Nikki) has a very different outlook on life. A down-to-earth attitude, contentment with what is, and modesty characterize her. Both women find a partner throughout the story. Sophie is content with her simple, domestic life, while Estelle experiences her relationship as a rollercoaster ride. Her husband John (Berend), whom she met at the ashram, is a romantic who quickly opens his heart but without forming deep connections.

Second Act

In the 2nd act, which takes place ten years later, dramatic events take place. Long-simmering conflicts escalate, both in the marital relationship of Estelle and John (who now have two children) and in the ashram, where serious abuse and other excesses appear to take place. Estelle, who still longs for enlightenment and inner peace, is tested to her limits by these events. This undeniably changes her, transforms her. This also makes it clear to her that the search for the deeper meaning of life can make you blind to what is already there. Sophie may have unintentionally been her most important teacher.