Op zoek naar Evita (Looking for Evita) is 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
Expert panel To assess and train the potential Evitas and judge them during the live shows, an expert panel was chosen. The panel included: Willem Nijholt – actor and singer. Peter Van de Velde – Flemish actor from Belgium Erwin van Lambaart – (managing director of Joop van den Ende theatre) Pia Douwes – (musical theatre actress who is very successful in Europe)
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. Finalist Age* Date of birth Dress colour StatusTineke Blok 2521 April 1982Light pink Eliminated 1st in week 1Sabina Petra 2623 April 1981Light green Eliminated 2nd in week 2Sophie Veldhuizen 246 March 1983Dark pink Eliminated 3rd in week 3Babette Holtman 2627 May 1981Orange Eliminated 4th in week 4Wieneke Remmers 2812 August 1978Light blue Eliminated 5th in week 5Anne Stalman 2529 November 1981Dark green Eliminated 6th in week 6Marleen van der Loo 372 January 1970Dark blue Eliminated 7th in week 7Marjolein Teepen 276 August 1980Yellow Third placeSuzan Seegers 2613 November 1980Purple Second placeBrigitte Heitzer 2823 August 1979Red Winner * at the start of the contest
Results summary + Results summary Place Contestant Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Final 1Brigitte SafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafe Winner 2SuzanSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafe Second place 3MarjoleinSafeSafeSafeSafeSafeSafe Bottom 2 Third place 4Marleen SafeSafeSafeSafeSafe Bottom 2 Eliminated Eliminated 5Anne Safe Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Safe Bottom 2 Eliminated Eliminated 6Wieneke Safe Safe Safe Bottom 2 Eliminated Eliminated 7Babette Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated 8Sophie Bottom 2 Safe Eliminated Eliminated 9Sabina Safe Eliminated Eliminated 10Tineke Eliminated Eliminated
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:
Group performances: "Dreamgirls" (from Dreamgirls) "Rhythm of the Night" (DeBarge)
+ 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) Sabina was the second contestant to be eliminated from the series. The show performances were:
Group performances: "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) "Can't Help Falling in Love" (Elvis Presley)
+ 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) The third potential Evita to be eliminated was Sophie. The show performances were:
Group performances: "Get the Party Started" (Pink) "Mijn pakkie an (My Strongest Suit)" (from Aida)
+ 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) Babette became the fourth contestant to hear she was not Evita. The show performances were:
Group performances: "We Go Together" (from Grease) "Take a Chance on Me" (from Mamma Mia)
+ 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) Wieneke became the fifth contestant to hear she would not be Evita. The show performances were:
Group performances: "Don't Stop Me Now" (from We Will Rock You) "Rainbow High" (from Evita) "It's the Hard Knock Life" (from Annie)
+ 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) In the quarter-final, the sixth Evita to be eliminated was Anne. The show performances were:
Group performances: "Shout" (Lulu) "Foxtrot (Dutch version)" (from Foxtrot)
+ 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) In the semi-final, the seventh and final Evita to be eliminated was Marleen. The show performances were:
Group performances: "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three" (from A Chorus Line) "Ik ben uitzonderlijk goed voor u (I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You)" featuring Roberto de Groot, who will play as Juan Perón in the upcoming Dutch revival of Evita
+ 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) The grand finale saw Brigitte win the competition, with Suzan coming second and Marjolein third. The show performances were:
Group performance: Finalists and former Evitas: "There's No Business Like Show Business" (from Annie Get Your Gun) Finalists: "One Night Only" (from Dreamgirls) Brigitte and Suzan: "Buenos Aires (Dutch version)" (from Evita) Brigitte and Suzan: "Huil niet om mij, Argentina (Don't Cry For Me, Argentina)" (from Evita)