What kind of Flanders do we want to live in?

Why has the 26/27 season been given the slogan À la flamande?

Various thematic strands intersect. First of all, we’re presenting three opera projects in Dutch: De Materie by Louis Andriessen, Lucifer and De Schelde by FC Bergman after Peter Benoit and De draaischijf after the novel by Tom Lanoye. Plus, we have several productions in which Flanders plays a significant role in terms of content, and more specifically the River Scheldt. With our dance programme, we’re delving into the repertoire of the choreographers of the so-called ‘Flemish Wave’, who put our country on the international map in the 1980s and 1990s.

Overall, through all our productions, we want to explore the question of what kind of Flanders we want to live in and what possible futures there are. We want to reflect on current themes that closely link Flanders with Belgium, Europe and the rest of the world. In our search for answers, we draw on knowledge of the past and take inspiration from the rich repertoire of opera, dance and music history. What immediately becomes clear, though, is how difficult it is to define ‘Flemish’. All identities are multi-layered, but the Flemish identity in particular is a messy, often playful hodgepodge of influences and cross-pollinations.

‘In our search for answers, we draw on knowledge of the past and take inspiration from the rich repertoire of opera, dance and music history.'

— Jan Vandenhouwe

Let’s start with the opera production Lucifer and De Schelde after Peter Benoit. A surprising choice, perhaps?

It was the artistic team of FC Bergman who – following the phenomenal success of Les Pêcheurs de perles – came up with the idea themselves to do something with those two oratorios by Benoit. I must admit that surprised me a little too. Stef Aerts and Marie Vinck were particularly intrigued by the fact that these oratorios were written in Dutch, and they will surely imbue them with their own distinctive visual dramaturgy. Two stories come together in the production: the story of Lucifer, the figure who plunges the world into chaos, and the story of the Scheldt, as a source of industry, trade and progress in Antwerp. De Schelde is about the naïve optimism of a world that only wants more and more. Lucifer shows the consequences of a runaway faith in progress. Peter Benoit was, of course, also at the root of the creation of the Vlaamse Opera and the Koninklijk Vlaams Muziekconservatorium in Antwerp. Dutch is today under increasing pressure as a language of culture and science. Cuts are being made to culture and arts education worldwide. It is therefore fascinating to see the role that culture and music were able to play over a century ago in the emancipation of a linguistic community and how they helped bring a new dynamic to society.

‘It was the artistic team of FC Bergman who came up with the idea themselves to do something with those two oratorios by Benoit. They will surely imbue them with their own distinctive visual dramaturgy.’

— Jan Vandenhouwe

The Vlaamse Opera plays an important role in the acclaimed novel De draaischijf by Tom Lanoye.

De draaischijf explores another, darker aspect of our history. Lanoye paints a razor-sharp picture of the excesses to which extreme nationalism and narrow-minded identity politics can lead. We should not forget that during the Nazi occupation of Antwerp, the chief conductor, dressed in an SS uniform, conducted Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in our theatre. That holds up a mirror to us. The raids described by Lanoye are, if one looks at the United States for example, unfortunately still the order of the day. It’s a story we must not shy away from when we reflect on the Flanders of the future. What choices would we ourselves have made at the time? What choices will we, as cultural creators, make as the world continues to polarise and harden?

‘De draaischijf explores another, darker aspect of our history. Lanoye paints a razor-sharp picture of the excesses to which extreme nationalism and narrow-minded identity politics can lead'

— Jan Vandenhouwe

De draaischijf is a theatrical monologue performed by Peter Van den Begin, with a new orchestral score by composer Steven Prengels.

Steven Prengels, whom we know from C(H)ŒURS and Ombra by Alain Platel, weaves the music mentioned in the book into his score as well. What I also find fascinating is that Peter Benoit founded the Nederlandsch Lyrisch Tooneel in 1893 as a precursor to the Vlaamse Opera. There, Dutch-language stage texts were spoken rhythmically over live orchestral accompaniment. Our Draaischijf is reviving that tradition. It’s an interesting hybrid form between theatre and opera. With this production, we are also continuing our series of successful novel adaptations, such as Brodeck and De bekeerlinge.

Speaking of hybrid productions: our grand season opener is De Materie by Louis Andriessen, directed by Phia Ménard and choreographed by Antonio De Rosa and Mattia Russo (KOR’SIA).

That’s the kind of production our company has come to be known for. Chorus, orchestra and dance are combined in a spectacular show that appeals to a wide audience and where different generations and groups come together. De Materie follows in the footsteps of the monumental Satyagraha from a few years ago.

‘De Materie is the kind of hybrid production our company has come to be known for, a spectacular show that appeals to a wide audience and where different generations and groups come together.'

— Jan Vandenhouwe

Can you tell us a bit more about the work itself? De Materie may not be so well known in Flanders.

De Materie is the magnum opus of Louis Andriessen, without a doubt the most important Dutch composer of recent centuries. He has responded to American minimalism in a very unique, radical way. You can mention him in the same breath as composers such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich. De Materie does not tell a purely linear story, but rather forms an associative work about how the mind influences matter and vice versa. It consists of four chapters: one on 17th-century shipbuilding, one on the Antwerp mystic Hadewijch, one on Piet Mondrian and one on Marie Curie.

That sounds pretty abstract.

Oh, but it will also be an emotional evening. The music from the section on Hadewijch, for example, is unearthly and beautiful, even ecstatic. In the section on Mondrian, it takes on a swinging, danceable character, with a boogie-woogie sound. The composition of the orchestra is also unusual. Andriessen himself spoke of a ‘large ensemble’: plenty of percussion, including four car bumpers, saxophones, bass clarinets and a contrabass clarinet, electric guitars, bass guitar, synthesizers, pianos, etc. What’s also so appealing about De Materie, is its European dimension. The work brings together stories from different countries, and alongside Dutch, other languages are used. That European character is a defining feature of our art forms, which constantly combine diverse influences and are therefore, by definition, impure.

In which other works in the 26/27 season do you see that European dimension?

We are presenting Hector Berlioz’s version of the opera Orphée et Eurydice by Christoph Willibald Gluck, in a concert performance: an ancient Greek myth, the story of Orpheus, inspired a German composer of the Enlightenment to write an opera in Italian, which was later adapted into French. For Lohengrin, Wagner drew inspiration from a medieval legend set in Antwerp. Christianity and Germanic mythology clash. La traviata on the other hand, is a French story set in Paris, which was turned into an opera by the Italian composer Verdi, and which we are presenting under the direction of the Belgian Tom Goossens. All these works give voice to the values, ideals and passions that have inspired Europe through the centuries: from antiquity and the Middle Ages, through the Enlightenment and Romanticism, to postmodernity.

Let’s return briefly to those cross-pollinations in our art forms that you mentioned at the start. That was a strong element in the work of the choreographers of the Flemish Wave, who took the world by storm in the 1980s and 1990s.

If you look at it more closely, you quickly realise that our Flemish dance is unthinkable without international influences. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker is unthinkable without the work of the American postmodernists of the second half of the 20th century. Alain Platel owes a debt to choreographers such as Pina Bausch. Certainly, Alain Platel has always sought out that impurity I mentioned earlier. I’m delighted that we are closing our dance season with a new creation by him, Soûl, set to the symphonic poem Totenfeier by Gustav Mahler, an early version of his Second Symphony. We are presenting Soûl in a double bill with Adagio by Pina Bausch, set to Mahler’s Tenth Symphony. It promises to be a truly wonderful evening, accompanied live by our orchestra.

‘Certainly, Alain Platel has always sought out that impurity I mentioned earlier. I’m delighted that we are closing our dance season with a new creation by him, Soûl, set to the symphonic poem Totenfeier by Gustav Mahler'

— Jan Vandenhouwe

The strings of OBV will also accompany the dance performance Bartók / Beethoven / Schönberg, with which we are adding three classics from the oeuvre of our associate artist Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker to our repertoire.

We have worked together with Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker for many years. With Fase (season 23/24) we focused on her very early work from 1982. Rain (season 24/25) was created in 2001. This season we are presenting three iconic choreographies she created in the 1980s and 1990s set to musical masterpieces: Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4, Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge and Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht. Like no other, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker makes musical structures visible in her dance. It’s fantastic that our dancers can perform this with the strings section of our orchestra.

From Alain Platel and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker we move seamlessly to Zoë Demoustier, as there certainly is a connection…

For A Wave, Zoë Demoustier takes as her starting point not only the generation of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Alain Platel, but also Wim Vandekeybus and Marc Vanrunxt. Zoë is a young choreographer who has always heard a great deal about those dance classics, but has rarely, if ever, seen them live on stage. In her performance, she explores how this precious dance heritage can be passed on today. She creates A Wave with a diverse group of collaborators: dancers from Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, joined by young people, a dancer with a disability from Platform K, and iconic dancers who created the pieces of yesteryear.

Further down the dance programme are two big names: Marcos Morau presents The Sleeping Beauty and Trajal Harrell creates a choreography based on Schubert’s Winterreise.

We are now well acquainted with Marcos Morau thanks to Romeo + Julia, which has not only delighted our audiences in Antwerp and Ghent, but has also toured internationally to great acclaim.

With The Sleeping Beauty, he brings his own impetuous, poetic and breathtaking vision to the ballet classic Sleeping Beauty by Tsjaikovsky. Trajal Harrell sinks his teeth into one of the major works of the Romantic era, Winterreise by Schubert. It’s an honour for us that one of the most sought-after choreographers – or artists, period – who is featured at all the major festivals, is creating a choreography to a classical score for the first time. This, too, will be another hybrid production featuring our dancers, opera singers and live music.

Can you tell us a bit more about Trajal Harrell? How would you describe his dance language?

Trajal Harrell is an American choreographer who found his inspiration in New York’s nightlife of the 1980s. It was the era of the underground ‘voguing’ scene, which emerged within the African and Latin American LGBTQIA+ community, where everyone transformed into whoever they wanted to be. Vogueing is all about using clothing and other forms of self-expression to free yourself from how others perceive you. That fits perfectly with the story of Franz Schubert, who, as a queer composer in early 19th-century Vienna, also belonged to a subculture or underground scene. Schubert’s songs formed a startlingly modern counterpoint in times of conservatism and reactionary politics. Times have changed completely, but there are fascinating parallels.

‘The work of Trajal Harrell fits perfectly with the story of Franz Schubert, who, as a queer composer in early 19th-century Vienna, also belonged to a subculture.'

— Jan Vandenhouwe

Let’s return briefly to À la flamande and the Scheldt. We see this river feature in several productions.

That’s right, it doesn’t just flow through the oratorio of the same name by Peter Benoit and De Materie. The Grail knight Lohengrin also arrives in Antwerp on a swan on the Scheldt. The Scheldt also flows through Ghent, which brings us to Der Schmied von Gent, the opera that Franz Schreker composed based on an old folk tale told by Charles De Coster. Via the Scheldt, and the ports connected to it, international contacts and trends have consistently found their way to Flanders throughout history. At the same time, the colonisation of the Congo largely took place via that river, as well. So it’s ambiguous once again, but the Scheldt has always been the gateway to the world.

‘Via the Scheldt, and the ports connected to it, international contacts and trends have consistently found their way to Flanders. At the same time, the colonisation of the Congo largely took place via that river, as well.'

— Jan Vandenhouwe

With Der Schmied von Gent the internationally acclaimed production by Ersan Mondtag returns.

I’m delighted that we can stage that work again after six years. Der Schmied von Gent was a revelation in many respects: both for its magnificent score and for Ersan Mondtag himself. It was his very first opera production. His Schmied – with spectacular sets and costumes – blew the press and the audience away while simultaneously conveying a critical message about our own colonial past. The production has also won international awards. In the coming years, operas by Ersan Mondtag will be staged at the Salzburger Festspiele and the Wiener Staatsoper. Just to say: it still gives me great pleasure that we were able to convince him back then to make the move from theatre to opera.

While we’re on the subject of Ghent: it’s important to emphasise that Opera Ballet Vlaanderen will continue to have a strong presence in the ‘City of Artevelde’.

Absolutely right. We’re staging Winterreise and A Wave at De Vooruit, we’ll be back at De Bijloke with our concerts and operas in concert Orphée et Eurydice and Lohengrin, and we’re holding aperitif concerts at the MIRY concert hall. De Capitole is hosting us for Bartók/ Beethoven/ Schönberg, The Sleeping Beauty and De draaischijf. We’re also kicking off our season in Ghent with De opstand van de gevels. That project by theatre maker Thomas Verstraeten, which consists of a festive parade and a musical theatre performance at NTGent, perfectly showcases the city’s diversity. Together with a new Ghent city orchestra, Thomas Verstraeten gives voice to contemporary society and poses questions such as: what is the centre, what is the periphery, what is real and what is an idealised past?

These are questions that will also feature in our panel discussions, a new initiative by OBV entitled AAN TAFEL. This offers a reflection on Flanders in the wider world.

We will explore our annual theme in three panel discussions. They are an active invitation to look further into the questions raised by our productions and the idea that, in Flanders, we have always willingly absorbed all kinds of influences like a sponge. Alongside this is the notion that, in the new world order, Europe is being squeezed by continents under authoritarian rule. Naturally, it’s important to be economically and militarily strong, but it’s at least as urgent to continue defending European values and to keep investing in art and culture. A healthy democracy gives culture every freedom and allows it to flourish. A healthy democracy also learns from the past. To get the discussions underway, we have asked three authors to write a critical contribution for this booklet: Tom Lanoye, Rashif El Kaoui and Sibo Kanobana.

‘Naturally, it’s important to be economically and militarily strong, but it’s at least as urgent to continue defending European values and to keep investing in art and culture.'

— Jan Vandenhouwe

Last but not least: we welcome our new music director, Stephan Zilias. This marks a new beginning, but also a happy reunion.

We are indeed already well acquainted with the German conductor Stephan Zilias from Der Freischütz directed by Christoph Marthaler in the 24/25 season. It became immediately clear then that there was a connection with our theatre and that Stephan is keen to work with our orchestra. Moreover, he’s someone with whom you can really engage in an artistic dialogue, including with directors. He likes to be involved in the entire production process. He’s also a highly experienced music director and is coming to OBV from one of Germany’s leading opera houses – Staatsoper Hannover. Francesco Corti, with whom we have a project focusing on historically informed performance of classical music, is also returning. Following the huge success of Don Giovanni in 25/26, he will be conducting Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice next season.

It’s going to be spectacular!

Discover season 26/27