Dutch artist Glennis Grace (Eurovision 2005) will play the lead role of Jesus’ mother Mary in the musical spectacle The Passion.
The Passion is a musical Bible- and Gospel event, performed on Maundy (or Holy) Thursday, three days before Easter. Since 2011, the mega open-air spectacle is held in a different Dutch city each year, the live broadcast attracting millions of viewers. The event is an initiative by Christian-based broadcasters EO and KRO-NCRV, the Protestant Church of the Netherlands and the Roman Catholic Church, the Dutch Bible Society, and the local municipality.
The Passion is extremely popular, having a Flemish version and an edition in New Orleans, the United States, in 2016.
A host of Dutch actors and artists lyrically and musically tell the story of Jesus’s Passion, using Dutch (and some Flemish, Dutch-Belgian) songs that correspond to the themes of the story.
Glennis Grace, who represented the Netherlands at Eurovision 2005 with My impossible dream, will play the pivotal role of Saint Mary, mother of Jesus. She follows in the footsteps of artists such as Lady of Soul Berget Lewis (national Dutch selection for Eurovision 2003), Anita Meyer and Shirma Rouse (backing vocalist for Anouk at Eurovision 2013).
Glennis Grace is very proud to be a part of The Passion, as she shared on Facebook:
So proud to be a part of The Passion 2018 in Amsterdam. Here is a little preview of one of the songs that I will sing in my role as Maria.
https://www.facebook.com/glennisgrace/videos/1957667217606623/
Glennis Grace will star alongside singer and musical actor Tommie Christiaan as Jesus, Dutch-Surinamese singer Jeangu Macrooy as Judas Iscariot and rapper Brainpower as the apostle Saint Peter, among others. The Passion 2018 will be held on Maundy Thursday in Amsterdam.
About Glennis Grace
Glennis Grace (born Glenda Hulita Elisabeth Batta, Amsterdam, 1978) is a Dutch pop and soul singer. She had her major breakthrough at the age of 16 in 1994, after winning the popular TV-show Soundmixshow with her interpretation of Whitney Housten.
She represented the Netherlands at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. With her powerballad My impossible dream she unfortunately did not go through to the Grand Final, placing joint 14th (alongside Ireland’s Donna & Joe) with 53 points.
Glennis Grace has diligently worked on her career, earning success in the past years with both Dutch and English songs. She is also a member of the popular group Ladies of Soul, also including Berget Lewis, saxophonist Candy Dulfer and Edsilia Rombley (Eurovision 1998 and 2007), and formerly Trijntje Oosterhuis (Eurovision 2015).
