Agenda

Music to glorify the powerful, musical propaganda, national anthems - the unifying power of melodies has always been used by political regimes. But what happens when they fall out of favour, for conveying the idea of freedom, or because the origins or opinions of their composers failed to toe the line? In these cases, bans have sometimes been imposed on well-known and lesser-known works from the classical repertoire. Pierre Solot guides you through the dark corridors of political censorship and makes his case loud and clear: you can’t take their freedom to compose!

SHOW FOR SCHOOLS Music to glorify the powerful, musical propaganda, national anthems - the unifying power of melodies has always been used by political regimes. But what happens when they fall out of favour, for conveying the idea of freedom, or because the origins or opinions of their composers failed to toe the line? In these cases, bans have sometimes been imposed on well-known and lesser-known works from the classical repertoire. Pierre Solot guides you through the dark corridors of political censorship and makes his case loud and clear: you can’t take their freedom to compose!

Zampa, a pirate, seduces young women in a cavalier manner. The bandit will be caught in his own game when he falls in love with Camille... A comic opera in 3 acts that's well worth the trip. Conductor: Joop Dieteren

For our dutch-speaking friends : Theater arsenaal, DE MAAN en deCompagnie herwerken het klassieke Faustverhaal tot een beeldende en muzikale epische queeste naar de zin van het leven. FAUST wordt een unieke ontmoeting tussen een ensemble van klassieke muzikanten van wereldniveau, de spetterende beeldtaal van figurentheater DE MAAN en de typisch Lazariaanse cocktail van humor en drama, geniaal literair talent en onbescheiden platvloersheid. Voor een publiek vanaf 14 jaar en minstens even hard voor alles daarboven. Omdat we allen wanhopig op zoek zijn naar betekenis.

A heart-warming family performance about the beauty of grief and the inseparable love connected to it. The Belgian National Orchestra brings solace and joy with orchestral music by Purcell, Khachaturian and Saint-Saëns, arias by Mozart, Thomas and also music by Sinatra and Brel. Do you believe in life after death? Yes - says Anna - death scares me less. Oh, then I believe in it too - says Emile. Anna and Emile create a world together. Not just any world, but a world where Anna's grandma and Emile's dad meet. Their beloved departed ones laugh and joke, cry and feel the void, but above all: they live. For eternity. Dad lives in the sparkle of Emile's eyes, and Anna finds her grandma in the comforting smell of a pie fresh out of the oven. With À la vie, à la mort, singer and stage director Helene Bracke aims to forever break the taboo around grief and loss. Physical actor Anatoli Akerman (Cirque du Soleil, Circus Roncalli, Walt Disney), with his refined clownery, strikes a êrfect balance between sorrow and entertainment, between mourning and laughter. Gabriel Hollander, conductor Helene Bracke, concept, text, stage direction, mezzo Charles Dekeyser, bass-baritone Anatoli Akerman, clown Mien Bogaert, coordination Evelyne Meersschaut, costumes Tijl Wellens, technique, light Bilingual performance Dutch-French.

In ancient times, the New Year was celebrated at the spring equinox. In a nod to this tradition, Elena Schwarz and the OPRL present the most iconic music of the 20th century. The Rite of Spring (1913) is a landmark work whose harsh harmonies, wild timbres and unbridled rhythm have not aged a day. The calm before the storm, Cédric Tiberghien, a subtle colourist whose luminous arpeggios and trills are a delight, returns to OPRL to perform the marvellously gentle neoclassical Ravel Concerto in G, inspired by Bach. RAVEL, Rapsodie espagnole RAVEL, Concerto in G STRAVINSKY, The Rite of Spring

A worthy and very special conclusion to the festival: the world premiere of the AdamSuite and a performance by the Marmara Flute Orchestra from Turkey conducted by Prof. Dr. Ece Karsal with soloists Lelya Bayramogullari (principal flutist in Antalya State Symphony Orchestra) and Metin Yavuz on alto. World premiere of AdamSuite, composed by Dr. Carla Rees, Sophie Dufeutrelle, Matthias Ziegler and Gareth McLearnon. All four composers worked with the special festival ensemble that will perform the piece and will attend the concert. Marmara Flute Orchestra (Istanbul, Turkey) was founded by Prof. Dr. Ece Karsal in 2015. Instruments were supplied within the support of the Department of Marmara University Scientifical Research Projects and the orchestra studies began in November, 2015. Marmara Flute Orchestra is the first ensemble consisting of all the members of the flute family of Turkey, professional flutists, teachers, advanced amateur flutists, selected music students in different education levels including of primary, secondary, high school and university, among people from 10 to 45 years old. Marmara Flute Orchestra, established in 2015, put its signature under important successes in a short time. The ensemble performed a lot of concerts in the elite concert halls of Istanbul and, in 2016, it played pieces prepared by three Turkish composer for the orchestra for the first time in the international platform named “International Wind Instrument Festival”. Among the purposes of the orchestra are to play and introduce the pieces of Turkish composers.

SHOW FOR SCHOOLS For our dutch-speaking friends : Theater arsenaal, DE MAAN en deCompagnie herwerken het klassieke Faustverhaal tot een beeldende en muzikale epische queeste naar de zin van het leven. FAUST wordt een unieke ontmoeting tussen een ensemble van klassieke muzikanten van wereldniveau, de spetterende beeldtaal van figurentheater DE MAAN en de typisch Lazariaanse cocktail van humor en drama, geniaal literair talent en onbescheiden platvloersheid. Voor een publiek vanaf 14 jaar en minstens even hard voor alles daarboven. Omdat we allen wanhopig op zoek zijn naar betekenis.

SHOW FOR SCHOOLS For our dutch-speaking friends : Theater arsenaal, DE MAAN en deCompagnie herwerken het klassieke Faustverhaal tot een beeldende en muzikale epische queeste naar de zin van het leven. FAUST wordt een unieke ontmoeting tussen een ensemble van klassieke muzikanten van wereldniveau, de spetterende beeldtaal van figurentheater DE MAAN en de typisch Lazariaanse cocktail van humor en drama, geniaal literair talent en onbescheiden platvloersheid. Voor een publiek vanaf 14 jaar en minstens even hard voor alles daarboven. Omdat we allen wanhopig op zoek zijn naar betekenis.