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The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra performs Het pand der goden, a music drama by the Surinamese composer Johannes Nicolaas Helstone (1853-1927). Otto Tausk conducts the performance in The Concertgebouw, with vocal soloists and Cappella Amsterdam. This is the opera’s first performance since 1906. After well-received performances in Paramaribo in 1906, Het pand der goden was nearly forgotten for over a century. Johannes Nicolaas Helstone is an important figure in Suriname’s cultural history as both a musician and a writer. The Concertgebouw Orchestra is delighted to bring this important piece of cultural heritage to the public’s attention once more. The plot of the opera is a mythical story with elements from Christianity and other religions. The hero Olindo discovers that he has an older sister, whom the gods abducted as a newborn in order to punish their father. Olindo undertakes a perilous journey to the temple of the gods... Will he be able to bring Athlolinda back home? Johannes Nicolaas Helstone was born in the Hernhutters missionary post Berg en Dal on the Surinam River. A talented youth, Helstone was trained as a teacher, but devoted himself more and more to music. An opportunity arose to study at the conservatory in Leipzig; he graduated in 1894 and was a professional organist, pianist and composer, giving concerts in Berlin, Paris and Vienna. Instead of further expanding his international career, he opted to return to his native land in order to help Surinamese culture develop further. He taught and was the organist of the Lutheran church and founder of the local Hernhutter Committee. He also wrote essays and studied Sranantongo, Surinam’s most widely spoken language, for which he created a grammar. In 1948 a monument to him was erected in Paramaribo.