OPERA XXI / Private View

This is her first real opera and it immediately has the suspense of a true thriller, the tension of a whodunit, a sense of humour and an intricate web of references to Hitchcock's innovative imagery. The viewer is drawn into the view of a voyeur who invades the lives of others in search of meaning. But do our eyes really tell us what we see? The play confronts us with the inherent ambiguity of watching and being watched – a question that seems more relevant today than in the past: Big Brother is watching us, more than ever.

Following her composition for Collegium Vocale Ghent for the successful production Ruhe and the impressive Een Oresteia, in this opera Annelies Van Parys extends her artistic career in the world of music. For Private View she is working with the Scottish poet Jen Hadfield, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize, and the Irish director Tom Creed. The Dutch 33 1/3 Collective is responsible for the video film and set design.