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 Opera.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.Flemish.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.Belgium.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.