flanders arts institute Perspective: Music Theatre Content Foreword...... 2

Expanding from the centre...... 11

1. (anti-) Definitions...... 13 The policy framework for music theatre...... 13 Tradition and innovation...... 15

2. A landscape in motion...... 19 Shifting centres...... 19 Music theatre for a young(er) audience...... 26 Musicals...... 29 2.0...... 30 ‘Staged’ music...... 31 New urbanisation, hybrid identities...... 33 Tinkering with sound...... 34 Performing arts: a fusion of music, theatre and dance...... 34 Socio-artistic music theatre...... 37

3. Challenges for the future...... 39 Present way of working under pressure...... 39 A new Arts Decree...... 41 Betting on the future...... 42

Profiles & interviews...... 46

About...... 96 In addition, newer initiatives have seen the light of day, a number of which are focusing on music theatre for young audiences. Foreword Outside the ‘explicit’ music theatre segment, numerous theatre and dance companies, music ensembles and individual artists have also been experimenting with new and ever-changing combinations of live music, theatre and dance — incorporating expertise from the visual and audiovisual arts, urban art forms and the applied arts. Artists have clearly blown apart from the inside any approach to the (performing) arts involving neat categories.

This publication aims to give an international audience an in-depth view of recent developments in this very diverse field of music theatre. The booklet starts with a landscape sketch that gives insight into the field’s organisation, historical developments, recent artistic trends and possible future developments. Following on this, you will find a series of interviews with a diverse array of artists (directors, composers, performers…), information on the most important producers, and finally a series of The current boom in Flemish music theatre is the result of a pictures of key projects with international potential. remarkable story that has developed since the 1980s. Back then, a new generation of artists and producers emerged that challenged Flanders Arts Institute is responding in this way to growing existing structures and artistic conventions with highly idiosyncratic demand from outside for good information on the work of and genre-defying work. Abroad, their work immediately attracted Flemish performing artists and producing houses for music theatre. attention and generated support from the most renowned venues and Flanders Arts Institute — since 2015 a merger of VTi (Institute for producers. At home, these dynamics led to a thorough revision of arts the Performing Arts in Flanders), BAM (Flemish Institute for Visual, policy, resulting in new laws supporting the performing arts in an Audiovisual and Media Art) and Flanders Music Centre — is the ideal innovative way — very much adapted to the new kinds of structures contact point for foreign art professionals in search of information emerging from this new wave of Flemish performing arts. on the arts in Flanders. In addition to research and professional development, the creation and maintenance of sustainable Much has happened since then. The fact that policy officially international relations is one of our core functions. Building on the recognised ‘music theatre’ as a subsidy category in 1993 allowed expertise of our founding institutions, we will do so through research, a number of initiatives to grow and to develop their work in communication, visitor’s programmes and a visible presence in an international context. Today, these structures produce and international networks and hotspots. So we most certainly will meet coproduce a diverse array of work that differs in nature, scale and in the coming years: not only to inform you about developments scope. They also act as central hubs for the music theatre sector, in Flanders, but also to share knowledge and experiences, and to as breeding grounds supporting the career trajectories of younger dialogue on developments in the performing arts and music, in the artists and ad hoc collaborations and projects. context of the broader arts field and a changing society.

11 wannes gyselinck Expanding from the centre Music theatre in Flanders in 2015

Sometimes a metaphor fails because reality is too complex. Or moves about too much. Are we even able to present music theatre in Flanders as a landscape? It would then be one in which a tropical jungle borders a polar landscape and polders, where boundary markers never remain in the same place for long. Change of metaphor: music theatre as a house. But one in a permanent state of renovation. Walls are knocked down while elsewhere new annexes are built onto the older. While ‘music theatre’ is proudly chiselled in the façade, the rear annex is being dismantled, the garden is being subdivided and the gazebo appears to have more visitors than the comfortably furnished front room. 13 The floor plan, however, is clear enough. There is opera, and there are musicals. That which doesn’t fit into these categories, we call music theatre. This landscape sketch will focus especially on the latter. Since Flemish cultural policy explicitly targeted the 1 development of music theatre in the (anti-) Definitions early 1990s, a rich and flourishing segment has been created. We will give The policy framework for music theatre an overview of the major players active One thing is certain: Flemish music theatre is thriving. There today, the historical developments of is international wonderment at the amount and idiosyncratic nature of the productions coming from such a small region. This success recent decades and current trends. The – quantitative, qualitative as well as with respect to diversity – is result is a dynamic picture. Because closely related to broader evolutions in the Flemish performing arts while taken separately, music and of the past thirty years, and the way in which this has been support- ed by arts policy. The performing arts underwent radical changes in theatre each cover a wide spectrum the 1980s and 1990s. A new generation of internationally acclaimed of manifestations, the number of makers were eagerly bending the artistic rules, and succeeded in setting up new structures within which they could create and . possible areas where sound and theatre present their work. overlap within the remarkable subset Flemish cultural policy jumped on the bandwagon. In 1993, . the Performing Arts Decree – successor to the Theatre Decree (1975) ‘music theatre’ is increasing. We are – came into force. For the first time organisations could apply for seeing more and more new attempts project or structural funding specifically for music theatre. A Music Decree followed in 1999 that gave structural support to ensembles to connect the two poles of ‘music’ and and made possible the commissioning of compositions. In 2006, the ‘theatre’, in the hope that sparks will Performing Arts Decree and the Music Decree were integrated into the Arts Decree: a single policy framework for all artistic disciplines fly. This sketch will show the diversity (except literature and film). Music theatre remains a subsidy cate- of the landscape, but also provide gory within the new decree. In this way, the policy created a framework that strengthened insight into this permanent state of flux . the positive dynamics present in the arts since the 1980s. It made and change. possible a growth scenario for a number of initiatives that com- bined drama and music in a new way. A number of initiatives that emerged in the 1980s such as LOD, WALPURGIS and Muziektheater Transparant were already recognised as a music theatre structure in 1993. With only small subsidies in the beginning, they managed to 14 15

grow into the solid structures that they are today. Since then, other cree – some occasional, others regular – that experiment with (live) companies and producers have found their way into this system of music and theatre. This has been the case for some time for theatre multi-year subsidies. companies like Ensemble Leporello, Zuidpool or Troubleyn, the structure behind the performing arts work of Jan Fabre. Music. Subsidies within the Arts Decree are granted structurally also plays an important role in the work of prominent Flemish . (two or four year subsidies) or on a project basis. The two largest choreographers such as Alain Platel, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Wim structural players are LOD muziektheater and Muziektheater Vandekeybus and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, even though pol- Transparant. Both operate as a platform and production company icy supports them as dance structures. The proportion of live music for directors and composers. Together with LOD and Transparant, is increasing in all genres of the performing arts. Artists appear to WALPURGIS is among the organisations funded for the longest have blown apart from the inside any approach to the performing time, but it occupies a middle position between the ‘big players’ and arts involving neat categories. Productions by companies such as . the smaller organisations. While these three organisations produce Needcompany morph into concerts, a concert becomes a drama very diverse works, all three are related to opera. Thus they most (The Broken Circle Breakdown featuring the Cover-Ups of Alabama closely resemble the ‘historical music theatre’ of the 1960s. Leuven-. by Cie Cecilia), and concerts are given a theatre touch (The Great based het nieuwstedelijk – the merger of Braakland/ZheBilding Downhill Journey of Little Tommy – long English titles appear to be (BZB) with theatre company De Queeste – is a new structure since characteristic of the genre). Installation art meets scenography and 2015. BZB was created at the end of the 1990s and makes music theatre instrument building in performances by Tuning People and Hans based on an ensemble, as is more common in theatre. Musically, . Beckers, soundscapes silence the actor in the wordless productions its starting point is rather rock, alternative pop idioms, jazz and of Abattoir Fermé, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has singers improvised music. dancing and dancers singing (En Atendant, 2010). And recently musi- Several smaller structures focus on a – sometimes very – cal ensembles such as Zwerm and Nadar have found their way to the young audience. Zonzo Compagnie with its BIG BANG festival music theatre funding system with scenically interesting and drama- and multimedia productions has a strong international presence, turgically elaborate forms of presenting (contemporary) music. Theater De Spiegel makes experiential music theatre for toddlers, In short, while the policy framework may well create order Pantalone presents children’s theatre to a slightly broader audience, in this permanently shifting music theatre landscape, it by no means DE KOLONIE MT in turn makes music theatre for children and tells the whole story. This landscape sketch also aims to examine new adolescents as well as adults. Very recently, Tuning People, which fusions located beyond ‘explicit’ music theatre: music and theatre, previously worked with project subsidies, was awarded two-year audio art and stage, sound art and narration – and all possible com- operating subsidies. Until 2014, Compagnie KAiET! also received binations of these. It is inevitable that the fringes of the genre will be operating funds and distinguished itself as the anarchist brother discussed. Traditionally music theatre is a ‘centrifugal’ genre: innova- of the family with its pieced-together music theatre on location. tion takes place at the periphery, moving away from the centre. The company around Geert Hautekiet evolved into project-based subsidies. Tradition and innovation Judas Theaterproducties is the only musical company in Flanders to receive structural subsidies. And finally, Alden Biesen Independent of the policy framework, those wishing to define Zomeropera received structural funds in the previous four-year what does or does not belong to the genre music theatre, are on dan- round. gerous ground. You can approach the need for a definition of music theatre in two ways. Either you place productions on a sliding scale, Today, there are eleven organisations recognised as music thea- closer or further from the centre of ‘prototypical’ music theatre, as tre structure. In the last five years, 44 organisations and 10 artists re- this developed historically alongside opera and musicals. Or you take ceived subsidies for music theatre projects. And these organisations a more phenomenological approach: instead of searching for essences, are not the only ones in Flanders making music theatre. There are required characteristics or unchanging features, you examine how the also many structures in other disciplines supported by the Arts De- label is used. Who has appropriated it, and for what reasons? . 16 17

The first is a more strict definition; the second is much broader: an music theatre had reacted against decades previously. This evolution umbrella definition that also can include opera, musical, cabaret, resulted in a fading of the former sharp distinction between music chanson, theatre with music, and, of course music theatre. theatre and opera. This was reinforced by the frequent co-produc- Both definitions have advantages and disadvantages. The advan- tions between the Flemish Opera and music theatre houses, such as tage of the broad, inclusive interpretation is at the same time its great- Koningin van de Nacht with Muziektheater Transparant. De Munt/La est disadvantage: it covers everything, so it remains difficult to draw Monnaie and the Flemish Opera called upon many theatre directors boundaries. The narrower definition also entails dangers. Rather than such as Ivo van Hove, Johan Simons, Guy Cassiers and Stef Lernous. a negation, it contains a clear criterion: innovation. If there is some- Even now it seems that music theatre must continue to fight thing that seems to define music theatre in the narrow sense, it is the for its revolutionary roots against its ‘calcified’ great aunt ‘opera’. fact that it is constantly reinventing itself as a medium. Must reinvent It must repeatedly reinvent itself in order to avoid it too calcifying. itself, even: innovation is also an important criterion for assessment The essential questions must be asked again and again: why music, committees when evaluating dossiers. In short: our narrow definition why drama? Why sing the words and not say them? Why put actors is (implicitly) normative. We measure work based on its relationship on stage, and not singers? Why acting and scenography, and not a to a certain ideal type of music theatre. concert performance? These questions go to the heart of the drama This requirement for innovation is also ingrained in the history of each music theatre production. Asking – and answering – them of the genre that emerged under that name in the 1960s. Artists called usually means stripping conventions of their obviousness. They again what they made ‘music theatre’ explicitly to distinguish it from opera: are deliberately given a dramaturgical function. music theatre as a more democratic, collective, anti-institutional, Thus, the strict definition of music theatre indeed has heuris- innovative and/or small-scale art form. Where bourgeois opera had tic value for a landscape overview. It brings work into view that does fossilised into conventions, music theatre could be revolutionary and not explicitly label itself as ‘music theatre’, but at the same time does subversive. This innovation came from various quarters, but we can what we expect of music theatre: always making new, unexpected largely credit it to composers such as Mauricio Kagel, Luigi Nono, connections between theatre and music in order to renew a genre. Georges Aperghis, Philip Glass and Karel Goeyvaerts. But the compo- sitions of John Cage also result in performances as often as they result in music. Also in Flanders we see in the late 1980s and early 1990s how LOD, Muziektheater Transparant and WALPURGIS chose to work on a smaller scale in the margins of opera, and focus on contem- porary composers and theatre makers who often operated outside the canon. They freshened up the landscape with new creations and radical reworkings of the operatic repertoire. Dismissing opera as a ‘calcified’ and over-conventional genre must of course be seen more as a strategy for self-determination than an accurate assessment of the actual developments within this cen- turies-old genre. Since the 1980s, opera too has begun to drastically question and renew itself. In Belgium this happened under the impe- tus of Gerard Mortier, first in the De Munt/, then in the Flemish Opera. Mortier wanted to allow the opera genre to connect with innovative trends in theatre, by ‘transforming opera into theatre’. In the , the Dutch opera went so far in its struggle for self-renewal that it named its new theatre ‘The music theatre’ (re- named in the meantime to ‘National Opera & Ballet’: this too is a sign of the times). With these developments, opera partially succeeded in moving away from the dusty performance traditions of the past that 19 2 A landscape in motion

Shifting centres

Music theatre historically has always positioned itself with respect to its ‘dusty’ great-aunt, opera. After a nearly twenty-five year history, during which music theatre was put on the map as a sector, the situation now is structurally different. Opera is no longer the only centrepiece. Not only have opera and music theatre converged artistically, the situation is also not the same institutionally. The larger music theatre houses – Muziektheater Transparant and LOD muziektheater, but also WALPURGIS and Braakland/ZheBilding – have themselves become central players in the landscape. Today they play a central role in the field through co-productions, laboratories and talent development initiatives. They challenge a continuously growing pool of artists to explore on their own possible meaningful relationships between music and theatre. By making their structure available to young makers and sharing their expertise with them, they succeed in organising a fruitful periphery. LOD, Transparant and WALPURGIS have existed in their present form for more than a quarter century. At first sight, there are strong similarities in operations and ambition, particularly between LOD and Transparant. That in itself is not surprising nor problemat- ic – in the theatre world there are also companies with very similar aesthetics. In addition, a mild form of rivalry protects a company from flying on autopilot. At the same time, both structures are clearly complementary. The differences are related to the different histories and the different growth paths of LOD and Transparant, even though these paths have crossed one another regularly over the past decade. A good decade ago the situation was very clear: LOD focused on new 20 21

music theatre designed around and based on a few house artists. The Woman Who Walked into Doors (directed by Guy Cassiers). It Transparant, for its part, presented contemporary versions of the ex- has become a benchmark in contemporary music theatre thanks to isting repertoire. Due to the steady growth of both houses, a contact Defoort’s intelligent linking of jazz and contemporary music, and zone emerged whose artistic potential was largely realised thanks to seamless reconciliation of musical drive, dramatic narration and intensive dialogue. Thus, for example, Josse De Pauw, from the LOD typographical visuals. In 2018, will present his third op- stable, was able to realise a production like RUHE at Transparant. era, The Time of our Singing (based on the novel by Richard Powers), This was based on artistic grounds: he wished to work with existing directed by Ivo van Hove. Lieder by Schubert instead of with newly composed music. The young composer Daan Janssens is also fully engaged in de- veloping innovative commemorations of the opera genre. He did this LOD muziektheater – once the abbreviation for ‘Lunch On for the first time with The Blind (based on Maeterlinck, together with Thursday’ – grew from a small production company to the largest Liege artist Patrick Corillon). He will base a second opera on Menu- player, alongside Transparant. LOD is the base of operations for et by Louis Paul Boon. LOD consistently tries to facilitate a dialogue directors Josse De Pauw, Inne Goris and two generations of compos- between composers and directors, to ensure a strong dramaturgical ers: Kris Defoort, Jan Kuijken and Dominique Pauwels, and younger entwining of composition and direction concept. Thus for example, composers Thomas Smetryns, Daan Janssens and Vasco Mendonça. together with young Walloon director Fabrice Murgia, Dominique The production company opts for long-term trajectories with these Pauwels created the first two parts of the diptych Ghost Road (2012) artists, supporting them in developing an oeuvre and their own artistic and Children of Nowhere (2015), which can best be described as docu- language. In this, it seeks a balance between continuity and diversity, mentary music theatre. for example by regularly taking on productions with artists outside . In addition to her theatre work, director Inne Goris is developing the regular pool, with names like Pieter De Buysser (The incredible an idiosyncratic music theatre oeuvre that targets a younger audience changes of Mister Afzal (we won’t mention his glass leg) with music . but is also able to charm adults. Thus she has made productions such by Thomas Smetryns), Patrick Corillon (The Devil Bedeviled, with . as Long Grass (2012) with music by Dominique Pauwels, an installa- Thomas Smetryns; The Blind, the first chamber opera by Daan . tion in which scenography and music were intimately intertwined to Janssens) and François Sarhan. present a theme like child soldiers in a manner suitable to children, or The activities of LOD fall roughly into four domains, each based Snow (2015), a performance for 4+ with music by Thomas Smetryns. on the specific artistic projects of its house artists. Josse De Pauw has Finally, LOD is committed to talent development. On the one developed a quite unconventional musical theatrical oeuvre at LOD. hand, LOD gives young composers like Daan Janssens and Thomas With The Soul of the Ant (2004), a first collaboration between Josse Smetryns the opportunity to seek their own artistic identity. But at De Pauw and Jan Kuijken (text by David Van Reybrouck), De Pauw European level it is also developing a highly interconnected network continued along the path he started earlier with Peter Vermeersch of young music theatre makers with diverse expertise. An important (The Soluble Fish, 1994, WALPURGIS), WEG (1998, Kaaitheater) and factor here is the role of LOD in the European network ENOA (Euro- Larf (2000, Victoria). In the hands of Josse De Pauw, music theatre pean Network of Opera Academies), which organises workshops at becomes a jam session between actor and musicians. The rhythm of European level for composers, opera directors, playwrights and tech- the text finds a backbeat in that of the music. The work by Josse De nicians. Via this network, Thomas Smetryns, outside of LOD, created Pauw at LOD at the same time includes larger, highly stylised audi- a first chamber opera Triptych with the British Opera Erratica, and torium productions (among others The Hanged and House, both with young composer Frederick Neyrinck will also be able to develop mu- Jan Kuijken), but also smaller scale, internationally touring and high- sic theatre projects. Using the same network, LOD was able to link ly successful performances such as The Soul of the Ant (2004) and An the young Portuguese composer Vasco Mendonça to famed British Old Monk (2012) together with the Kris Defoort Trio. director Katie Mitchell, known for her work for Written on Skin by A second major project within LOD is the development of George Benjamin. This same partnership resulted in the chamber contemporary, new medium-scale . The path taken by Kris opera The House Taken Over (2013). Meanwhile, a second chamber Defoort, jazz pianist as well as composer, gradually led him to the opera by Mendonça is in the pipeline, with a libretto by Dimitri Ver- opera genre. For Defoort, in 2001 this culminated in the production hulst and based on the world of Hieronymus Bosch. 22 23

For several years, LOD has had an interesting infrastructural as- spanning the breadth of the music theatre spectrum. In the past, for set available to realise all of these dimensions of its work. Since 2008, example, Transparant has co-produced Roman Tragedies (2007) by LOD has been housed at the Bijloke site in , where – like dance Toneelgroep Amsterdam, directed by Ivo van Hove and with music company les ballets C de la B – it has access to a newly built rehearsal by Bl!ndman (Eric Sleichim). In 2015, it will be co-producing Winter- studio. reise (with among others the Ensemble Intercontemporain, directed by Johan Simons). Muziektheater Transparant regularly works with Where LOD gradually grew in the direction of opera, Muziek- European Capitals of Culture (Mons, Lille, Pilsen, Wroclaw) . theater Transparant – formerly Chamber Opera Transparant – has and major festivals such as the Edinburgh International Festival, . a long tradition of small-scale operas. Transparant has existed in Wiener Festwochen, Holland Festival and the Sydney Festival, and its current form as production company for contemporary music with partners such as the Bergen National Opera, Le Grand Théâtre theatre since 1987. Roughly two lines can be discerned in the great de Luxembourg, Deutsche Oper Berlin…. The fact that artistic direc- diversity of Transparant productions. There are chamber operas that tor Guy Coolen also leads Rotterdam Opera Days is an undeniable reinterpret and update the existing repertoire by confronting early asset in developing international partnerships. music with contemporary imagery or a new text. In other cases, the In the co-production Van Den Vos (2014, directed by FC Bergman, music is given a thorough makeover. This adventurous approach to a co-production with Toneelhuis), originally conceived as an opera, the existing repertoire highlights the difference with classical opera Liesa Van der Aa is pivotal artist and composer of theatre music. houses. Transparant can afford itself the freedom to rewrite Mozart’s With the ambitious concert performance The Weighing of the Heart, Don Giovanni for Hammond organ, bass and violin, as composer Jan this versatile artist is also working independently on her own musical Van Outryve did for the production Opera Buffa (2013, co-produced theatrical form, again in co-production with Transparant and (among with youth theatre company Laika). others) her own structure (Louisa’s Daughter). In the last fifteen years, Muziektheater Transparant has also Alongside Nicolas Achten, Liesa Van der Aa plays an accompa- increasingly focused on developing contemporary operas and music nying role in Transparant’s youth activities. In addition to the annu- theatre. It has invited composers and directors into its company to ex- al summer internships for young singers age 15 to 25 years, young periment with the genre. Transparant has mainly worked with com- singers are given the opportunity to create a chamber opera under posers in recent years. There have been regular collaborations with professional guidance. These youth activities – both the internships composer Wim Henderickx (among others Triumph of Spirit over and the youth operas – are an interesting breeding ground for vocal Matter, 2000, directed by Johan Simons), theatre maker Josse De talent in Flanders. Between 2001 and 2011, Transparant was also the Pauw (RUHE, Over the Mountains and Escorial), Claron McFadden driving force behind the Institute for Living Voice. Under the artistic and Wouter Van Looy. Young composer Annelies Van Parys has leadership of David Moss, intensive working and presentation ses- also been given opportunities to develop her own musical theatrical sions were offered to singers with an interest in exploring the limits language. After smaller-scale work such as writing a contemporary of the human voice. Transparant hopes to add a sequel to this in the coda for RUHE, and her rewriting of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande form of a European ensemble for young vocalists. for chamber orchestra (2012, directed by Wouter Van Looy), she will Since 2011, Transparant – together with Laika and De Roovers – be presenting her first full opera on stage in 2015. Private View (direct- has been housed in a new site in Borgerhout (Antwerp): Matterhorn. ed by Paul Creed, libretto based on a scenario by Gaea Schoeters, This has given Transparant the opportunity to open its doors as mul- 2015) received the first Fedora-Rolf Liebermann Prize for Opera – an timedia studio, as growth place for Transparant’s youth activities. incentive prize for ‘pioneering work of young makers’ – already a few months before its première. There is no why here (2015) in turn is WALPURGIS is built around the artistic personality of soprano multimedia music theatre directed by Wouter Van Looy, with music and director Judith Vindevogel. She is artistic and creative hub of the by Italian Andrea Molino and voice artist David Moss. productions of WALPURGIS as well as artistic mediator, in particular Muziektheater Transparant aims to be more than a house in by coaching artists via residencies. WALPURGIS started in 1987 as a which artists can grow. It also wants to be a crossroads of interna- small structure formed around a single artist, evolved between 1989 tional networks that results in a large number of co-productions and 1999 into a production company, and has been functioning as an 24 25

ensemble since 1999. Despite declining subsidies, the company has Since 2015, het nieuwstedelijk is a new company working on the managed to retain the three pillars of its activities: the production of geographical axis Leuven-Genk-Hasselt around writer-directors its own work, setting up co-productions, and the development of a Stijn Devillé, Adriaan Van Aken, director Christophe Aussems and music theatre laboratory through residencies. dramatist Els Theunis. It is the continuation of Braakland/ZheBilding WALPURGIS continues to make quality, adventurous and (BZB), which very recently announced its merger with theatre com- diverse music theatre productions, most recently with the psycholog- pany De Queeste. ical thriller The Medium, Reconstruction of a Murder (2014). Guy Van Since 1999, BZB blew a fresh wind through the music theatre Nueten wrote new material inspired by the contemporary chamber landscape in Flanders. Its cross-fertilisation of text and music is opera by Gian Carlo Menotti, and rearranged the original music. close to the musical theatrical form also being explored by Josse De Most of the productions in the WALPURGIS repertoire are Pauw, but it conducts this exploration within a collective of makers. collaborations with artistically related houses. With HETPALEIS, Writers, actors and musicians create the production together. In WALPURGIS presented the fairy tale opera Princess Turandot (2011, their ‘theatre for the ear’ they take on themes close to their hearts 4+), which won the public choice prize during the 2014 edition of the and those of the audience, in search of the focal point where the Young Audiences Music Award. For this narrated and sung Persian person of the maker, the times we live in, and the form of the artwork story, multi-instrumentalist Rudi Genbrugge arranged arias from the come together. Thus for example the triptych Hebzucht, Angst and classical operatic repertoire for an unusual, minimum orchestration. Hoop (already a co-production with De Queeste, with music by Bert The partnership with HETPALEIS continues in 2015 with the fairy Hornikx & Geert Waegeman) dissects the dynamics that led to the tale opera Fidelio. For Café Bohème (2013, text Elvis Peeters), a winter financial crisis, and how this crisis has left its mark on our soul. café drama on location about growing poverty in Europe and the role BZB usually starts from an original text whose rhythms and of the artist in society, WALPURGIS worked with Tutti Fratelli, the musical montage provide the pulse for the music. The music gives socio-artistic company around Reinhilde Decleir. The civic engage- rhythm to the production and makes subtexts audible without be- ment of WALPURGIS can also be seen in a production such as HAVEN coming explicit. BZB calls it Urban Chamber Music: a ‘contemporary, 010, a collaboration with asylum seekers. It aims to make music theatre non-traditional, alternative cross-over’. Geert Waegeman, Gerrit accessible to people who have less access to culture and it does this by Valckenaers and Youri Van Uffelen are regular suppliers of sound. Self- working with various non-artistic partners, for example the Flemish built instruments regularly define the scenography of the performance. Network Against Poverty. BZB is able to combine strong text theatre with music that is In addition to (co)-productions, WALPURGIS also hosts bud- always more than just a soundtrack. Its productions balance between ding and more established artists from Flanders and elsewhere who classical theatre and a frontal, almost concertante performance of wish to experiment with music theatre in the broadest sense. The ca- the text. This gives free play to the musicality of the text. Both Lied reer of Eurudike De Beul (also a member of dance company Peeping (2006, Kris Cuppens) and the major production Hitler is dood (2009, Tom) evolved from a residency (2008-2010) to a sustainable artistic Stijn Devillé) received the Taalunie Toneelschrijfprijs, an award for an collaboration in several productions, including the already mentioned original play in Dutch. The Medium, Reconstruction of a Murder. In recent years, BZB has broadened its public outreach to youth With deFENIKS, home and workplace of the company, and children through co-productions. Wagon is a collaboration with WALPURGIS fulfils an important function as a music theatre labo- Zonzo Compagnie (see below). Aan Tafel! (with the Antwerp youth ratory and residence for young makers. Each year, young artists from theatre HETPALEIS) is an improvisational performance, with the Belgium and abroad spend several weeks in residence experimenting two musicians at the table improvising based on ideas presented to with music and theatre. They demonstrate and test the results during them by the children. the summer FENIKS festival. The annual, improvised libretto read- ings with live music and actors are now in their tenth year. 26 27

Music theatre for a young(er) audience Theatre for the very young necessarily uses dramaturgy and suspense in a different way. KARUSSELL (2+) is associative and Music theatre for children and youth has developed consider- colourful theatre for toddlers, on a rotating platform and with tech- ably over the last fifteen years. Today there are many organisations niques borrowed from puppet theatre. Bral’s music is danceable, and projects that have made this their trademark. attractive and refined. Gelukkig Genoeg (5+) in turn is built around With the OORSMEER festival, Wouter Van Looy has been the classical repertoire: Kinderszenen by Robert Schumann. Produc- implementing his vision of music theatre and musical experience tions such as Pantoffeltrein (2.5+) and Pommeliere (2.5+) tickle all the for children and youth since 1995. This resulted in the independent senses of their youthful audience, including smell and taste. production company Zonzo Compagnie, founded in 2001 as an organisational base for OORSMEER. OORSMEER has grown into the Theater De Spiegel limits its target group to toddlers 0 to 3 internationally active children’s music festival BIG BANG that plays in years of age. This company around puppeteer, director and set design- nine European cities and in 2016 will also open its doors in Sao Paolo. er Karel Van Ransbeeck creates experiential environments rather This international reach at the same time creates a nice platform to than productions. Children are given the opportunity to give voice to present Zonzo’s own productions on an international circuit. the theatrical world and interact with the performers, for example Zonzo Compagnie has been producing adventurous, multime- in Caban (2012). Such a musical environment is set up as an artistic dia music theatre for a younger audience since 2010. Three lines can playroom with a number of child-sized architectural structures. From be distinguished in this. The first line comprises a series of composer the experience with this interactive installation grew the music the- portraits or homages. The successful production Listen to the Silence atre production Nest (2013) for babies six months and older. A singer (2011, 6+) shows how the childlike wonder of composer-inventor and a violinist call out wordlessly: singing and playing, musically and John Cage can effortlessly excite the imagination of a young audi- expressively, the world of birds. For Meneer Papier en Don Karton ence. An extensive international tour followed, as did the Young (2014) the company based itself on the picture books of Elvis Peeters Audiences Music Award 2012 and the YEAH! award for the best and Gerda Dendooven. Sleevz (2015) is a dance theatre production in European performance of the year. Zonzo developed the musical which an oud and an alphorn stimulate the child’s imagination. Since portrait Mile(s)tones around Miles Davis, featuring jazz pianist Fulco 2008, Theater De Spiegel together with Musica – the impulse centre Ottervanger (De Beren Gieren) and theatre maker/trumpeter Bert for music – has been organising a biennial music theatre festival for Bernaerts. A tribute to Luciano Berio is in the pipeline. toddlers, Babelut, at provincial domain Dommelhof in Limburg. A second type of production is constructed as a song cycle or Throughout the school year, both Pantalone and Theater De ‘visual concert’ with live music and video footage by young video artist Spiegel present an impressively full programme, often school perfor- Nathalie Teirlinck. This resulted in Staring Girl (2012), with music by mances. Moreover, productions are often presented for years. Jan Van Outryve. Slumberland (2015) translates the world of dreams into images and sound with musicians Fulco Ottervanger and An Pierlé. DE KOLONIEMT targets children, youth and adults. In recent Finally, Zonzo also gives tinkerers/musicians free reign on years, musician Bo Spaenc, the company’s central figure, has succeed- stage. Audio handymen Nicolas Rombouts and Joris Caluwaerts . ed in attracting interesting young players and makers. Thus in recent built the musical installation/productions Wagon and Station years Benjamin Van Tourhout (Tg Nunc) directed the children’s show (co-produced with Braakland/ZheBilding). ScattiWhatti (2013), in which Simon D’Huyvetter and Nele Van den Broeck scat their way through the world of jazz. Hertehart followed Pantalone is the company around composer Filip Bral. It quickly in 2015, also directed by Van Tourhout, a ‘kitschy mini-operetta for put itself on the (international) map thanks to the success of the narra- toddlers’. In Miranda van frituur Miranda (2014), based on a novel by tive concert and book Luna van de boom, a musical fairy tale written by Erik Vlaminck, Marijke Pinoy plays the title character. The piece is Bart Moeyaert. The book with accompanying CD won the Gouden Uil, directed by Dominique Van Malder (Cie Cecilia, Orka...). one of the most important literary prizes of the lowlands. The music also Bo Spaenc and Peter De Graef have a long working relationship. received awards. The production provided a kick-start for this fledgling With Zoals de dingen gaan (2009), Stanley (2011), Begin (based on the company, which immediately attracted international attention. Epic of Gilgamesh), and Rudy (2014), DE KOLONIE MT presented 28 29

four excellent monologues with Peter De Graef as artist in residence. de Heks, children’s opera by Luc Frans and composer Filip Martens) Rich narrative theatre carried by music, which for good reason won and Tal en Thee (Octavio’s Elektro, 2014, music/puppet theatre with the Flemish Culture Prize for Stage Literature 2010 and was nomi- Reineke Van Hooreweghe and Maarten Van Aerschot). nated for the Taalunie Toneelschrijfprijs 2012. Bo Spaenc supports the The larger children’s companies also regularly work with tension of the narrative with a minimum of musical resources. The artists who explore the music theatre genre on a project basis. We music gives momentum to the text and makes the emotional under- have already mentioned a number of co-productions of the Antwerp current of the words palpable, without being illustrative. children’s and youth theatre HETPALEIS. Villanella, the Antwerp art centre for youth, supported singer/theatre maker Mira Bertels Tuning People is the outsider of the group, and intentionally with the production Luchtfietsers (2014), made in collaboration with so. This young makers collective evolved from project subsidies, sup- Wannes Deneer and Anna Vercammen. At Kopergietery (Ghent), plemented by music theatre development subsidies (for stage design- Anna Vercammen contributed in 2013 to Broken Dreams, a music . er-sound artist Wannes Deneer) in 2014, to a structurally subsidised theatre production on location by Mambocito Mio and Johan . company. Founded by choreographer Karolien Verlinden, Wannes De Smet. In 2015, she made De Koningin is verdwenen with actor-. Deneer and theatre maker Jef Van gestel, Tuning People makes pro- musician Joeri Cnaepelinckx. ductions that cannot easily be placed in the already obscure category Han Stubbe – multi-instrumentalist with DAAU – is active in of music theatre. In its case, sound theatre is the better description. music theatre in diverse formations and for very different audiences. In dUb, Verlinden and Deneer, under the wings of fABULEUS, creat- Together with Yamina Takkatz, he is the driving force behind De ed a ‘mass choreography’ for fourteen young dancers. What happens Sprookjesweverij, best known for the production for youth Lounja to our perception of movement when sound effects are added? Our en de Tseriel (2014, music by Geert Waegeman). However, Stubbe does imagination then goes to work: the movements transcend their true not limit himself to making music theatre for children. Since 2013, proportions. together with Els Roobroeck, he has been part of the promising Cie In the children’s production Tape voor Kleuters (2011, final Covar, which has been making exciting and innovative productions direction Randy De Vlieghe), the trio tinkers together a world (of for three consecutive years. The duo gained fame with the experi- sound) with tape and cardboard. The decor is stuck together, the di- mental musical performance Medea Redux (2012). Stubbe made his verse sound possibilities of tape are stretched far beyond the bound- first production under the Covar flag in 2013, with Tot de stilte erop aries of imagination. With their tape-wrapped muddy boots, actors volgt (2013). Adult World is planned for 2015, an adaptation of the violate the rules of children’s theatre and treat their young audience experimental short story of the same name by David Foster Wallace. to grotesque slapstick, grim jokes and Dadaist masquerades. Utopia (2012) is a scenographic concert under the direction of Wannes . Musicals Deneer. Scenography, sound effects, makeshift instruments and sound design flow together seamlessly, or better: with rough welds. Unlike music theatre, a genre that we defined by its tendency to With DaDaKaKa (2015), a ferocious revue, they again go Dadaist . escape categorisation, the musical is a well-defined genre with strict with Randy De Vlieghe. conventions. In 2015, only one company was awarded a structural With its ‘analogue’, untechnical and rudely constructed . subsidy. Judas Theaterproducties makes medium-sized musical approach, Tuning People occupies a unique position in the music productions especially for the Antwerp Fakkeltheater, with a grow- theatre landscape. There are high hopes for Ruis! (2015), its first ing presence in the Flemish cultural centres. In this, they maintain a production for adults. balance between their own creations (scenario and/or music) such as Pauline & Paulette (2013, based on the film of the same name by All of the above organisations are being supported structurally by Lieven Debrauwer), Josephine B., Schone Schijn (2012) and Lelies the Arts Decree in 2015. Productions for children and youth are also an (2011), and their own interpretations of existing musicals like . important segment within project subsidies, often linked to (modest) Ganesha and Je Anne (both from 2009). development subsidies for individual artists, with companies such as With only one subsidised musical company in Flanders, the Tg Schemering (around Eric Vanthillo) Rubus Productions (Grietje musical appears to be under-represented compared to its potential 30 31

audience. Partly due to this potential audience, former culture minis- operas and give contemporary composers the opportunity to write a ters – first Bert Anciaux (sp.a), then Joke Schauvliege (CD&V) – made first opera, albeit on a smaller scale than in the Flemish Opera or De efforts to support the musical. Which instruments the Flemish govern- Munt/La Monnaie. The cooperation between the Flemish Opera and ment should use to do so has long been fodder for controversy. the two major music theatre houses regularly bears fruit in Opera In the 1990s, the Royal Ballet of Flanders – one of the great institu- XXI, the biennial festival of contemporary music theatre, in its fourth tions of the Flemish Community – had a musical department. This was edition in 2015. abolished in 2004 after a parliamentary debate, with a lack of artistic in- Opera is also made at project subsidy level. The Ministry of novation being given as the main reason. Since then, policy has followed Operatic Affairs of conductor Bart Van Reyn (Octopus/Le Concert two paths. Initially, a number of commercial players were supported by d’Anvers) and theatre maker Korneel Hamers (SKaGeN) succeed policy instruments focused on creative industries (CultuurInvest). in presenting fresh stagings of operas from outside the tradition- Since 2009, the musical has also been a part of the Arts Decree. al opera circuit such as Don Giovanni (2013) and Gluck’s Orfeo ed In 2010, Musical van Vlaanderen, the spin-off production branch of Euridice (2015). the commercial-style Music Hall Group led by Geert Allaert, received In the meantime, composer Joris Blanckaert has presented a working subsidy of 2.45 million euro, which entailed a doubling of three chamber operas on stage from outside the traditional struc- the total budget for music theatre. Two years later, however, Musi- tures: the opera buffa L’Algerino in Italia (2010) based on a libretto cal van Vlaanderen lost its monster subsidy after a negative artistic by Dirk Opstaele (Ensemble Leporello) with drawings by Randall and business evaluation, after which it switched to project subsidies. Casaer, The Wandering Womb (2013, an operatic monologue for While project subsidies in essence are meant for talent stimulation or Elise Caluwaerts in co-production with Muziekcentrum De Bijloke) for projects with a lab function, Musical van Vlaanderen managed to and the ‘dream opera’ Elle est moi und töte mich (2013, libretto Tom rake in project subsidies for approximately 1 million euro for the pro- Hannes) that depicts the last seconds of the life of Romy Schneider duction Assepoester and a questionably run Musical Lab. By way of in images and sounds. This production was originally written for comparison: this is equivalent to the annual subsidy given the largest the Flanders Operastudio, but in 2015 is making its way through the music theatre players LOD and Transparant. regular circuit via a co-production with the Mechelen arts centre In 2013, Allaert announced that he would be stepping aside as NONA, directed by Ruud Gielens. artistic director of Musical van Vlaanderen. Stany Crets entered the limelight as new head, after success with Monty Python’s Spamalot ‘Staged’ music and his direction of the Broadway hit De Producers. Officially, how- ever, Allaert is still listed as artistic director, with Crets and Frank Van In recent years, the project subsidies reflect a new trend at the Laecke as artistic advisers. fringes of music theatre. Musicians and ensembles increasingly are The uncomfortable attitude cultural policy takes regarding the requesting resources for ‘staged concerts’. New ways are being sought musical has to do with the middle position held by the musical between in both alternative rock and contemporary music to capitalise on the art and commerce. As an art form, the genre receives subsidies to make inherent theatricality of making music in visual-theatrical perfor- artistic innovation and diversification possible. On the other hand, mances. More and more ensembles and musicians are looking for sce- Juffrouw M, the musical branch of commercial player Studio 100, man- nographic forms and dramaturgical concepts to enhance the impact aged to create the long-running success productions ‘14–’18 and Daens. of a musical performance. This trend is also beginning to translate into new programming at venues such as deSingel or Muziekcentrum Opera 2.0 De Bijloke, which in 2014 launched the new series ‘muziek en scène’. In addition to the already mentioned work by Liesa Van der Aa During the above described process of institutionalisation of mu- (The Weighing of the Heart, Transparant/Louisa’s Daughter, 2014), sic theatre in Flanders, music theatre and opera have grown towards with Henric (2013), Elvis Peeters has added a ‘literary concert’ to his each other. Composers and directors no longer hesitate to also create impressive music theatrical accomplishments (with music by Gerrit productions with the label ‘opera’ in music theatre houses. What’s Valckenaers and Stevie Wishart). more: it is the music theatre houses that by far produce the most new In 2011, a collaboration led by Dez Mona (around Gregory . 32 33

Frateur and Nicolas Rombouts) and the ‘indie baroque collective’ BOX Younger composers such as Matthew Shlomowitz, François (around Pieter Theuns) resulted in the concert opera SÁGA. BOX Sarhan, Johannes Kreidler and Stefan Prins – digital natives – are continued along this path with the music theatre production You Us permeated with these traditions, which they continue by ‘plugging We All (2013, music by Shara Worden, text and direction by Andrew into’ recent technological developments such as the Internet or the Ondrejcak). sampling of sound and images. This attention to the interplay be- tween image and music, the sampling of acoustic and visual ‘objets Much is also happening in the world of contemporary music. The trouvés’ linked to compositional techniques taken from the musical Ictus Ensemble plays a crucial role in the development of avant-garde, and the great attention to the joining of music, move- ever new concert forms that can increase the communicative impact ment, execution and performance guarantees a total approach to mu- of challenging contemporary music. They do so among other at hap- sic. Live concerts automatically go in the direction of music theatre. penings such as Liquid Room: an eclectic programme of contemporary Gradually this is being included in the subsidy system. music in a rock setting with four stages in one area. In addition, Ictus – like Spectra Ensemble – also plays an important role as coach of emerg- New urbanisation, hybrid identities ing talent (for example, Nadar Ensemble and ensemble Besides). These new ensembles have found their way to the Arts Decree Where artists and companies such as Nadar, Zwerm and Liesa since 2012. Guitar quartet Zwerm and Nadar are creating ambitious Van der Aa in the meantime have found their way to the subsidising presentation forms via project subsidies for music theatre. Zwerm bodies in the meantime, we see how a different musical periphery, did this in 2012 with Park in collaboration with choreographer Shila one we can characterise as ‘urban music’, is gradually connecting . Anaraki (who also received a development subsidy for her research), with institutionalised theatre. These musicians and theatre makers and Belgian composer Stefan Prins (also co-founder of Nadar). With often reflect the hyper-diverse reality of large cities. The Antwerp . the Prins composition Infiltrationen as starting point, their exploration SINCOLLECTIEF, which includes in its ranks Junior Mthombeni, of the interaction between people, music and technology resulted in a Ikram Aoulad and Fikry El Azzouzi among others, makes productions production with maximum interaction of music, movement and text. that are rooted in the fabric of the city. H&G (Grimmiger) (2011) links In 2015, Nadar created the multimedia production Recht. On an Grimm’s fairy tales with the plight of being uprooted and young in island in the Moselle – near Schengen, a symbolic place – thinkers, an urban jungle. In this, when dealing with language and music, he musicians and artists come together to create new laws and to make borrows from the rich hip-hop culture. Rumble in da jungle (2013) is music. Documentary footage, music and theatre intertwine into a a concert, a spoken-word performance and a boxing match all in one. visual-acoustic composition. Concerts such as Doppelgänger Deluxe For Troost (2013), SINCOLLECTIEF joined hands with NoMoBS, the also search for situations in which to play that result not only in hip-hop collective around Salahdine Ibnou Kacemi, Saïd ‘Eazy-Lo’ music but also in ‘playing’, – i.e. acting in the dramatic sense – often Boumazoughe, Mike De Ridder and Yahya ‘R8’ Affane. In the mean- with a strong visual, theatrical component. The composition Gener- time these urban poets have created their first production, Wachten ation Kill confronts the audience and performers with digital look- op Gorro (2014), also directed by Junior Mthombeni with text by alikes of the musicians. Fikry El Azzouzi. All this finds its place in international trends in contemporary There are a number of initiatives present in the arts education music rooted in both the European tradition of musique concrète and youth sectors that focus on urban art forms like hip-hop dance and and the American, conceptual approach to music as reflected in the slam poetry such as Urban Woorden (Leuven), Let’s Go Urban (Antwerp) music of John Cage. Since the 1980s, composers such as Helmut and Yawar (Genk). It is hoped and expected that the talent that unfolds Lachenmann have been composing music by writing down not so here will find its way to Flemish music theatre sooner rather than later. much the notes, but rather the movement patterns the musicians Such issues are also catching on outside this urban context. . must execute: music as instrumental choreography. John Cage in From her nonprofit Dunia, Antwerp actress/theatre maker Dahlia turn approached music as a performance, governed by a set of rules Pessemiers-Benamar is making a series of productions that are devised by the composer. Thus he breaks down the boundaries be- strongly tied to the city and that treat themes such as multiculturalism tween execution, improvisation and (theatrical) performance. and multiple cultural identities (Secret Gardens and MozaIK). 34 35

Tinkering with sound Theater Zuidpool, which emphatically bases itself on text, paradoxically enough often reverts to music precisely to enhance the Finally, there is a new trend that is based more on earlier instal- musicality of text narration and development. Siberia (2005) was ‘a lation art and (acoustic) bricolage. Young musician/sculptor/inventor theatrical concert’, a concept that was expanded for the production Hans Beckers, for example, won the TAZ Young Music Prize 2012 Macbeth (2012, with among others Mauro Pawlowski). And in . at the Summer Festival Theater aan Zee with his interactive sound Empedokles (2014), the original German text of Hölderlin is enhanced installation Sonare Machina. In 2015, he is working on a sequel to with the hypnotic guitar music of Bert Dockx. Zuidpool actor and TAZ with Clangdelum Cinematographica. Within the POST.TRAUM musician Jorgen Cassier also contributed to the new production com- collective (around Maya Wuytack), Hans Beckers provided the live pany Volksopera founded by conductor Stijn Saveniers, which aims to music for the interdisciplinary performance Ademlozing (2013). again provide a platform for opéra comique and debuted in 2015 with Wannes Deneer, sound artist and scenographer at Tuning Le Docteur Miracle by Charles Lecocq. . People, makes music installations and builds instruments with strong visual qualities, such as Worm (2009) and Etudes (2014). He does A second group of companies makes theatre with live music, this under the aegis of Antwerp production house ChampdAction, without the dramaturgy of the production being profoundly determined around composer/inventor Serge Verstockt. Serge Verstockt is cur- by the presence of music. Thus for example, Compagnie Cecilia, the rently also working on his second ‘opéra de trash’. This musical trav- company around Arne Sierens, regularly works with guitarist Jean- elling companion of Jan Fabre presented Hold Your Horses in 2013. Yves Evrard (Altijd Prijs, 2009, Ensor, 2013), the series around Klein . In visually captivating total experiences, he destroys the boundaries Jowanneke by MartHa!tentatief was given a live soundtrack by Bart between digital and live, between trash and high art, between free Voet and Tim Clement, Tg Nunc had Het Geslacht Borgia accompanied improvisation and opera. He similarly explores love in times of digi- by the music of Jan Van Outryve and Brent Vanneste (from the rock tisation in the production HRZSCHMRZ, again a co-production with band Steak Number Eight), and in productions such as Nerf (2013), pup- the Klara Festival (2015). Troubadour Guido Belcanto shares the pet theatre Ultima Thule works with baroque ensemble Zefiro Torna. stage with classical, free jazz and pop musicians who sing the love of Pérotin, through Buddy Holly to Belgian new beat. Then there is theatre that integrates music or a musical logic in a way that is neither pure accompaniment nor recognisably a part Performing arts: a fusion of music theatre as we know it. The productions of Abattoir Fermé of music, theatre and dance invariably have a dark undercurrent of music and sound. The Mechel- en company has a long-running artistic collaboration with musician/ From the 1980s until today, experiments that combine music sound architect KRENG. A performance such as Snuff (2012) is so and theatre have been taking place in varying degrees within the punctuated by music that it, as Lynchian techno act, fit perfectly on broader field of the performing arts. We roughly see three ways to the alternative music stage at the Lowlands Festival. The baroque deal with music in the context of contemporary theatre. imagery of artistic director Stef Lernous appears to thrive within a A first group of companies places (usually live) music at the stylised genre such as opera. In 2011, Lernous directed the new cham- heart of their dramaturgy. What they create does not differ substan- ber opera L’Intruse (2011) for the Flemish Opera, and took on Wagner’s tially from what musical groups such as Braakland/ZheBilding or Tristan und Isolde in 2014. DE KOLONIEMT do. Ensemble Leporello, with productions such Lucinda Ra has in its ranks theatre maker Simon Allemeersch as Quixotic scenes (2010) and The Final Party (2013, based on the and jazz musicians Giovanni Barcella and Jeroen Van Herzeele. With works of Chekhov with choral music by Kurt Bikkembergs), presents Het fantastische leven van de heilige Sint-Christoffel zoals samengevat theatre that, in its own words, occupies the middle ground between in twaalf taferelen en drie liederen (2012), Allemeersch together with music, text, and dance theatre. Strongly influenced by French dram- Barbara and Stefanie Claes made a production he describes as ‘jazz atist Jacques Lecoq, artistic director Dirk Opstaele seeks links with theatre’. the ritual, musical roots of theatre. This is reflected in a thorough-. going stylisation and musicalisation of narrated text. 36 37

The boundaries between dance, music and theatre are be- as Peter Vermeersch, Thierry De Mey, David Byrne, Marc Ribot, coming increasingly blurred. For decades, much attention has been Eavesdropper and David Eugene Edwards. paid to musical and dramatic forms in the field of dance. The work of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker can roughly be divided into two Socio-artistic music theatre broad lines: in productions such as Fase and recently Vortex Tem- porum, she grafts her choreography very closely to the score of the Interesting developments are also taking place in the socio-. musical processes of the music she uses. She usually opts here for artistic field. The number of participatory art projects has steadily live performances by the Ictus Ensemble. But she is also engaged increased in the past fifteen to twenty years. These participatory in an ongoing exploration of the meeting points between text and processes allow non-professional artists to become involved in the dance. For several productions in the late 1990s, she worked with production of arts. Socio-artistic work has been a grant category her sister, theatre maker Jolente De Keersmaeker (Tg STAN), in within the Arts Decree since 2006. A number of structures such as among others productions such as I said I and In Real Time (with live Unie der Zorgelozen or bij’ De Vieze Gasten engage in multidisci- music by Aka Moon). Her exploration of the physicality of speaking plinary activities in the field of music and theatre. Especially in the and singing, or into the possibility of using singing and speaking as case of Tutti Fratelli, this results in productions in which musical a starting point for choosing movement, resulted in recent years in and dramatic forms are organically intertwined. In the 1970s, driving productions such as 3Abschied (based on Mahler), En Atendant and force Reinhilde Decleir was associated with the socially engaged mu- Golden Hours (As You Like It) (based on Eno/Shakespeare). sic theatre of the Internationale Nieuwe Scène. This company made For decades, artists such as Alain Platel and Jan Fabre have international headlines at the time with an adaptation of Dario Fo’s been making productions that play upon the theatricality of the Mistero Buffo. This was music theatre ‘avant la lettre’: the develop- dancing body. Platel in particular knows how to graft his dance thea- ments in the socio-artistic field complete this circle. tre to surprising reworkings of the classical repertoire. Together with Fabrizio Cassol (Aka Moon), he has pursued a fascinating artistic trajectory that – again – begins with Gerard Mortier. He asked Platel to follow up Iets op Bach (1998) with ‘something on Mozart’. This resulted in the production Wolf (2003), with surprising rearrange- ments of Mozart’s music by Cassol. This momentum continued in vsprs (2006), this time based on Monteverdi’s Vespers. Also at . the request of Mortier, in Madrid Platel created the production . C(H)OEURS (2013), an exploration of the intoxicating and threaten- ing nature of groups, featuring the music of Verdi and Wagner. Platel’s les ballets C de la B has shown itself to be a breeding ground for talent. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui worked as a choreographer with this company until 2006, and attracted considerable attention with his production Foi (2003). Meanwhile Cherkaoui with his own company Eastman has made strong symbolic productions that attract a large audience. Cherkaoui will lead the Ballet of Flanders from 2015. Jan Fabre also launched new talent with his choreographies that border on performance. In the 1980s, Wim Vandekeybus danced in Fabre’s The Power of Theatrical Madness (1985), and put himself on the map as a choreographer with the production What the Body Does Not Remember (1987). With his company Ultima Vez, he often creates productions in close cooperation with (rock) musicians such 39 3 Challenges for the future

The sustainable functioning of structures, a high level of mo- bility allowing makers to engage in ever new partnerships, a policy framework that imposes few substantive obligations and provides lots of space for initiatives in the field has resulted in recent years in a boom and exciting artistic developments. However, this is no guar- antee for the future. In 2015, the current way of working – which has lately yielded fascinating results – is under increasing pressure.

Present way of working under pressure

As the production companies grew, the productions also in- creased in scale and logistical complexity. Co-productions at home and abroad make it possible to also create large-scale productions that can compete with the grandness of opera. Before the financial crisis also began to trickle down to the international cultural sec- tor, these large-scale productions could be financed by national and international co-productions and good international distribution, so much so that Flanders had two houses that were able to engage in similar work, without putting each other out of business. This situation has begun to change noticeably since 2009. In several countries, the financial and economic crisis led to cuts in cul- tural subsidies, often at national and local level. Since then, negotia- tions are harder than ever concerning buyout fees and co-production contributions. These are decreasing on average, making it necessary for producers to involve more and more partners in order to meet their budgets. In addition, opportunities to present are becoming scarcer, making competition keen. 40 41

Venues are also under increasing pressure in Belgium. The op- experiment in itself. For the first time, a thoroughly redesigned Arts portunities to present performing arts productions are declining at the Decree is being put into practice. The new decree contains a number many cultural centres in Flanders, among others due to cuts in local of important innovations that are likely to have a major impact on culture budgets. More often than in the past, programmers are being developments within music theatre. Thus, for example, the organi- judged based on the figures, resulting in more conservative program- sational forms of the previous Arts Decree are disappearing. ‘Music ming. This so-called ‘distribution problem’ is an issue for many theatre theatre’ as a separate organisational form, an important innovation of companies. The situation is even more acute for music theatre. Not the Performing Arts Decree in 1993, is again disappearing. It will be only do cost and the high degree of experimentation play a role, but it replaced by a more flexible approach: starting in 2017, all structures also seems that not everyone finds ‘music theatre’ a compelling label. will be ‘arts organisations’ that can define their own artistic ‘DNA’ While genre boundaries may have become irrelevant to artists, for based on a combination of functions and disciplines. Applicants must programmers – and by extension the public – such labelling is impor- indicate whether they play a role in the area of artistic development, tant to continuing to see the forest through the trees and to developing production, presentation, participation and/or reflection. They can and offering programming strategies. A number of attempts by diverse fulfil this role within five major clusters of disciplines: music, per- houses to offer programmes in music theatre have now been with- forming arts, visual and audiovisual art, architecture/design, and a drawn because they were ‘too comprehensive and too hybrid’. miscellaneous transdisciplinary category. With an artistic practice This has consequences. Because there is much at stake finan- that is hybrid by definition, music theatre makers can be placed in cially and because some venues are taking fewer risks, the danger of almost every discipline. ‘Music theatre’ after all is a subcategory of ‘compromise productions’ is real. Especially in the case of larger-scale not one but two discipline clusters: ‘music’ and ‘the performing arts’. productions, logistical complexity can result in dramaturgical heavi- ‘Sound art’ in turn falls under ‘visual and audiovisual art’. And for ness, reduced experimentation and greater conventionalisation. those for whom these labels are irrelevant, there remains the miscel- Production houses are searching for answers to this changing laneous transdisciplinary category. situation. Some are – more deliberately than before – adapting their The crucial question is what the impact will be of the amended activities to each another, in order to avoid duplication. But new assessment and decision-making procedure. The principle of per- working models are also being tested. Thus, productions are travel- manent evaluation committees is being abandoned. The dossiers ling more efficiently and sustainably, for example by presenting and submitted will be assessed by evaluators chosen ad hoc from a large sometimes even re-creating productions at distant locations using pool of experts. This can have major consequences for music theatre: local players and ensembles. To ensure the survival of grand music will this new procedure allow the evaluators to see the big picture? theatre for large auditoriums, the scale of productions is handled How will this new method shift or eradicate the boundaries of the more judiciously. In consultation with the artists, the necessity of a arts landscape? Will ‘music theatre’ still be recognisable as a separate large scale to address the artistic needs of the artist is being looked at field? Which artistic and political/strategic gains can be had? more critically than in the past. Betting on the future A new Arts Decree The developments in artistic practice and cultural policy of The key question is whether policy will be able to sustain the the past decades have resulted in less clear boundaries between the current boom with respect to both artistic content and organisation. traditional genres and disciplines. They have blended into constantly During the preparation of this text, many players in the Flemish art changing intermediate forms for which the term ‘intermedia’ is more scene were busy planning for the future. There is an important dead- appropriate than ‘multimedia’. The performing arts have become line in the autumn of 2015 for a new multi-year funding round of the ‘transdisciplinary’. Due to its intrinsic hybridity, music theatre is Arts Decree. Thus it will be interesting to see the new directions and closely associated with this increased transdisciplinarity. possibilities that artists and organisations are planning, to artistically The label ‘music theatre’ certainly has had its cultural/political grow in an organisational context that is under pressure financially. significance within the context of the recent decades. Music theatre This multi-year funding period is an interesting and important exists and is flourishing as a sector in Flanders, partly because there is 42

a subsidy-giving assessment committee that recognises the genre un- der this name and supports groups that present themselves as music theatre. With the new Arts Decree there is a chance that the current field will fragment into different, ever-changing discipline clusters. But there is more going on here. Some companies deliberately choose not to use the label ‘music theatre’. This omission is revealing. Where this label was used historically to distinguish music theatre from an established genre, namely opera, these companies choose not to identify with music theatre as established genre. They are defend- ing in this way their new-found identity in these transdisciplinary times. The paradox: they are doing exactly what the definition of music theatre – in the narrow sense of the genre – expects of them. Question themselves, reinvent themselves. In short: to continually expand from the centre.

Wannes Gyselinck (1980) studied Latin and Greek literature, teaches at KASK/School of Arts, and works as a freelance writer and dramaturge.

46 47 Alden Biesen Zomeropera Barre Weldaad

WWW.ZOMEROPERA.BE WWW.BARREWELDAAD.BE

Since it was founded in 1998, Alden Biesen Zomeropera has Barre Weldaad produces theatre rich in imagery for children, organised an opera festival at the beginning of every summer in the young people and adults. The company was founded by the author, historic setting of the Alden Biesen Landcommanderij in Limburg. director and dramatist Stef Driezen in 1997. In 2010, the director The objective is to make opera more accessible to the general public. and scenographer Barbara Vandendriessche took over its artistic Zomeropera’s artistic director is the bass singer Piet Vansichen. management. Since 2012, Barre Weldaad has been based in Brussels. For each festival, Zomeropera creates a major new production, Barre Weldaad derives inspiration for its productions from which is performed outdoors in the inner courtyard of the castle. myths and other classic stories. NARCISSUS 2.0 (2013) is a The organisation presents classics from the opera repertoire in an contemporary version of this story from Greek mythology. Barbara accessible, transparent and captivating manner, such as Don Giovanni Vandendriessche directs a production about an insecure teenager (Mozart, 2014), Rigoletto (Verdi, 2013) and Il Barbiere di Siviglia fleeing from himself and the World Wide Web, with a poetic text (Rossini, 2010). In 2015, Zomeropera is working with the director that she wrote along with Herman van de Wijdeven, plus dance, live Frank Van Laecke and conductor Daniel Lipton on Bizet’s Carmen. music and a soundscape. NARCISSUS 2.0 is the final part of a trilogy Every year Zomeropera also produces a children’s opera in including the youth productions Icarus (2009) and Minotaurus addition to the creation for adults to introduce a young audience (2008). For the musical family production ’T ZIT ZO! (2012), Barre to the genre. This is often a reworked ‘adult’ opera classic. For Weldaad based its creation on Rudyard Kipling’s 1902 Just So Stories. the festival in 2015, Bizet’s Carmen has also been reworked to Hans Van Cauwenberghe, Ina Geerts and Bode Owa reworked this create a production for children. In Carmencita, a production by production into ‘T ZIT ZO # 2 (2015), a music theatre performance director Tom Baert, an opera fairy tale is sung, in Dutch, about about how language came to be and how the first letter was written. being different, not following the rule, and the power of boundless BILLY DE KID (2014), with a script by Herman van de Wijdeven and friendship, for viewers aged between nine and twelve. country music by Jan De Smet, searches for the boy in the desperado. Alden Biesen Zomeropera works with a variety of directors Disguised as a heroic epic full of snorting horses and barking guns, and conductors, some of whom regularly return. The productions’ situated on an arid plain, the piece poses contemporary questions makers and cast come from home and abroad. Zomeropera selects about tensions in a new type of family. experienced opera singers and musicians as well as young talent. By Telling raw, realistic, contemporary stories is a major element offering budding artists a platform, the organisation supports them of Barre Weldaad’s work, in addition to reworking classics. in developing an international career. Vliegevleugelbommenwerper (2011) is a modern version of the . Romeo and Juliet story for children, placed in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Barre Weldaad’s creations often involve life in difficult circumstances. Dark themes are treated in a poetic manner. Following several years during which it only produced theatre for a young audience, Barre Weldaad recently once again began creating for the evening circuit. 2013 saw the premiere of ACQUA AZZURRA, a production for adults written by Peter Terrin. In 2015, the author wrote a new play, VERDACHT, about the impact of the attacks by the Bende van Nijvel (the Brabant Gang), 30 years ago. . 48 49

het nieuwstedelijk directs and produces, Geert Waegeman composes and plays the formerly known as soundtrack. Dansen Drinken Betalen (2006) is a metropolitan epic by Adriaan Van Aken with a young girl playing the lead, a cross between J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and the songs of Wannes Van Braakland/ZheBilding de Velde. Based on these lyrics, a comic strip with drawings by Philip Paquet and a corresponding CD with text and music was created in WWW.BRAAKLAND.BE 2014. Shortly afterwards, the premiere of Dansen Drinken Betalen – WWW.NIEUWSTEDELIJK.BE (almost) The Movie was performed as a music theatre production at HETPALEIS. This production was also performed in English under Het nieuwstedelijk makes theatre for the ear and profiles itself the title Last Call. In 2009, Hitler is dood was created; the story is set as a company of creatives on the same wavelength who base their in a Western world left in ruins after the death of Goebbels, Himmler productions on the spectator’s auditory imagination. It opts for the and Hitler. There is deliberation and plans are made for a new future, organic combination of spoken text with contemporary, alternative and how it should be shaped – a universal reflection that is also high- music, crossovers between rock, jazz, folk, punk, minimal music and ly relevant today (lyrics by Stijn Devillé, Taalunie Toneelschrijfprijs electro. The company plays on the quality of the voice and the nar- 2009). rative perspective. It strives to make literary text sensory, rhythmic, Stijn Devillé is working on a trilogy, the first two parts of which musical and theatrical. Speaking to the front, performing, directly have already been staged. Hebzucht (2012) is about the banking crisis talking to the audience etc. Het nieuwstedelijk does not make sung and zooms in on the rise and fall of a family empire. In Angst (2014), theatre. It is predominantly the area between speaking and singing Devillé focuses on the fear that has gripped the world since the fall that interests the company. The creatives fully commit to the crea- of the banks. The final part will be called Hoop and is expected in tion, starting each project from scratch. December 2015. The company always begins with a socially relevant theme. Occasionally, het nieuwstedelijk also creates productions for het nieuwstedelijk’s favourite biotope is the city. This can be seen in children. These include Station (2014), a wordless performance productions such as Dwaallicht (2010) and Naast/Hinterland (2012), co-produced with Zonzo Compagnie and the successor to Wagon in which the city even becomes one of the characters. In 2010, it was (2010), a production with two electric trains, which toured Belgium appointed as city theatre company of Leuven, along with fABULEUS. and Europe for three years. In Aan Tafel! (2013), a collaboration with Their home base is OPEK, on Leuven’s Vaartkom, where they collabo- HETPALEIS, the musicians Kobe Proesmans and Gerrit Valckenaers rate with other cultural players (including fABULEUS, Mooss, Art-. improvise to drawings by the audience. forum and WISPER). The company was founded in 1997 and received At the same time as the premiere of Sabine Sabine Sabine (2015), the 2010-2011 Flemish Cultural Award for the Performing Arts. a co-production with Nieuw West / Marien Jongewaard (NL), an In 2015 het nieuwstedelijk saw the light of day. Het nieuwstedelijk audio book was made available, with drawings by Fien Van Elzen and is a merger of Braakland/ZheBilding and De Queeste who make up a double CD of music by Youri Van Uffelen and Chantal Acda and the a new theatre company on the Leuven-Hasselt-Genk axis. Its artis- voices of Sara Vertongen and Marien Jongewaard (author Adriaan tic management is in the hands of the directors and authors Stijn Van Aken). Devillé, Christophe Aussems and Adriaan Van Aken and dramatist . Els Theunis, who have assembled a group of actors and musicians around them.

notable performances: Lied (2005) is an intimate production about a broken family, per- formed on stage as a duet between an actor and a musician. Kris . Cuppens acts and writes (2006 Taalunie Toneelschrijfprijs, awarded every year to the author of an original play in Dutch), Stijn Devillé Blauwe Maandag Compagnie, which he Frühlings Erwachen (2015). Guy Joosten co-founded. His innovative views on the established his penchant for dangerous When classic repertoire and constant explora- women in his directing of Strauss’ Elektra tion of theatrical forms soon meant that (2010), Salomé (2012) and Daphne (2014) he was much in demand as a director, and Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia (2013). irritation among other places at NTGent, the KVS, One of the highlights of his opera career the Brussels Kamertoneel, various Dutch was the directing of Gounod’s Romeo and companies and the Burgtheater in Vienna.. Juliet at the Metropolitan Opera in New becomes At the age of twenty-eight he reached York in 2005. the post of ‘Oberspielleiter’ at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg. ‘I still find it an incredible challenge to passion set to work with singing voices, words In the end, a conversation with Marc and music in a designed stage set. When On the work of Guy Joosten Clémeur enticed him to Opera Vlaanderen,. all the parameters that opera can boast where he made his debut with Rossini’s are used and run together, the result is ‘For a long time I was against opera be- La Cenerentola in 1990. It was the first something incredible.’ He also likes to cause I found that it swallowed up too in a long series of acclaimed operas that pass on his enthusiasm for opera to a many resources to make old-fashioned he directed in his own highly individual younger generation. In 2014 he returned productions. Money that we young the- way. to the course he himself set up – the . atre makers saw ourselves missing out International Opera Academy – as its ar- on. Until the then intendant of Opera. ‘Opera is an art form that is actively tistic director. In that post he endeavours Vlaanderen presented me with a chal- engaged in looking for new forms and to train opera singers in every aspect lenge: “Instead of complaining about it, other ways of telling something. There of the craft. Taking a holistic approach do it. Show that you can do opera in a is still too often a return to the old sys- (voice training, acting, directing) in a different way.”’ tem, where stories were told by means two-year course, an international selec- of simple illustration.’ In his directing, tion of opera singers is made ready to And that’s what happened. Guy Joosten. Joosten goes counter to these routine rush onto the world’s opera stages. Ready (1963, Genk) can now call himself the expectations. He views opera through to emerge from the shadow of the master. only full-time Flemish opera director. a contemporary lens and takes it to its He is one of a select group currently contemporary societal essence, stripped sofie joye setting the tone in Europe’s opera hous- of all its frills and frivolity. His perfec- es. Yet he does not rest on his laurels. tionist nature and extreme attention to ‘When I think I’m doing well, a light all the elements of a production, with the starts flashing.’ This year he will be cele- directing of the actors to the fore, makes brating his thirty-year opera career with Guy Joosten an important innovator in a revival of his Mozart-Da Ponte cycle the opera world. at Opera Vlaanderen and is adding Die Schweigsame Frau to his series of Richard He has distinguished himself in a varie- Strauss operas, this time at the Aalto The- ty of repertoires, including Rossini, Mo- atre in Essen. zart and Verdi, bel canto, operetta, and many works from the French repertoire, Joosten initially started his career as a but also Britten, Stravinsky and Berg and stage director and artistic head of the such contemporary operas as Mernier’s 52 53 Compagnie KAiET! Dahlia Pessemiers-

WWW.KAIET.BE Benamar/Dunia

Compagnie KAiET! is a music theatre company that doesn’t WWW.DUNIAVZW.COM present classic opera with grand gestures or a furious, contemporary musical touch. Since it was founded in 2003, Compagnie KAiET! has At Dunia, the Antwerp actress and theatre maker Dahlia created musical narratives on location in the most diverse forms. Pessemiers-Benamar creates productions with a strong focus on the People and their minor worries always play a key role. The tone is city that play on themes such as interculturalism and (multiple) cultural surprising and playful, characterised by a somewhat chaotic idiom. identities. Dunia questions typical theatrical conventions by telling Geert Hautekiet is the artistic director and for each production the stories different from the usual theatrical productions, by performing company works with freelance actors, musicians and designers. in classrooms instead of theatres, and by bringing diverse casts together Compagnie KAiET!’s natural habitat is anything but a theatre. with an even more diverse audience. Dunia works with creatives The company performs its creations at unusual locations, such as from different disciplines. Each and every one is a storyteller, actor or archaeological sites (Verdronken dorp (2008) and Verdronken Land musician who feels the urge to showcase the world culture that exists in (2007)), a velodrome, an iron warehouse, a weaving mill or a cattle every European city. market (Tour de Force (2005)), medieval cellars and long-abandoned MozaIK (2010) is the story of one woman’s world, a woman born cinemas (Gotf! (2003)). Or on the road, with Otto, de Verhalenboer with different identities and raised in different cultures. She recounts, (2009) or Het Lied (2012). dreams, sings and fantasises about her insignificant and grand stories The performance locations are performances in themselves and that might afford her life a certain unity. This unfolds to the music of thus Compagnie KAiET! brings its work closer to the audience. The Tomas De Smet and Myrddin De Cauter and is coached by Sam Touzani. company aims – literally – to create accessible music theatre and in It is a groundbreaking piece for adults about making choices, uniqueness doing so questions the threshold to theatre. Zwart Zaad (2014), part and individuality as well as unity and division. Secret Gardens (2011) is 2 of the Trilogie van de Vieze Verhaaltjes, was performed in a public based on the novel This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun garden at the invitation of Zomer van Antwerpen; the production and is a production that hovers on the brink of theatre, performance, will be revived in 2015. documentary and concert – with music by the multi-instrumentalist Han . Stubbe. In a montage of voices and languages, of live music and a digital soundscape, Secret Gardens poses questions about fact and reporting, about experience and commentary, about courage and commitment. In De Boom Toudou (2014) Nyira Hens recounts and sings a Malian fairy tale about a girl who in other parts of the world is called Assepoester or Cinderella. This production transports classes of children aged between . six and nine years to the savannah. In the 2011-2012 season, Dahlia Pessemiers-Benamar follows Stukschrijven at HETPALEIS, a journey in which the author Suzanne van Lohuizen intensively coaches five budding authors writing their very first youth theatre play. The text that Dahlia Pessemiers-Benamar wrote during this process formed the basis for the production Baba (2013); an intense music theatre production for children aged ten about an unexpected encounter between two worlds. HETPALEIS is reviving the production, in which the singer and musician Walid Ben Chikha also appears on stage. In the 2015-2016 season Baba will embark on an international tour. . 54 55 MT DE KOLONIE Collaboration is a vital element of DE KOLONIE MT’s operations. Not only artists from different disciplines but also WWW.DEKOLONIEMT.BE experienced and budding new performers and artists from diverse origins engage in dialogue. In Pia Madre (2013), a co-production with DE KOLONIE MT is the music theatre company founded by the Theater Stap, artists with and without a disability stand side-by-side composer and multi-instrumentalist Bo Spaenc. Transdisciplinarity on stage. and eclecticism characterise the company’s work: diverse music . genres are explored and instrumental music, song, text, movement, dance and character games are combined to create new concepts. DE KOLONIE MT writes new compositions and texts for each production. Spaenc founded DE KOLONIE MT in 2008 as the successor to De Vikingen, in which he created children’s music productions. Since then the company has focused on two target groups: adults and nursery-age children. For an adult audience Spaenc regularly collaborates with the author, actor and director Peter De Graef. The duo presents the musical monologue Stanley (2011) together with the HERMESensemble. In this production, the life of the explorer Henry Morton Stanley forms the basis for a series of reflections on the existential search that we all endure. Also in Rudy (2014), De Graef recounts an insignificant and simultaneously universal story, narrating and singing, supported by Spaenc’s music, about an upset and philosophical character. For Begin (2012), De Graef reworked the Epic of Gilgamesh to create a contemporary listening game about the fight against death. Bo Spaenc and Cesar Janssens produced a composition with percussion and Arabic singing, and Pat Van Hemelrijck provided the design and live manipulation of the decor. Miranda van frituur Miranda (2014), a creation by DE KOLONIE MT in association with TAZ, is a location performance with old fairground music and text by Erik Vlaminck, directed by Dominique Van Malder and performed by Marijke Pinoy. For the youngest fans, DE KOLONIE MT created ScattiWhatti (2013), a production around the practice of scat singing, improvisational singing of gibberish as in jazz. For UMM (2014), a co-production with Moussem and, like ScattiWhatti, directed by Benjamin Van Tourhout, the company focuses on the life story of Oum Kalthoum. DE KOLONIE MT whisks viewers, aged four years and over, away to the world of this Egyptian female singer with music played on Arabic and other instruments and using puppets. Hertehart (2015) is operetta for nursery-age children: Spaenc and Van Tourhout are creating a children’s production about love, with arias in a made-up language and accordion music, grand gestures and cardboard decors. I loved the full, old-fashioned voices of Tom: Mother, the second part of the the singers of that period. My models trilogy Father-Mother-Children. Since Exotic bird were not in the 1980s and 1990s, but in de noces / svadebka / de bruiloft (2005), the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.’ Eurudike has also been closely involved with WALPURGIS, where she works breaks out She herself says that it was her part in as a voice coach and singer. With them Alain Platel’s La Tristeza Complice that she has worked on Close my willing eyes freed her from the aesthetic straitjacket (2007), ZILKE (2008) and The Medium, of the opera of her classical training: ‘Thanks to an Reconstruction of a Murder (2014), based audition as an ‘exotic bird’, I found my- on the chamber opera The Medium by self with Alain Platel, where people from the Italian-American composer Gian straitjacket every corner of the world and many var- Carlo Menotti. She can also be seen in ied backgrounds danced and handled Revue Ravage (2015), the latest produc- On the work of Eurudike De Beul their bodies in ways entirely their own. tion by Josse De Pauw, Tom Lanoye and My voice developed tremendously there.’ Peter Vermeersch. Eurudike De Beul (1964, Dendermonde). This physical approach has continued ‘Those who have already seen her at to inspire her and since then she has in- Inspired by the multimedia approach work have to acknowledge her utter corporated it into all her performances. taken by the Scottish music theatre uniqueness’, says her colleague Charlotte . ‘I now feel what I am singing from the group Theatre Cryptic and the Flemish Vandermeersch. ‘Eurudike is inspired by whole of my body, down to its smallest theatre maker and artist Kris Verdonck, a magnetic mixture of humour and mel- fibre, and in that way the listeners can in 2008 Eurudike set up KoudVuur with ancholy united in a voice that makes your re-experience those emotions and feel the video and sound artist Glenn Vervliet.. breastbone creak.’ the relief with which I sing them,’ she Together with him she made Penelope said in an interview for De Standaard. (2007) and Till we meet again (mother) Her voice evolved from a light baroque in (2011). She directs and creates these ex- The Fairy Queen with the Deller Consort. She also passes on this passion for the perimental productions and composi- to a timbre that lends itself perfectly voice as a voice coach, in which capaci- tions, which focus on the voice and all to the Mahler repertoire. As a mezzo-. ty she has developed her own views on its possible forms of expression. ‘I like soprano she has sung the parts of Azucena. breathing and the voice based on the to work on the basis of mistakes. I have a in Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Giovanna in his functioning of the brain. When working penchant for inability and scarcity. At the Rigoletto, Messaghiera in Monteverdi’s with Platel she met the Frenchman Frank same time I strive for perfection. Not on Orfeo, Prediker in Johan De Smet’s Welp, Chartier and the Argentinian Gabriela the basis of need, obligation or ability, but Mother in Stravinsky’s Noces, Dido in Carrizo, who in 2000 set up the Peeping a perfectionism founded on relief. That is Purcell’s The Sorceress, and Clytemnestra Tom collective. She has been a founding my personal norm.’ in David Paul Jones’ Electra. member of the company for fifteen years now, and as a mezzo-soprano she is also sofie joye Eurudike De Beul cannot be categorised a member of its ensemble of performers in one single genre. Her pronounced and collaborates on the sound creations, interest in singing, theatre and dance among other things for the trilogy Le means that for a classically-trained sing- Jardin (2002), Le Salon (2004) and Le Sous er she is taking a very unusual path. ‘As a Sol (2007), 32 rue Vandenbranden (2007) child I wanted to sing like Herta Töpper, . and A louer (2011). In 2016 she will ap- Elisabeth Grümmer and Kathleen Ferrier.. pear in the latest production by Peeping. 58 59

De Munt/La Monnaie international dance companies. Moreover, every year he invites a theatre production by directors such as Ivo van Hove, Romeo WWW.DEMUNT.BE Castellucci and Krzysztof Warlikowski. This programme schedule will change as of the 2015- In 1963, De Munt was proclaimed as the National Opera and 2016 season. Under the pressure of austerity measures by the is still a federal cultural institution today. One turning point in the federal government, the production of baroque operas and dance history of the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg was the appointment of productions will be questioned. Due to renovation work at the opera Gerard Mortier as general director in 1981. In addition to thoroughly house, De Munt/La Monnaie will present a season at other venues. modernising the building, the chorus and the symphony orchestra Audiences and artists alike will follow a route through the capital to were also artistically reformed under his control. The departure of six partner locations. the choreographer Maurice Béjart to Lausanne in 1987 heralded the . end of the Ballet du XX siècle and the dance school Mudra. Mortier attracted new directors (Chéreau, Bondy, Sellars, the Hermanns, man and wife), selected a more idiosyncratic repertoire and helped De Munt evolve into an opera house of international repute. In 1991, the world premiere of The Death of Klinghoffer by John Adams was performed there, directed by Peter Sellars. Following the departure of Gerard Mortier to the Salzburger Festspiele in 1992, management of the establishment passed to Bernard Foccroulle. The same year, Rosas, directed by the choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, was appointed as the resident dance company. De Munt and Rosas jointly form the basis of an international school for contemporary dance, P.A.R.T.S. What’s more, Foccroulle afforded society’s involvement a key role in his policy: the different communities in the city became involved in the opera house. In 1998, all the studios and rehearsal rooms, until then spread across the entire city, were united in a single building, near the Muntschouwburg. In June 2007, Bernard Foccroulle was succeeded by Peter de Caluwe, who was previously the artistic director of the in Amsterdam. De Caluwe opened the doors to a new generation of artists. De Munt is not only populated by famous voices of the time, but also by younger talent, conductors of the baroque, lyrical and also symphonic genres, directors and visual artists. Twentieth-century and contemporary composers also come under the spotlight. As part of the commemoration of WWI, there is the world premiere of the opera (2014) by the composer , author and director/choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Peter de Caluwe also wants to break down the conventional approach to concerts and recitals by introducing visual or scenic elements. The close relationship with Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker continues, but de Caluwe also invites other choreographers such as Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Sasha Waltz, as well as 60 61

Ensemble Leporello a few striking productions: The revenge of Macbeth (2006), a collective ensemble piece, was an WWW.ENSEMBLELEPORELLO.BE adaptation, a reworking and musical expression of a universal and age-old theme: that of a power struggle between family members. Ensemble Leporello takes its name from Don Giovanni’s harlequin manservant. This figure embodies the playful nature with In The Final Party (2013) actors and singers presented key scenes which Leporello approaches the medium of theatre. The company from the collected works of Chekhov in the form of tableaus to music was founded in 1986, on the initiative of Dirk Opstaele. Not only is by Kurt Bikkembergs. he director, choreographer and actor in his own company and other groups in Europe, but he also writes, adapts and translates plays. He future plans: has breathed new life into several classical dramas, such as Le Cid Arabic Night (2009) is the result of intensive collaboration between by Corneille, Britannicus by Racine, Coriolanus by Shakespeare, The Dirk Opstaele and the composer Frank Nuyts on a play by the Metamorphoses by Ovid and Walden by Thoreau. German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig. This production will Dirk Opstaele studied at Jacques Lecoq’s International Theatre be revived at ‘special and unexpected locations’. School in Paris at the beginning of the 1980s. From Lecoq he learned to view language as music, and body language as a supplement to and Bonny & Read (2015) is a music theatre adaptation of a historical compensation for verbal communication. Opstaele went on to work pirate epic from the 18th century. A project by Mieke Laureys and for a time at the Opéra de Lyon, where he discovered the various Annelore Stubbe to music by the composer Frans Grapperhaus. possibilities offered by music theatre. . To Dirk Opstaele, theatre is an important and meaningful art form in which form and content, image and movement, text and score belong to one and the same form of expression. Ensemble Leporello and artistic director Dirk Opstaele develop their own theatre language and a unique performance style. Music, song, text and movement are combined in an extraordinary alchemy. Leporello constantly searches for a form of theatre in which a minimum of props and set elements are required to create a whole new world in the minds of the audience. In this pure form, theatre is an integrated and playful organism for theatre makers, singers and musicians. By opting for Arte Povera theatre, the company forces itself to manage words, text and context in a creative and resourceful manner. Thus it aims to perform ‘the primal acts of living players for living spectators’. Most of Leporello’s productions remain on the repertoire for years and are performed on a regular basis. ‘The company is all the better for it’, according to Dirk Opstaele. All creations, however different, display the same world and form a whole in this sense. By combining different forms of theatre and by performing them in several languages simultaneously, Leporello acquires an international character. The company tours intensively in Europe and Canada. Many productions are performed in a mixture of Dutch and French; other performances have a Dutch, French or English version. She experiences Private View more as A composer often works on the sidelines. Enjoying a break with than an extension of her In this production Annelies Van Parys. earlier music. Previously she wrote only played a pivotal role in the turbulent spectral music, a style that uses the preparations. She found this working the new wind acoustic composition of the overtones process more suspenseful than the thrill- to structure a composition. ‘I also took a er itself. ‘Collective 33L were involved different approach to timbre. Less subtle with the visuals from the initial stages. sweeping this time, even though that sounds rath- Differences of opinion between several er pejorative. Opting for greater clari- of the makers – including the librettist ty. Each character has its own timbre, Jen Hadfield and director Tom Creed – through linked to certain instruments. For the put the production behind schedule. In thriller atmosphere I chose the dark col- the end I brought in the scenarist Gaea ours of brass and lower-end strings. The Schoeters to iron it all out. The time I my music accordion mixes in well, in between the originally had to do my work – one year strings and the wind. The electric guitar – had by then shrunk to five months, to On the work of Annelies Van Parys is the characteristic sound of one of the write seventy minutes of music.’ characters. And the percussion comes in first full-length piece, Index of Memories handy for sound effects.’ ‘I never want to repeat myself musically. (2009). Private View, which stems from Yet at the same time I always get myself Hitchcock’s Rear Window, breaks with The thriller atmosphere in the opera is into a fix. Why opt for electric guitar and the approach taken in her earlier work. due to the setting: a block of flats with accordion, instruments I had never writ- But is it really an opera? ‘It is opera be- peeping neighbours. Social isolation and ten for? But it was a challenge too. I was cause everything is sung. But it does not voyeurism are controversial issues. How sorry it all had to go so fast, because I follow the tradition. It is certainly not rewarding are they for music? enjoyed the new wind sweeping through music as a grand gesture.’ my music.’ ‘The voyeurism is a matter of visuals and Annelies Van Parys’ music is often de- the storytelling technique. In the story, Before Private View premieres, a sound- scribed as subtle. A highly personal con- social isolation can be seen in the form scape by Annelies Van Parys will also be tinuation of the style of some great exam- of an inconspicuous old woman, among played for the first time: Field Recordings.. ples: Jonathan Harvey and her teacher others. Her material appears isolated: It’s an installation / performance about Luc Brewaeys. Playing with timbre is a slow pendulum between two chords the pain of loss. It signals yet another her musical trademark. In theatre, mu- which in the end comes to a standstill. new musical direction, with words by sic has to stand up to the visual stimuli. There is also characteristic musical ma- Peter Verhelst. And with the voice of Els Writing interludes for Iannis Xenakis’ terial for the other roles. It was my idea Mondelaers, the performer who is most The first opera by composer Annelies Van Oresteia (2010) was a good preliminary to take Hitchcock as a starting point, closely related to Van Parys’ work. ‘She Parys, Private View, premieres on 13 May study. ‘Xenakis is dynamite in sound. It’s but without the usual typical film music.. always defends my music and enjoys 2015 during the Opera XXI festival. Mu- impossible to counter it with subtlety. It The last time I watched the film Rear performing it. And in my turn I can go to. sic theatre has already been an essential was then that I realised that music has to Window again, I turned the volume extremes in composing for her vocal po- part of her oeuvre for some time. Eight be sturdy to stand out in a scenic context. down as low as possible so that the music tential. For a composer it is a great luxu- years ago she became a resident artist at In Private View that is even more so, be- did not reach my ears.’ ry to know someone with a good voice.’ Muziektheater Transparant. The poems cause the visuals by the Collective 33L of Sappho formed the foundation for her make a strong impression.’ véronique rubens 64 65 Joris Blanckaert/ Judas Muzi a Zeny TheaterProducties

WWW.MUZI-A-ZENY.BE WWW.JUDASTHEATERPRODUCTIES.BE WWW.JORISBLANCKAERT.BE Judas TheaterProducties (JTP) was founded in 1999 and has Muzi a Zeny describes itself as an arts platform where worked on a professional basis since 2006. Its core is made up of inspiration is stimulated and artists can exchange knowledge gained young theatre makers who surround themselves with veterans from from their own experience. The purpose is to guide them through the Flemish and Dutch musical worlds. those phases of the creative process where support is required Judas TheaterProducties presents major musicals such as The (conceptualisation, research, implementation etc.). Muzi a Zeny Party Is Over by and with Anne Mie Gils and Pol Vanfleteren, and . offers artists the space to experiment, to research their own creative The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown (2007-2008 season). In processes and bring about a cross-pollination between classical arts, the area of smaller-scale productions, the company also aims . new technologies and scientific models. to respond to a gap in the musical landscape. Je Anne (2009) is an Composer Joris Blanckaert (1976) is involved in every intimate musical production based on the diary of Anne Frank. production. He studied applied sciences at Ghent University, and Ganesha - Een perfecte god (2010) was JTP’s very first jazz accordion with Rony Verbiest and composition with Frank completely new creation. Allard Blom is responsible for the lyrics, Nuyts at the Ghent Conservatoire. which he based on a story by Terrence McNally. Rhody Matthijs is The first music theatre creation by Muzi a Zeny was Kraaien the composer and Martin Michel the director. (2008-2009) by Tom Hannes (text, based on the book Four Meals by Since 2013, JTP has presented a creation of its own every year, Meir Shalev) in collaboration with the chamber ensemble Fosfor. with the aim of contributing to the development of the musical The Wandering Womb (2013) is a performance about the genre: Josephine B. (2013) and Pauline & Paulette (2013). Lelies (2011), suffering of women as seen from a male perspective, to a libretto based on the play Les Feluettes by Michel Marc Bouchard, with lyrics by Wannes Gyselinck and with Elise Caluwaerts (soprano), Marcio by Allard Blom and music by Sam Verhoeven, will be revived in 2015. Kerber Canabarro (dance), Paulina Sokolowska (violin) and Following a series of performances in their permanent venue, the Benjamin Glorieux (cello). The production looks at the complex Fakkeltheater, this production will go on tour in Flanders and the interplay and ambiguous power relations between the suffering Netherlands. woman and the male onlooker that were a constant fixture up to and . including the 19th century. The stereotypes express themselves in song and the work lets the inevitable irony raise its own questions. Tips and Tricks (2015) with Sarah Eisa (author and actress) is the result of a commission from De Bijloke music centre. The German-Palestinian theatre maker, writer and philosopher Sarah Eisa explores the universal nature of migration in her text: how do you cope as a newcomer in a country, as a new resident in a city, . in a new job, a new relationship and so on. . 66 67

LOD muziektheater in Lisbon, Théâtre Français du Centre National des Arts Ottawa, Festival TransAmériques Montréal and les Théâtres de la Ville de WWW.LOD.BE Luxembourg. LOD works on the future of music theatre through the LOD muziektheater is a Ghent production company that is a European Network of Opera Academies: high-quality workshops for creative base for performing artists involved in innovative opera young artists, encouraging and producing creations and sustainable and music theatre and which has been active for over twenty-five exchanges between international opera houses and music theatres. years. The artistic management is in the hands of Hans Bruneel Creations are usually intended for the evening circuit, but there and Valérie Martino. LOD engages in long-term projects with eight are also a great many shows aimed at a younger audience. Hence artists: composers Kris Defoort, Jan Kuijken, Dominique Pauwels, Inne Goris’ work Droesem (2010), Father, Mother, I and We (2011, in Daan Janssens, Vasco Mendonça and Thomas Smetryns, director association with HETPALEIS), Daydream (2011, an installation in a Inne Goris and actor/author/director Josse De Pauw. There are container) and Snow (2015). frequent collaborations with, for example, the artist/theatre maker In 2015 the premiere of Another Winter is planned, the Patrick Corillon, director Fabrice Murgia and philosopher/author first opera by Dominique Pauwels, after a libretto by Normand Pieter De Buysser. Together they work on a wide range of projects Chaurette, directed by Denis Marleau and Stéphanie Jasmin (UBU that combine diverse artistic genres. Montréal). On stage there will be two female singers, six musicians LOD’s work is hybrid and difficult to label, but always starts from Musiques Nouvelles, a children’s choir and a female choir. with in-depth artistic research. LOD opts for a contemporary Characters, portrayed in the flesh as well as on video, accompany the approach to music theatre and opera. This is obvious from the list of two strange passengers on their journey. Another Winter tells a story productions: La Tristeza Complice (1995, Alain Platel and Dick van in chiaroscuro, with the explosive relationship between Rimbaud der Harst), Deep into the forest (1999, Eric De Volder and Dick van and Verlaine as the source of inspiration. der Harst) The Woman Who Walked into Doors (2001, Kris Defoort LOD moved to the Bijlokesite in Ghent in 2008, together with and Guy Cassiers), The Soul of the Ant (2004, Josse De Pauw and Jan les ballets C de la B. The architects Jan De Vylder and Trice Hofkens Kuijken), Toon Tellegen’s Twee oude vrouwtjes (2008, Dominique designed the new rehearsal rooms, and the adjoining garden is a Pauwels and An De Donder), House of the sleeping beauties (2009, design by the landscape architect Bas Smets. Kris Defoort and Guy Cassiers), The Passion of Judas (2009, . Dominique Pauwels and Pieter De Buysser), The Brodsky Concerts (2010, Kris Defoort and Dirk Roofthooft), The Hanged (2011, Jan Kuijken and Josse De Pauw), Muur (2010, Inne Goris and Dominique Pauwels), Long Grass (2012, Inne Goris and Dominique Pauwels), An Old Monk (2013, Kris Defoort and Josse De Pauw), The House Taken Over (2013, Vasco Mendonça and Katie Mitchell). LOD devotes special attention to collaboration with Walloon artists, as demonstrated by The Devil Bedeviled (2008, Patrick Corillon and Thomas Smetryns), The Blind (2011, Daan Janssens and Patrick Corillon), Ghost Road (2012, Fabrice Murgia and Dominique Pauwels) and Children of Nowhere (2015, Fabrice Murgia and Dominique Pauwels). Works by LOD’s artists are performed from Amsterdam to Montreal, from Santiago de Chile to Madrid. Co-producers include deSingel (Antwerp), De Munt (Brussels), Concertgebouw Bruges, the Rotterdam Schouwburg, Le Maillon (Strasbourg), Festival d’Aix en Provence, Festival d’Avignon, Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian and as head of the Toneelhuis in 2006, in and art. ‘Reflecting on what you are ma-. anticipation of Guy Cassiers. It did not king, how and with whom. Thinking Man at play appeal to him very much. He is not inter- about precisely what your art is, and han- ested in managing, but in making. dling it carefully. Dealing with each other On the work of Josse De Pauw with care.’ ‘Josse De Pauw’s dream is one day to achieve the freedom on stage that impro- Directing, acting, writing – and let’s not vising jazz musicians have’; this is what forget De Pauw’s contribution to more the dramaturge Marianne Van Kerkhoven than fifty Belgian and foreign films. He is wrote about him. In recent years, De a greedy artist, and he knows it. ‘Things Pauw has sought freedom with increasing are often too good not to do something deliberation, and sometimes quite literal- with them. I like letting lots of ideas ripen ly, as in the prize-winning production An at the same time. Peter Vermeersch once Josse De Pauw (1952) is a player. So he is Old Monk (2012) for LOD muziektheater.. compared my approach to work with a not only one of the actors most in demand Together with a three-man ensemble garden: I plant seeds, here and there, and in Flanders, he is above all a man at play: directed by the pianist Kris Defoort, De they start to germinate at irregular inter- one who is always out to explore, seek, Pauw did ‘a little dance’, and the spirit vals, all mixed up together. In the right reposition, and question. In its purest of Thelonius Monk danced with him. De season I care for the right vegetables, giv- form he embodied man at play at the time Pauw both steers the music and follows ing them water and waiting. Those that of Radeis: the theatre collective, with its it, as happens in jazz, because being a mu- remain standing are worth the effort. At absurd approach and visual, humorous sician also means being subservient. ‘The a certain moment the time is ripe, and productions, which gave a healthy kick group sees to it that each individual can that’s when to harvest. In my garden of to dusty old spoken theatre at the start of shine, but after a time returns to his place. abundance.’ It looks like this old monk the mythical 1980s. Anyone who, thirty This attitude of letting go and holding on can still keep on dancing for a while yet. years after Radeis, sees a production like is crucial.’ HOUSE (2014) by LOD muziektheater in evelyne coussens which De Pauw adapted the play, direct- The basis of any musical or artistic under- ed and acted, will recognise the pleasure standing is trust. Anyone who considers of the player in the cheerfully anarchic De Pauw’s career will see a number of con- atmosphere. stant kindred spirits who reappear again and again, such as the musician Peter. De Pauw moves about freely in the thea- Vermeersch – one of his earliest mates tre and music theatre landscapes, and al- and a companion in such highlights as though he is freelance, that does not mean the autobiographical Weg in 1998 and in he is a loner: ‘I am the combination of a 2015 again in Revue Ravage, which Tom team worker and a loner. I am not suita- Lanoye wrote and in which De Pauw is ble for a fixed company, I soon find it too director and actor. De Pauw has also col- obligatory. And no one likes working on laborated with the composer Jan Kuijken. their own. Now I put my own ensemble several times. De Pauw initiates his together, depending on the production I projects himself, and is in a position to want to make.’ He has only ventured into choose, and what he has retained from administrative jobs a couple of times: as the exciting DIY period in the 1980s is a the artistic head of Het Net (2000-2005) great thoughtfulness: for both the artist 70 71 Lucinda Ra Muziektheater DATA.VTI.BE/ORGANISATIONS/LUCINDA-RA Transparant

Lucinda Ra is an artists collective/cooperative set up by theatre WWW.TRANSPARANT.BE makers Simon Allemeersch, Barbara Claes and Stefanie Claes, musicians Giovanni Barcella and Jeroen Van Herzeele, photographer As an international production company, Muziektheater and artist Maarten De Vrieze and playwright Bart Capelle. Transparant explores the artistic boundaries of opera and music Het Fioretti Project (2015) is a music and documentary theatre theatre. The voice is invariably central to their projects. Old and production full of characters, objects and exuberant costumes, based new music are juxtaposed. Transparant employs home-grown on a residency in the paediatric department of the Dr. Guislain contemporary makers and offers them the chance to develop. Since Psychiatric Centre in Ghent. Lucinda Ra connects the context of 1994 Guy Coolen has been artistic and general director. He represents child psychiatry with fantasies of robots, monsters and archetypical the company in many international organisations. Transparant is characters that appear at carnival in folklore mythology across currently working with the following artists-in-residence: composers Europe and with the work of the American jazz composer Sun Ra. In Wim Henderickx, Annelies Van Parys and Liesa Van der Aa, soprano this way the group raises questions about wildness, civilisation and Claron McFadden and director Wouter Van Looy, who has been the way in which our society looks at ‘wild’ children. artistic co-director since 2001. The productions tour around the Lucinda Ra is a continuation of a production company for world, so they remain on the repertoire for several seasons. young theatre makers called Silence Fini, an open workplace for Some noteworthy Transparant productions from recent years artistic practices at the interface between jazz and the stage. The include Triumph of Spirit over Matter (2000) with music by Wim makers of Het Fioretti Project previously created visual music Henderickx, Roman Tragedies (2007) with Toneelgroep Amsterdam, theatre under the wing of Silence Fini. Het fantastische leven van de directed by Ivo van Hove, RUHE (2007) after a text by Armando, heilige Sint-Christoffel zoals samengevat in twaalf taferelen en drie with choral music by Schubert, directed by Josse De Pauw and with liederen (2012) was selected for Circuit X, an initiative that promotes video images by David Claerbout, Pour vos beaux yeux (2008), a film surprising work from new talented performance artists in Flanders. project created by Annelies Van Parys, Joachim Brackx, Eric Sleichim With a collection of live tableaus with roughly cobbled characters, and Jan Van Outryve, An Index of Memories (2010) by Annelies Van video, animation film and text, propelled by the jazz improvisations Parys, Medea (2011), with a text by Peter Verhelst, directed by Paul of drummer Barcella and saxophonist Van Herzeele, Allemeersch Koek and with a new composition by Wim Henderickx, Pelléas et and the Claes sisters show how man tries to protect himself from Mélisande (2012), a reworking of Debussy’s masterpiece by Wouter the evil that he is afraid of and how futile this endeavour is. De Van Looy and Annelies Van Parys, Opera Buffa (2012) after Mozart’s Bultenklacht (2014) is a performance about homesickness. Together Don Giovanni in cooperation with Laika, Lilith (2012) with Claron with folk singer Wim Claeys and others, Barbara and Stefanie Claes McFadden and Dimitar Bodurov, The cutter-off of water (2013) after a use home-made puppets in cardboard and tape and colourful drawings text by Marguerite Dumas, with actor Dirk Roofthooft and music by to tell and sing the story of a camel who leaves his homeland. Diederik De Cock, Escorial (2013), directed by Josse De Pauw, after a . play by Michel de Ghelderode, with new music by George Alexander van Dam and early music by Orlando di Lasso. The co-production Van Den Vos (2013) with music by Liesa Van der Aa was selected for the 2014 Theatre Festival. In May 2015, Private View, the first opera by Annelies Van Parys, with a libretto by Jen Hadfield, premieres during Opera XXI. This production is the winner of the first FEDORA-Rolf Liebermann Prize for Opera in 2014. 72 73

Muziektheater Transparant has also been working for more Opera Vlaanderen than ten years for and with children and young people. Director Wouter Van Looy and children’s writer Paul Verrept created the WWW.OPERABALLET.BE following trilogy: Het meisje de jongen de rivier (2006), after a book for which Verrept won the Gouden Uil - Prijs van de Jonge Lezer in Together with Ballet Vlaanderen, Opera Vlaanderen constitutes 2005, with video images by Teatro di Piazza o d’Occasione (TPO) the Flemish Government’s largest cultural institution. The company and music by Jan Van Outryve, Porcelain (2010), a wonderful story performs at the opera houses in Antwerp and Ghent, and has its own about love and the elusive nature of life, with fascinating animation choir and orchestra. films by Freija Van Esbroeck and Paul Delissen and tantalising Opera Vlaanderen offers opera and musical theatre as a living music by Jan Van Outryve, and The queen with no land (2014), a contemporary art form. It concentrates on the major works from surprising modern-day fairy tale about love and loss, with music opera history, modern creations and masterpieces that are ripe by Wim Henderickx. Every summer since 1998 young people have for (re)discovery. With idiosyncratic, relevant and high-quality been selected to put on a baroque production. The man behind the performances, Opera Vlaanderen aims to show today’s audiences . concept, as well as being its stage director, is Wouter Van Looy. Since the abundance of forms of expression, from the music theatre of the 2009 Nicolas Achten has been its musical director. For an intensive 17th century to the very latest works. two-week creation period, singers and instrumentalists between Opera Vlaanderen steers clear of well-trodden paths by the ages of fifteen and twenty-five are introduced to the world of commissioning new works, making youth productions, introducing baroque music and music theatre. From 2016 onwards baroque will unknown works from the baroque repertoire, and working with be alternated with other music genres. internationally renowned Flemish directors (such as Jan Fabre, Guy Transparant regularly works with other production companies Joosten, Ivo van Hove etc.). and festivals both here and abroad. Major partners include deSingel, In addition to the opera programme, Opera Vlaanderen also De Munt, Kunsthuis/Opera Vlaanderen/Ballet Vlaanderen, Zomer provides a programme of symphony concerts with a strong vocal van Antwerpen, Klarafestival, Concertgebouw Brugge, Operadagen accent, plus lunchtime concerts and an extensive fringe programme Rotterdam, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Les Théâtres de la Ville de that allows audiences of all age groups to enjoy opera. In 2000 it set Luxembourg. At the end of 2014, Muziektheater Transparant, theatre up the Operastudio, a post-graduate course for young singers that companies De Roovers and Laika and Kopspel opened a new theatre now goes under the name of the International Opera Academy. studio in Antwerp: Matterhorn. From 1989 to June 2008 Marc Clémeur was director of the . then Vlaamse Opera. At the start of the 2008-2009 season the Swiss Aviel Cahn assumed control. He likes to stimulate new creations and brings in artists from other disciplines for this purpose. To give one example, the costumes for Le Duc d’Albe (Donizetti, 2012) were designed by the Antwerp fashion duo A.F. Vandevorst. It is worth noting that the production of Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde (2013) directed by Stef Lernous, sets the story in 1970s Germany. The costumes for Akhnaten, by composer Philip Glass (2015), are the creations of fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck. In May 2015 Cahn, together with deSingel, LOD and Muziektheater Transparant, will organise the fourth Opera XXI biennial festival of contemporary opera and music theatre. . 74 75 Pantalone Salomee Speelt / WWW.PANTALONE.BE Noémi Schlosser

Pantalone makes music theatre for children and their parents, WWW.SALOMEESPEELT.BE grandparents and guardians. The driving force behind the production house is composer and conductor Filip Bral. Music, poetry, colour, Salomee Speelt is the organisation centred on theatre maker form, movement, game and perception are important for children’s Noémi Schlosser. She set up the company in 2004 with the desire development. Which is why Pantalone brings together artists from to create shows in which various artistic disciplines join forces. various disciplines in musical creations that can embrace diverse Text, music and, regularly, film or visual art are juxtaposed in the forms. There is a special focus on the very young in the audience: productions by Salomee Speelt. Diversity is a key word: the company puts on both repertory pieces and its own texts and makes use of all KARUSSELL (2007) is an associative performance on and musical genres, from opera through jazz to electronic soundscapes. around a windmill, for viewers of two years and older. An actor, . Salomee Speelt is a mixed media group with no permanent staff: for a violinist, a cellist and an accordionist play with sounds, colours, each production Schlosser looks for a team of artists who then help balloons and other objects. her to create the show. In Pommeliere (2012), a co-production with Nat Gras, pre- In Moscow - (2009), a co-production with the school children are treated to piano music, dance and an apple as Arenbergschouwburg, a sister and brother tell how they left Poland dessert. in the 1930s to look for a better life. The monologues, written by For Gelukkig Genoeg (2014), Pantalone was inspired by Schlosser and inspired by the work of the Jewish writer Isaac Singer Kinderszenen by Robert Schumann, a collection of short pieces in and her own family history, are combined with film and music by the which the 19th-century composer muses on his youth: while a pianist Enigma Quartet and opera soprano Valerie Vervoort. Yes! We Have No plays the music, an actress reads out modern poems about childhood, Bananas (2012) is a cabaret about crisis. Noémi Schlosser and violinist and old film clips of children playing are shown on a screen. and pianist Kevin Van Staeyen present cabaret songs and sketches February 2015 saw the premiere of Pierrot, of de geheimen from the interwar years and draw cultural and socio-political parallels van de nacht, a musical account of the eponymous love story by between the present and the past. Traktorfabrik (2014) is music Michel Tournier. Its next creation will be Hemelsblauw, a theatrical theatre with a lighting installation by the Viennese Julia Rommel and concert for babies and toddlers with music by Bach, Beethoven and an electronic soundscape by the Berliner Thomas Gerwin. Schlosser Brahms on violin, cello and piano (premiere at the Philharmonie wrote a dark tragicomedy about three soldiers who are stuck in an Luxembourg in October 2015). underground bunker after a bombing, based on war diaries from 1914 Commitment, attention, love, discernment, simplicity and to the present day. The maker is fascinated by modern history and gentleness are the values that Pantalone presents in its work. Under often presents people in unusual circumstances in her creations. the name ‘balsemboom’ the company has several ongoing projects Salomee Speelt is very much an internationally-oriented for children who are suffering illness, impairment, poverty or theatre group. It performs in Flanders and far beyond and in various trauma. For example, Pantoffeltrein (2011), a wordless show in which languages. In 2011-2012 Schlosser was in residence in Chicago and the young audience, together with an actor, a dancer and some New York. In La musica (2012) she reworked Marguerite Duras’ play musicians, goes on a musical train journey to the land of the senses, about the last meeting of a divorcing couple, with jazzy saxophone is put on in institutions for children with a mental disability. In Pluis, music and chalk-drawn scenery. She has also created a new version Filip Bral and Axel Jacobs make an animation film together with of two earlier productions by Salomee Speelt: Date Me!, a humorous Japanese orphans from the 2011 earthquake. performance about two single women and their love life that . premiered in Flanders in 2007, and Le Bel Indifférent (Sounds of Silence) (2006), a monologue with song and video projections using the writings of Cocteau. . ic theatre, by the director Tone Brulin. combined his acting with the direct- Although pathways to the former KNS ing of Michael De Cock and live music The art of (now Toneelhuis) and NTGent opened by the Antwerp-based hip hop collec- up, music remained Mthombeni’s first tive NoMoBS, bringing the voice of the love. He chose the musician’s life, burst- street into the theatre. This is art as em- empowerment ing onto the Antwerp scene alongside powerment, and empowerment as art. jazz musician Chris Joris, and as part Mthombeni and his associates do not shy of the musical formations El Tattoo del away from difficult themes: 2015 will see On the work of Junior Mthombeni Tigre, Wawadadakwa and the Interna- the stage production Reizen Jihad, which tionals. Funk, groove, ska and South Af- addresses the problem of young people rican rhythms set the tone. travelling to Syria to fight.

Society brewed and bubbled, the 1990s And yet the key, signature production brought the Vlaams Blok (far-right par- is Rumble in da jungle, inspired by the ty) and Black Sunday, and social rela- legendary 1974 boxing match between. tionships shifted: as right-wing populism Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. In reared its head, a whole generation of this production, Mthombeni coaches a artistic Belgians from different ethnic whole generation of artists to find its own Music is in Junior Mthombeni’s (1972) backgrounds began to make itself heard. voice, reflecting both a new self-con- blood, perhaps even more so than the- Mthombeni felt that he needed thea- sciousness, and a positive, optimistic de- atre – although the two are fighting to tre to give oxygen and a voice to these sire for change. Grooving, rapping and get the upper hand. Perhaps it is more new social developments. As well as be- dancing, the artists express themselves accurate to say that rhythm is the driv- ing the fruit of artistic development, his to the rhythm of their combative souls. ing force propelling this artist forwards: productions are always the study of a the groove of word, of image, and of the society and its time. This has led to sul- evelyne coussens moving body. A performance like Rumble try, warm, combative, passionate mu- in da jungle (2013) blends dance, video,. sic theatre. The young, Antwerp-based. spoken word, slam poetry, hip hop and SINCOLLECTIEF, whose members boxing. As well as a musical language, number not only Mthombeni but also the Mthombeni’s theatrical language is pre- actress Ikram Aoulad, the writer Fikry dominately combative. As the son of El Azzouzi, Nadia Benabdessamad and a South African resistance fighter, his Cynthia Schenkels, has been making this awareness of ethnic and social injustice kind of theatre since 2012. is both a breeding ground for, and an es- sential component of his artistry. SINCOLLECTIEF is firmly anchored in Antwerp’s urban scene, but also seeks to The roots of Mthombeni’s musical pas- connect with more traditional compa- sion lie in his familiarity with percussion nies such as Mechelen’s t,arsenaal and and with the South African rhythms of Tielt’s Theater Malpertuis. Not only are musicians such as Dudu Pukwana, Julian encounter and dialogue core concepts Bahula and Johnny Dyani. Theatre only in Mthombeni’s theatre, but he also car- entered the equation when Mthombeni ries these principles through into his was drawn into the KVS, Brussels civ- practice. The 2013 production Troost 78 79 SINCOLLECTIEF Tal en Thee

WWW.SINCOLLECTIEF.BE WWW.TALENTHEE.BE

SINCOLLECTIEF is a music theatre group whose members Since 2010, Tal en Thee has been making powerful, poetic and are Junior Mthombeni, Ikram Aoulad, Fikry El Azzouzi, Nadia generous shows of a visual nature. In the early years, its founder Benabdessamad and Cynthia Schenkels. The company frames the Maarten Van Aerschot made three wordless solo productions on contemporary, multicultural cosmopolitan context in a mix of music, the interface between visual and figurative theatre. He examined word and image and presents modern stories about a group of people both the visual power of music in the making of puppets, miniature who are still under-represented in the performing arts. They use systems and installations, and his role as manipulator of it all. There-. music that fits with the ethnic background of the makers and players, after he took the decision to work with other artists. from jazz to Congolese rumba to rap. In Octavio’s Elektro (2014) he appears on stage with the writer SINCOLLECTIEF wants to expand the canon with other and actress Reineke Van Hooreweghe and jazz musician Peter music and other texts, and in so doing reach a new audience that can Verhelst. This show, for an audience of viewers over seven years old, identify with what is happening on stage; a multiracial and primarily follows the character Octaaf in various phases of his life. As a child young audience that does not often get to the theatre. Theatre is used he dreams of becoming an inventor; in the end it seems he has a as a bridge between people. talent for telling stories. In 2011, SINCOLLECTIEF gave its first performance during BOOM (2015) is a wordless show for toddlers in which music the Mestizo Arts Festival at the Arenbergschouwburg in Antwerp. It and animation tell the story of a bird who misses the migration to was H&G (Grimmiger), a modern version of the classic Western fairy the south. Maarten Van Aerschot is accompanied by the folk music tale Hansel and Gretel by the Grimm Brothers. H&G (Grimmiger) of the Naragonia duo and an animation film by Sofie Vandenabeele. is intercultural music theatre about alienated youths looking for BOOM is halfway between an intimate concert and a play about the something to cling to in the harried life of the city, in an accessible passing of the seasons. form full of hip hop, street poetry and animations. . Its successor, Troost (2013), is a co-production with t,arsenaal mechelen, for which Fikry El Azzouzi wrote a raw text about the friendship between a man and a woman who grew up together in a rundown urban neighbourhood. Actors Junior Mthombeni and Ikram Aoulad are backed up on stage by the hip hop group NoMoBS, who rap in English, French, Dutch and Arabic. Rumble in da jungle (2013) combines slam poetry, sport and the soul and afro music of the big band B.U.R.K.A. in a total spectacle inspired by the legendary boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974. In a boxing ring, a multicultural cast fight for the right to be themselves. In Reizen Jihad (2015) SINCOLLECTIEF compares the current reality of Syrian fighters with other forms of excessive idealism past and present. This show, with text, video projection, dance and Arabic songs, directed by Mthombeni, calls for more understanding and opens up the whole debate. . 80 81 The Ministry of Theater De Spiegel Operatic Affairs WWW.DESPIEGEL.COM

WWW.MINISTRYOFOPERATICAFFAIRS.BE Theater De Spiegel is a company that combines music with other artistic languages, including the visual language of figures and The Ministry of Operatic Affairs is the opera project initiated objects. Karel Van Ransbeeck is the artistic director and founder and by theatre maker Korneel Hamers (from the SKaGeN company) and has directed many of its productions. He grew up in Familietheater conductor Bart Van Reyn (of the Octopus choir). The company puts . De Spiegel, a puppet theatre set up by his father, Fé Van Ransbeeck, a fresh face on classics of the opera circuit. In 2013 it began with . in 1965. Mozart’s Don Giovanni, followed in 2014 by Gluck’s Orfeo & Euridice. In recent years De Spiegel has focused on music theatre for The Ministry aims to make contemporary opera without the very young and the accompanying adults. Actors and musicians altering the core of the works. The soloists, the Octopus choir and play with figures, space, sounds and the audience. Interaction is an the Le Concert d’Anvers orchestra put on the performances while important part of the creations. DeSpiegel takes its productions for keeping to the score and using historical instruments. Using the babies, toddlers and pre-school children not only to cultural centres, codes and procedures of contemporary theatre, The Ministry creates but also to schools and crèches. new stagings of classical works. For example, both in Don Giovanni One noteworthy project by De Spiegel is Caban (2012), an and in Orfeo & Euridice, the mechanics of opera are revealed: rather artistic playroom with child-sized architectural constructions. An than being hidden away in the pit, the orchestra sits exposed on audience aged between three months and three years gets to explore stage; the choir members are employed to help with scene changes the huts by looking, feeling, and listening to the musicians, who react and the singers remain on stage even when their characters are not to what the children are doing. For Bramborry (2008), which has involved in a scene, thereby stepping in and out of their role in full been performed frequently both here and abroad, De Spiegel and the view of the audience. The makers always work as a group. Théâtre de la Guimbarde from Charleroi were inspired by the visual The Ministry of Operatic Affairs is a travelling opera company. work of the Czech artist Kveta Pacovská. Three saxophonist-actors With a small production team, they make light, flexible creations that experiment with colourful, flat geometrical figures and, together still allow the viewer to experience the enormous scale of opera. By with the toddlers in the audience, examine the possibilities of their taking full-blown operas with a complete crew to cultural centres and instruments. concert halls, the company wants to give more exposure to the genre. More recently De Spiegel put on an open-air show called . Bzzz’T (2013). Here plastic figures, animations and live harp music composed by Annelies Van Parys transported the audience to the world of insects. Once it had finished, the children went off on their own exploratory journey. For Meneer Papier en Don Karton (2014) De Spiegel reworked the books of Elvis Peeters and Gerda Dendooven into a ‘musical craft show’ which crinkled and rustled, directed by Pat Van Hemelrijck and with a composition by Stefan Wellens. The interaction between the young visitors to Caban and the musicians resulted in the shows Nest (2013), Beat the Drum! (2014) and Sleevz (2015). In Nest, a violinist and a singer go on a musical quest in a big cosy nest with a composition by Hanne Deneire. In Niet drummen, a percussionist, a flautist-saxophonist and a shadow actor play with marbles in amongst the audience, who sit in the middle of the snug scenery. Mouw is dance theatre directed by Karolien Verlinden, with 82 83

mad creatures made of wool. Unusual musical instruments like the oud Tuning People and the alpenhorn are included in a composition by Mathias Coppens. Together with Musica and Provinciaal Domein Dommelhof, WWW.TUNINGPEOPLE.BE Theater De Spiegel is the mainstay of the biennial Babelut international music festival in Neerpelt, with shows and workshops Tuning People make visual/sculptural sound theatre. Tuning for 0-4 year olds and the accompanying adults. Babelut first took People is a collective, and at the same time a company of individual place in 2008. creators. The members of the core artistic team are Wannes Deneer . (sound and design), Jef Van gestel (theatre) and Karolien Verlinden (dance). Tuning People create both for young and adult audiences. Research and experiment lie at the heart of their work. Unbridled fantasy rules, and sacred cows are there to be challenged. Their productions are thus an ode to man as improviser, and are also a sometimes poetic or else completely crazy theatrical feast for the . eye and ear. In Halve mens (2012), Deneer, Verlinden and Van gestel created a piece of horror theatre on beauty and shame, based on a piece written by Jorieke Abbing. Utopia (2012) was a concert in a stage setting. With moving sound objects, quotes and noise, Wannes Deneer created a utopian world in protest against economic abuses. Wijland (2014) was a performance on location that brought people together: in a meadow, the audience was invited to design and inhabit a village they invented themselves. In Ruis! (2015), co-produced by deSingel,. Wannes Deneer is creating a new concert in a stage setting with sound sculptures that produce noise. It is a playful restoration of . obsolete techniques in reaction against the indifference of the constant urge for renewal. For a young audience, Tuning People made Tape voor kleuters (2011, four years and older), co-produced by fABULEUS. A game using adhesive tape yielded a montage of surprising images, sounds and movements. Together with kinderenvandevilla, they also created Leeghoofd (2013, four years and older). This was a visual and auditory piece in which they experimented with the potential of everyday objects. Leeghoofd was selected for the 2014 Theatre Festival. dUb (2014, twelve years and older), another cooperative production with . fABULEUS, was a dance production inspired by the films of Tati and the work of Foley artists. Together with a cast of fourteen young dancers, Karolien Verlinden and Wannes Deneer examined how sounds stimulate our imagination and create expectations. In . DaDaKaKa (2015, eight years and older), Tuning People is presenting . a contemporary version of the Dadaist cabarets of one hundred years ago: the company is making a collage with a riot of jerky dance, . broken piano music, crazy images and insane writing. . The productions that Goris made in the Goris continues to opt for productions first decade of the new millennium ap- for children and also even brings them Sensory pear permeated with a vision in which onto the stage. One of the highlights is the child is in some cases as merciless the theatrical installation Long Grass, as the adult, but which at the same time on the topic of child soldiers. The very chamber displays an unbreakable resilience and unusual arrangement of the space by lust for life. Goris gives shape to this Ief Spincemaille and the video work by vision in a theatrical idiom that is any- Kurt d’Haeseleer draw the viewer into music thing but easily digestible, and which two worlds, both founded on the child’s balances between visual work, musical instinct for survival. In a coarse-grained On the work of Inne Goris theatre and dance. As she said in an in- black and white outdoor world, a group terview in De Standaard: ‘My produc- do as they like with a loner, in a way rem- tions have been characterised as cham- iniscent of Lord of the Flies. In an interi- ber music ever since I started in theatre: or world, a small boy tries to create a lost a composition of movement, sound and intimacy with his mother’s dead body. image.’ ‘We have churned up the earth so vi- Long Grass may also mark a turning point. olently that we have reawakened the In 2009 a number of the accents in her Goris’ latest production, Snow (2015) ap- savagery of children.’ (A. Baricco, Senza work shifted as a result of joining the pears to be looking for a milder form of Sangue, 2002) Ghent music theatre company LOD. The fantasy and for a form of consolation. It is language and the story seemed to be for children of four and older, and is not This quote from the Italian writer losing ground: the introduction of live a penetrating dissection of the human Alessandro Baricco echoes through- music on stage and the interaction with mind, but a pensive, melancholy fairy out the work of Inne Goris (1969) like visual artists (video film-maker Kurt tale about being different. On top of an a thematic basso continuo. Whereas d’Haeseleer) and composers (Dominique atmospheric soundscape, the composer doubts about good and evil are the Pauwels, Thomas Smetryns) pushed her Thomas Smetryns has put together an main focus for many artists, Goris. work more in the direction of musical almost frivolous set list that threads to- emphatically reproaches a group and wordless abstraction. In parallel gether lullabies, rock and rap. The tran- that normally remains beyond suspi- with this, there seemed to be a grow- sience of the snow girl in Snow implies cion: children. Ever since her gradu- ing desire to involve the audience more both the sorrow of the farewell and the ation project at the Toneelacademie closely, to draw it into the theatre in a joy of a new spring. And in this way, per- in Maastricht – a piece called Niet in sensory manner, with their whole body. haps more strongly than ever, hope too staat tot slechte dingen inspired by the Goris increasingly ventured out of the wins a place for itself in the circumspect Jamie Bulger case – Goris has been traditional black box set-up towards world of Inne Goris. exploring the thin and often uncon- such interactive installations as Muur scious boundary between innocence (2010) and Daydream (2011), or else she evelyne coussens and cruelty, and between victim and opted for the classroom as a location, as culprit, in fairy tales (Droesem, 2007) in Zigzag Zigzag (2013). LOD’s interna- and also in tragedies (Naar Medeia, tional contacts enabled her to take her 2008, and Nachtevening, 2009) and in productions abroad: Daydream pre- reality (Long Grass, 2012). As well as miered at the Manchester International looking at the way man tries to remain Festival. upright in this moral quagmire. 86 87

Tutti Fratelli Ten Huwelijk (2014) the young actors wrote their own lyrics. Ik kan alles denken wat ik wil (2015) – made specially for the ENTER festival WWW.TUTTIFRATELLI.BE – is a piece about living, feeling, being, crying, singing, swearing and waking. Tutti Fratelli is a socio-artistic company in the centre of Tutti Fratelli brings people together – ethnic minorities, Antwerp. Officially it was set up in 2007 by its inspirer and artistic indigenous inhabitants, artists, the unemployed, students, leader Reinhilde Decleir, but the germ had already taken shape in businessmen and cashiers – through the arts. The company wants to 2003, when she directed the play Men zegge het voort – Noordpijn with introduce people who are caught up in generational poverty and the a group of people from APGA, the Antwerp Platform for Generational socially deprived to a world that offers more than just survival, by Poverty. This production packed out the Bourla Theatre, a venue making productions of a high artistic standard with them. Reinhilde where ‘Fratelli’ would later return. Luk Perceval, then artistic head Decleir has been awarded several prizes for her work with Tutti Fratelli. of Toneelhuis, saw that it was good and it was followed a year later by . Men zegge het voort – Entre nous. When Josse De Pauw became artistic head of Toneelhuis, the collaboration was intensified, and the project became a part of the repertoire of Toneelhuis. When it presented The Best of Shakespeare in 2006, Decleir’s group showed that it was ready for the big plays. After its official establishment in 2007, the brand new company really got going, with a production of Bertolt Brecht’s Threepenny Opera, on this occasion renamed as the Luizenopera (Lice Opera) (2008), directed by Decleir and with Florejan Verschueren as musical director. The co-producer was Rataplan. The term ‘lice’ in the title of the opera can be taken as a proud nickname: the actors were not ashamed of their background or social class and acted with great dedication. Tutti Fratelli then got their teeth into Aristophanes’ Lysistrata (2009), which resulted in some energetic movement theatre and great physicality. Wouter Hillaert in De Standaard called this sort of physical approach ‘unprecedented in socio-artistic practice’. The title of their next production was inspired by a quote from Maxim Gorky: If I don’t think of myself, who will think of me? If I only think of myself, why do I exist? A song (Een lied) (2010). In this production, the company threw itself into sentimental songs: a special guest from the world of Flemish entertainment was invited to join the actors and musicians for each performance. In 2011 this was followed by a production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, and also by a new home for Tutti Fratelli in Lange Gasthuisstraat in Antwerp. In the productions Operettedagdroom (2012) and Café Bohème (2013) they explored the classical music repertoire, with such partners as deFilharmonie and WALPURGIS. Together with the author Erik Vlaminck, the company made a number of creations in which music remained important. In Diep in mijn hart (2013) they sang schmaltzy pop songs from the 1950s and for 88 89

WALPURGIS Arcadi Ïle-de-France (FR) and De Munt (BE). This production was awarded the 2014 YAMA Public Award. The production inspired not WWW.WALPURGIS.BE only the Lannoo publishing company to make a storytelling book with drawings by Ingrid Godon, but also Theater Kontra-Punkt in WALPURGIS was set up in 1987 with the aim of developing a Düsseldorf to make a German version in 2015. contemporary form of music theatre. The soprano Judith Vindevogel Café Bohème (2013) was a wintertime location project on was a co-founder and since 1999 has been its general and artistic poverty and the role of art in society, and involved collaboration with director. Under her leadership, WALPURGIS has evolved from a actors from Tutti Fratelli and several organisations in the Flemish production company for contemporary music theatre into a music- Network of Associations where poor people are given a platform. theatre ensemble where a leading role is given to singers and WALPURGIS’ laboratory, workshop and rehearsal space, also musicians as creators. open to other companies, is deFENIKS arts house. It is an open WALPURGIS regularly works with writers (Josse De Pauw, house for interaction and cross-fertilisation where sustainability and Erwin Mortier, Jeroen Brouwers et al.), composers (Luc Brewaeys, innovation go hand in hand. This is where WALPURGIS constantly Klaas de Vries et al.), singers (Marianne Pousseur, Gerrie de Vries, pushes at the boundaries of music theatre, offers residences to Romain Bischoff, Eurudike De Beul), actors (Benjamin Verdonck, makers of music theatre from Belgium and abroad and organises François Beukelaers, Mireille Mossé), musicians (Koen Kessels, the annual FENIKS FESTIVAL. One unique element is the libretto Alain Franco, Stray Dogs, Ictus) and choreographers (Vincent readings where singers, actors and musicians analyse the musicality Dunoyer, Roberto Olivan, Etienne Guilloteau). of the text so that its content can resonate in a new way. In 2015 the Taking dialogue as its basic principle, the company does not opera libretto of Béatrice & Bénédicte (Berlioz) is on the programme. start out from an absolute idea of what music theatre ought to be, but Other future projects include Fidelio, Beethoven’s opera of leaves room for what it might become. In the last few years this has liberation, for young viewers and their families (2015-16), Wij, de yielded some remarkable and very different productions: verdronkenen (2017), an international harbour project after the De noces/svadebka/de bruiloft (2005) combined Chekhov’s bestseller Vi, de druknede by the Danish author Carsten Jensen, and The Wedding with Stravinsky’s Les noces to create an unforgettable Drie sterke vrouwen (2017), a Japanese fairy tale opera (four years Russian wedding party with a very varied cast: actors from de and older) with, among others, Fumiyo Ikeda and five aikidoka. Roovers, musicians from the SPECTRA Ensemble, Peter De Bie from . Laika and sixteen opera singers. The production was made with the support of Zomer van Antwerpen, the international IN SITU network and the EU’s ‘Culture 2000’ programme. The production could also be seen in the Netherlands, Wallonia and France. Zilke (2008) was an existential farce with a libretto by Pieter De Buysser and music by Peter Vermeersch, and lies somewhere between a cabinet of curiosities, a circus and a variety theatre. . Vermeersch had previously written The Soluble Fish (1994) and Charms (1997) for WALPURGIS. HAVEN 010 (2010) was a contemporary odyssey that makes the issue of migration tangible and for which WALPURGIS collaborated with the journalist, author and director Michael De Cock and several asylum centres in Antwerp province, Mons and Den Bosch (NL). Princess Turandot (2011) was a fairy tale opera for audiences of four years and older and an international co-production with HETPALEIS, PBA + Eden (Charleroi) and the Théâtre de Saint- Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR) that was provided with funding by graduated from the contemporary music avant-garde ensemble Kaleidoskop. The theatre department of the Studio Herman musical idiom ultimately slips from Mon- Restless Teirlinck in 2008, she has travelled in sev- teverdi through film-like music to pop, eral directions: as an actress with Toneel- with the remarkable voice of Gregory huis (De Geruchten, 2008, De Man Zonder Frateur playing the leading part. Seeking, researcher Eigenschappen, 2010-13), as well as in the probing and crossing limits: it is not only absurd children’s series Zingaburia on the fitful direction of Van der Aa’s career On the work of Liesa Van der Aa Ketnet and in the VTM series Cordon. But that displays this urge to discover, but also the trail she has broadened and deepened the eclecticism of her music. She refers to above all in recent years is that of music. such musicians as Björk, PJ Harvey and Van der Aa has emerged as a technical Lou Reed as her sources of inspiration. perfectionist, but within this controlled framework she creates plenty of room for In the midst of all this abundance she con- inquisitive creation. tinues to look for balance in her life and her music. This desire is made an explicit ‘The girl with the violin and the loop sta- theme of Weighing of the Heart, where the tion’ – this is the perception that stub- heart of the deceased is weighed in an an- bornly remains from her early days. Van cient Egyptian burial ritual: is it too heavy, Is Liesa Van der Aa (1986, Brussels) an ac- der Aa has played the violin since she too light, or in balance? The concept re- tress, a musician, a composer or a theatre was five, but she does not use her instru- cord becomes the result of an artistic and maker? Not a simple question to answer. ment in a particularly classical way. In her also personal and philosophical quest. To In an interview with De Tijd she sighed: hands the instrument becomes a bass, a work solo or with a group? Opting for mu- ‘I want everything’. In her most recent, percussion instrument, and sometimes sic or the theatre? Standing in the spot- almost epic exploit, she transformed her even a trumpet. By the clever use of loop light or remaining safely in the shadows? words into deeds: the triple concept re- stations and effects pedals, she succeeds It would appear that the latter is already cord WOTH (Weighing of the Heart, 2014) in creating a unique layered sound with no longer an option: Van der Aa’s char- and the accompanying multimedia music just the voice and violin. In Troops (2012), ismatic performance in WOTH has gone theatre production come very close to whose recording and issue she managed down a bomb everywhere. She can no that ‘everything’: musically speaking it is herself, this multifaceted power is con- longer hide behind the music. a cross between baroque, contemporary centrated to form a compelling debut. classical, pop and electronics, performed Van der Aa called Troops a record on the evelyne coussens on stage by eight musicians and 42 chorus theme of bombast, on the stress of choos- singers, while an impressive video instal- ing – the complaint she recognises in her lation conjures up the actor Johan Leysen own generation. on stage. Weighing of the Heart is an all- round work of art. An evening in a café with the young Ant- werp company FC Bergman resulted in Anyone who examines Van der Aa’s ear- the plan to write a soundtrack for the ly career will see that everything starts music-theatre production Van Den Vos from an inquisitive form of self-examina- (2013), which the company was planning tion – Van der Aa does not produce, she together with Josse De Pauw and Muziek- tries out. She works on the basis of gut theater Transparant. Van der Aa launched feeling, with no pre-set plan. Since she into composing together with the Berlin 92 93

Zonzo Compagnie 2013 saw the premiere of Mile(s)tones. In this production, directed by Wouter Van Looy, the audience was transported into the WWW.ZONZOCOMPAGNIE.BE world of the jazz legend Miles Davis by a percussionist (Simon Segers), a pianist (Fulco Ottervanger) and a trumpeter (Bert Bernaerts). Using Zonzo Compagnie is an international production company that projections, live music and interaction with the musicians, the children opens up the wealth and diversity of music to young audiences. Its learnt about the various musical phases Davis went through and the artistic head is Wouter Van Looy. Zonzo Compagnie is the driving possibilities of improvised music. In 2014, Mile(s)tones was nominated force behind BIG BANG, an adventurous music festival for a young for the international YAMA Award. audience, which enables children to become actively acquainted with Station (2014) is an installation performance by Zonzo a varied and international range of mostly contemporary music by Compagnie and Braakland/ZheBilding. As in its predecessor Wagon means of productions, concerts and installations. This festival is a (2010), Nicolas Rombouts and Joris Caluwaerts play double bass and continuation of OORSMEER, the children’s music festival that Van piano, and toy trains are used as musical instruments. Looy set up and which first took place in the Vooruit arts centre in Following Staring Girl (2012), which was selected for the Flemish Ghent in 1995. From the start, this festival created plenty of room for Theatre Festival, in 2015 Zonzo Compagnie is once again collaborating improvised and contemporary music. Together with a series of major with the film-maker Nathalie Teirlinck. In Slumberland, Teirlinck’s foreign partners, Zonzo Compagnie organises BIG BANG in Ghent, film images and the songs of An Pierlé and Fulco Ottervanger evoke a Brussels, Antwerp, Lisbon, Stavanger, Lille, Athens, Hamburg and curious nocturnal world of sleep, waking, and dreaming, inspired by Seville every year. To put together the programme of each festival, the experiences of children. Zonzo Compagnie enters into close cooperation with the local cultural . organisations involved. These partners were brought together in the BIG BANG network, which Zonzo Compagnie coordinates and which, with European funding, functions as a European coproduction and exchange platform for music and music theatre for children. As from 2016, the BIG BANG festival will also start up in São Paulo in Brazil. Since 2010, Zonzo Compagnie has also made its own music-. theatre productions for children on a structural basis. The company wants to enable children to discover and expand their experience of music, and for this purpose invites musicians, ensembles and composers to create productions for young audiences. Music is always at the heart of Zonzo Compagnie’s work, but the visual aspect also always plays an important part. This gives rise to greater involvement and even more difficult music is made accessible. In addition, the . audience regularly plays an active part in the performances, the most striking of which are Dancing Voices (2010) with Meredith Monk, a project with Iva Bittova (2012) and The Adventures of “O” (2013) with Corrie van Binsbergen. Listen to the Silence (2011) is an interactive performance, directed by Wouter Van Looy and Letizia Renzini, which immerses the viewer in the world of a 20th-century composer: together with a pianist and an actor, the children discover the work of John Cage. This production won both a YAMA and a YEAH! Award, two international prizes for innovative music productions for young audiences. 94 MATRIX [New Music Centre] Fascinated by new music

With its collection of over 22.700 scores, more than 14.800 audio recordings, and about 1.500 books and magazines, MATRIX houses one of the most important documentation centres on new music in Europe. While the core of the collection consists of music from Flanders, equal attention is paid to music from an international context. From this collection, which contains more than a few unpublished pieces, MATRIX regularly develops projects on contemporary musical heritage. MATRIX is also the home of a multifaceted educational service, dedicated to new music.

The website contains extensive information on more than 150 Flemish composers. You can find a short biography and fairly extensive information on the oeuvre, a work list, a bibliography, a discography, links to the relevant publishers, sometimes address or phone number and if available a link to his or her personal website. www.matrix-new-music.be/en/documentation/composers

Digital publication: Series Contemporary Music in Flanders, Volume 5: Flemish Music Theater since 1950 (2008). www.matrix-new-music.be/en/documentation/publications . About

Flanders Arts Institute is a new organisation that saw the light of day on 1 January 2015. Flanders Arts Institute serves the arts sector in Flanders and is a merger of VTi (Institute for the Performing Arts in Flanders), BAM (Flemish Institute for Visual, Audiovisual and Media Art) and Flanders Music Centre. Flanders Arts Institute is the new reference for all your questions about art in Flanders. Our core functions include a focus on research, international activities and supporting the practice of art. We collect and distribute knowledge and expertise daily about and for the arts in Flanders in an international context. The institute is the ideal contact point for foreign art professionals in search of information on the performing arts in Flanders. We provide tailored information on relevant research, directions and trends in the Flemish performing arts sector, up-and-coming names and must-sees, visitors’ programmes … contact: Flanders Arts Institute Sainctelettesquare 19 1000 Brussels Belgium +32 2 274 17 60 [email protected] www.flandersartsinstitute.be www.performingartsflanders.be

Zilke –­ death and awakening — WALPURGIS © Koen Broos Ten Huwelijk — Tutti Fratelli © Natascha Van Mechelen

Narcissus 2.0 — Barre Weldaad © Barbara Vandendriessche Sleevz — Theater De Spiegel © Marion Kahane

Ruis! — Tuning People © Sarah Oyserman Slumberland — Zonzo Compagnie Het Fioretti Project — Lucinda Ra © Wouter Van Looy © Stefanie de Clerq Angst — het nieuwstedelijk fka Braakland/ZheBilding © Freek Verdonckt

Don Giovanni — The Ministry of Operatic Affairs © David Van Mieghem Pierrot — Pantalone © Martin Coiffier

Baba — Dahlia Pessemiers-Benamar/Dunia © Kurt Van der Elst Josephine B. — Judas TheaterProducties © Luc Monsaert

The Wandering Womb — Joris Blanckaert/Muzi a Zeny © Philip Van Ootegem Rumble in da jungle — SINCOLLECTIEF © Lucila Guichon Ghost Road — LOD muziektheater © Kurt Van der Elst

Akhnaten — Opera Vlaanderen © Annemie Augustijns Zwart Zaad — Compagnie KAiET! © Raymond Mallentjer Ocatavio’s Elektro — Tal en Thee © David Maessen

Le bel indifférent (Sound of Silence) — Salomee Speelt / Noémi Schlosser © Salomee Speelt Shell Shock — De Munt © Filip Van Roe Canti d’Amor II — Muziektheater Transparant © Mirjam Devriendt Miranda van frituur miranda — DE KOLONIE MT © Basiel Debrock Rigoletto — Alden Biesen Zomeropera © Luk Monsaert The Final Party — Ensemble Leporello © Jef Rabillon Colophon

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivative Works 2.0 Belgium License. A copy of this license can be viewed at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/be/deed.en.

ISBN 9789074351485 D/2015/13.636/1

Editorial staff Stef Coninx, Marijke De Moor, Petra Geens, Delphine Hesters, Joris Janssens, Sofie Joye, Bart Magnus, Katrien Van Remortel, Hilde Teuchies, Nikol Wellens, Astrid Wynants Coordination Joris Janssens, Sofie Joye and Nikol Wellens Translation Dan Frett and Gregory Ball Layout Kiet - www.kiet.eu Print Graphius

Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt Sainctelettesquare 19 1000 Brussels Belgium +32 2 274 17 60 www.flandersartsinstitute.be

Brussels, May 2015