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Op zoek naar Evita

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Op zoek naar Evita
StarringFrits Sissing
(Host)
Pia Douwes
(Judge)
Erwin van Lambaart
(Judge)
Peter van de Velde
(Judge)
Country of originNetherlands
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
ProducerEyeworks
Original release
NetworkAVRO
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.

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

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Expert panel

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

Live finals

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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

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

Finalist Age* Date of birth Dress colour Status
Tineke Blok 25 21 April 1982 Light pink Eliminated 1st in week 1
Sabina Petra 26 23 April 1981 Light green Eliminated 2nd in week 2
Sophie Veldhuizen 24 6 March 1983 Dark pink Eliminated 3rd in week 3
Babette Holtman 26 27 May 1981 Orange Eliminated 4th in week 4
Wieneke Remmers 28 12 August 1978 Light blue Eliminated 5th in week 5
Anne Stalman 25 29 November 1981 Dark green Eliminated 6th in week 6
Marleen van der Loo 37 2 January 1970 Dark blue Eliminated 7th in week 7
Marjolein Teepen 27 6 August 1980 Yellow Third place
Suzan Seegers 26 13 November 1980 Purple Second place
Brigitte Heitzer 28 23 August 1979 Red Winner

* at the start of the contest

Results summary

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Results summary
Place Contestant Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Final
1 Brigitte Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Winner
2 Suzan Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Second place
3 Marjolein Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom 2 Third place
4 Marleen Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom 2 Eliminated Eliminated
5 Anne Safe Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Safe Bottom 2 Eliminated Eliminated
6 Wieneke Safe Safe Safe Bottom 2 Eliminated Eliminated
7 Babette Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated
8 Sophie Bottom 2 Safe Eliminated Eliminated
9 Sabina Safe Eliminated Eliminated
10 Tineke Eliminated Eliminated

Live shows

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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)

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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
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Result
Marjolein Teepen Pair 1 1 "Flashdance... What a Feeling" Safe
Anne Stalman 2 "One Moment in Time" Safe
Sabina Petra Pair 2 3 "Als ze mij zo zouwen zien (If My Friends Could See Me Now)" Safe
Wieneke Remmers 4 "One Day I'll Fly Away" Safe
Tineke Blok Pair 3 5 "These Boots Are Made for Walking" Bottom 2
Marleen van der Loo 6 "Inspiratie" Safe
Brigitte Heitzer Pair 4 7 "It's Oh So Quiet" Safe
Babette Holtman 8 "The Way We Were" Safe
Sophie Veldhuizen Pair 5 9 "Cabaret" Bottom 2
Suzan Seegers 10 "Because of You" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Evita:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Suzan (but revealed that his other favourite was Marjolein, but was positive about Suzan)
    • Pia Douwes: Suzan
    • Peter Van de Velde: Brigitte

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Tineke Blok "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar Eliminated
Sophie Veldhuizen Saved by Nijholt

Week 2 (September 9, 2007)

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

Contestants' performances on the second live show
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Result
Anne Stalman Pair 1 1 "Think" Bottom 2
Sabina Petra 2 "Geen kind meer" Bottom 2
Marleen van der Loo Pair 2 3 "Fever" Safe
Suzan Seegers 4 "Minutenwals" Safe
Sophie Veldhuizen Solo Performance 5 "Send in the Clowns" Safe
Brigitte Heitzer Pair 3 6 "I Am What I Am" Safe
Marjolein Teepen 7 "Over the Rainbow" Safe
Babette Holtman Pair 4 8 "I'm Every Woman" Safe
Wieneke Remmers 9 "New York, New York" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Evita:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Marleen
    • Pia Douwes: Wieneke
    • Peter Van de Velde: Sabina

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Anne Stalman "Memory" from Cats Saved by Nijholt
Sabina Petra Eliminated

Week 3 (September 16, 2007)

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

Contestants' performances on the third live show
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Result
Babette Holtman Pair 1 1 "Misschien dit keer (Maybe This Time)" Safe
Brigitte Heitzer 2 "Margherita" Safe
Sophie Veldhuizen Pair 2 3 "Waarom zeggen ze nee (Everybody Says Don't)" Bottom 2
Suzan Seegers 4 "All by Myself" Safe
Anne Stalman Pair 3 5 "Na die ontmoeting (Now That I've Seen Her)" Bottom 2
Wieneke Remmers 6 "Telkens weer" Safe
Marjolein Teepen Pair 4 7 "Geen wolken voor mijn zon (Don't Rain on My Parade)" Safe
Marleen van der Loo 8 "I Will Always Love You" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Evita:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Suzan
    • Pia Douwes: Marleen
    • Peter Van de Velde: Wieneke

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Sophie Veldhuizen "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast Eliminated
Anne Stalman Saved by Nijholt

Week 4 (September 23, 2007)

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

Contestants' performances on the fourth live show
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Result
Suzan Seegers Pair 1 1 "Ik geloof (I Have Confidence)" Safe
Marleen van der Loo 2 "Stuff Like That There" Safe
Marjolein Teepen Pair 2 3 "Ik hou van jou" Safe
Babette Holtman 4 "Als ik jou niet krijg (If I Can't Have You)" Bottom 2
Anne Stalman Solo Performance 5 "Raise the Roof" Safe
Wieneke Remmers Pair 3 6 "Take That Look Off Your Face" Bottom 2
Brigitte Heitzer 7 "Hij kan niet zonder mij (As Long As He Needs Me)" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Evita:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Babette
    • Pia Douwes: Babette
    • Peter Van de Velde: Babette

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Babette Holtman "Heel alleen (On My Own)" from Les Misérables Eliminated
Wieneke Remmers Saved by Nijholt

Week 5 (September 30, 2007)

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

Contestants' performances on the fifth live show
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Result
Wieneke Remmers Pair 1 1 "Dat zegt het hart (A Change in Me)" Bottom 2
Anne Stalman 2 "Jij woont in mijn hart (You'll Be in My Heart)" Bottom 2
Brigitte Heitzer Pair 2 3 "A Piece of Sky" Safe
Marjolein Teepen 4 "De man van La Mancha (Man of La Mancha)" Safe
Marleen van der Loo Pair 3 5 "Het Dorp" Safe
Suzan Seegers 6 "Big Spender" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Evita:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Marjolein (but also very positive about Suzan being his favourite)
    • Pia Douwes: Marjolein
    • Peter Van de Velde: Marjolein

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Wieneke Remmers "Thuis (Home)" from The Wiz Eliminated
Anne Stalman Saved by Nijholt

Week 6 (October 7, 2007)

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

Contestants' performances on the sixth live show
Contestant Order First song Order Second song Result
Brigitte Heitzer 1 "Al die jazz (All That Jazz)" 6 "Somebody to Love" Safe
Marleen van der Loo 2 "Tegen alle verwachtingen in" 7 "Whatever Lola Wants" Bottom 2
Suzan Seegers 3 "Ik ben een brassband (I'm a Brass Band)" 8 "Somewhere" Safe
Marjolein Teepen 4 "Ik weet het nu (I Know the Truth)" 9 "Let Me Dance for You" Safe
Anne Stalman 5 "Mannen (Men)" 10 "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" Bottom 2
  • Jury's favourite Evita:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Marjolein
    • Pia Douwes: Marleen
    • Peter Van de Velde: Brigitte

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Marleen van der Loo "De winnaar krijgt de macht (The Winner Takes It All)" from Mamma Mia Saved by Nijholt
Anne Stalman Eliminated

Week 7 (October 14, 2007)

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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
Contestant Order First song Order Second song Result
Marleen van der Loo 1 "Met één blik (With One Look)" 6 "Woman in the Moon" Bottom 2
Suzan Seegers 2 "This Is My Life" 5 "Jij speelt een spel (Maybe I Like It This Way)" Safe
Brigitte Heitzer 3 "Waar bleef die zomer? (Where Did That Summer Go?)" 8 "Proud Mary" Safe
Marjolein Teepen 4 "Mein Herr" 7 "Astonishing" Bottom 2
  • Jury's favourite Evita:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Suzan
    • Pia Douwes: Suzan
    • Peter Van de Velde: Brigitte

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Marleen van der Loo "Één van ons (One of Us)" from Mamma Mia Eliminated
Marjolein Teepen Saved by Nijholt

Week 8 (October 21, 2007)

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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
Contestant Order Song Result
Marjolein Teepen 1 "Mijn leven is van mij (I Belong to Me)" Eliminated
Brigitte Heitzer 2 "Het is over" Winner
Suzan Seegers 3 "Een nieuw leven (A New Life)" Runner-up
  • Jury's verdict on who is Evita:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: could not choose between Suzan and Brigitte
    • Pia Douwes: could not choose between Suzan and Brigitte
    • Peter Van de Velde: Brigitte
    • Willem Nijholt: Suzan
  • After being announced as the series winner, Brigitte concluded the series with a performance of "Huil niet om mij, Argentina (Don't Cry For Me, Argentina)".

After the series

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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

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Awards

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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

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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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