Opera in de bus
The absolute climax of the Yo! Opera Festival 2005 was the project Opera in de Bus [Opera on the Bus], which was a collaboration project between professional opera makers and bus drivers from Utrecht, amateur singers, actors, people from Utrecht neighbourhoods and children. On 15 and 16 October, operas were performed on six bus lines and there were opera activities in the areas where these buses stopped. Bus line 1, for example, stopped in the district of Overvecht, where De Operaflat took place that day.
For Yo! Opera, the aim of this project and the 2005 edition of the festival was to actively involve the city, its districts and their inhabitants in its projects. People of all ages, amateurs and professionals, newcomers and original inhabitants; they could all join in. The bus operas were written and composed especially for this project and were related to the specific routes served by the various bus lines. Sometimes, they told the stories of bus drivers. The Gemeentelijk Vervoersbedrijf Utrecht (GVU) [Municipal Bus Company] was Yo! Opera's project partner. It was very enthusiastic about the project, because the company celebrated its centennial in 2005. A special GVU-choir was founded, consisting of bus drivers, office staff and mechanics. Under the direction of Jos Zandvliet, they sang and told their audience what is so great about transporting you – and what not.
Overview of the Bus Operas:
Busvlinder – Bus Line 1
We are on the look-out for them, wishing them to arrive soon, and trust them blindly. When they have taken us home safely, we are content and then forget about them immediately. In fact we know nothing of our bus drivers in everyday life. Busvlinder [Bus Butterfly] is based on comic, tragic, disarming and shocking stories by bus drivers of the Gemeentelijk Vervoersbedrijf Utrecht.
composer: Bob Zimmerman, librettist: Ruben van Gogh, director: Erik Snel
La Famiglia - Bus Line 27
Unsuspectingly, people get into the bus which will take them on an archaeology excursion in Leidsche Rijn. The climax of the excursion will be an exhibition at cultural centre Paperdome, organised especially for the occasion. Roman finds from the area are on display there. The guide has just started his introduction when an Italian family demand their art treasures back, making this clear in their very own way.
composer: Ferdinand Boland, director and librettist: Daphne de Bruin
De Meezingbus - Bus Line 5
The Meezingbus [Sing-Along Bus] is an ode to great wheels, a song of praise to hissing doors, a passionate plea for the sturdy steering wheel. Singers set the tone and it is just a question of joining in. Sing along, at the top of your voice; we must raise the roof! After a ride on line 5, buses will never be the same again.
composer and director: Jos Zandvliet and singing students of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague
Kabuski - Bus Line 8
The Belgian duo Kapotski claims that each object can be used for something it was not designed for. And that each object can be used to play music. Have you ever heard of the piano-stretcher? Ever had the desire to whisper in the intercom? In Kabuski and Kapotski you can! Play while you drive.
composer and performance: Kapotski/Zonzo Compagnie
La Route Impériale no. 2 - Bus Line 3
Under the authority of Louis Napoleon, the Utrecht road Amsterdamsestraatweg was constructed in 1812, to the amazement of the population. It was a dead straight road between Paris and Amsterdam: La Route Impériale no. 2, the second most important international connecting road within the empire. The line 3 bus route takes you along this road and along many other memorable venues; it is a historical journey through ages of immigration and emigration. Between the GVU city bus station until the terminus of line 3, folk songs, brass music, curious passengers and robust opera singers will fill the bus.
composer: Gábor Tarján, librettist: Heleen Verburg, director: Monique Corvers
Zonegrens - Bus Line 11
A journey from the past to the present; from the old mediaeval city centre of Utrecht to the new Uithof, where you find the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital and a music installation. But before you get there, listen to travel poems made by children in hospital, sung to you by a soprano. The children wrote about their dreams and their future. This is how your bus ride crosses the boundaries between fantasy and reality.
composer: Daniël Hamburger, director: Henk Schut, librettist: Ruben van Gogh, image and sound art: Jake de Vos, Dyane Donck
For Yo! Opera, the aim of this project and the 2005 edition of the festival was to actively involve the city, its districts and their inhabitants in its projects. People of all ages, amateurs and professionals, newcomers and original inhabitants; they could all join in. The bus operas were written and composed especially for this project and were related to the specific routes served by the various bus lines. Sometimes, they told the stories of bus drivers. The Gemeentelijk Vervoersbedrijf Utrecht (GVU) [Municipal Bus Company] was Yo! Opera's project partner. It was very enthusiastic about the project, because the company celebrated its centennial in 2005. A special GVU-choir was founded, consisting of bus drivers, office staff and mechanics. Under the direction of Jos Zandvliet, they sang and told their audience what is so great about transporting you – and what not.
Overview of the Bus Operas:
Busvlinder – Bus Line 1
We are on the look-out for them, wishing them to arrive soon, and trust them blindly. When they have taken us home safely, we are content and then forget about them immediately. In fact we know nothing of our bus drivers in everyday life. Busvlinder [Bus Butterfly] is based on comic, tragic, disarming and shocking stories by bus drivers of the Gemeentelijk Vervoersbedrijf Utrecht.
composer: Bob Zimmerman, librettist: Ruben van Gogh, director: Erik Snel
La Famiglia - Bus Line 27
Unsuspectingly, people get into the bus which will take them on an archaeology excursion in Leidsche Rijn. The climax of the excursion will be an exhibition at cultural centre Paperdome, organised especially for the occasion. Roman finds from the area are on display there. The guide has just started his introduction when an Italian family demand their art treasures back, making this clear in their very own way.
composer: Ferdinand Boland, director and librettist: Daphne de Bruin
De Meezingbus - Bus Line 5
The Meezingbus [Sing-Along Bus] is an ode to great wheels, a song of praise to hissing doors, a passionate plea for the sturdy steering wheel. Singers set the tone and it is just a question of joining in. Sing along, at the top of your voice; we must raise the roof! After a ride on line 5, buses will never be the same again.
composer and director: Jos Zandvliet and singing students of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague
Kabuski - Bus Line 8
The Belgian duo Kapotski claims that each object can be used for something it was not designed for. And that each object can be used to play music. Have you ever heard of the piano-stretcher? Ever had the desire to whisper in the intercom? In Kabuski and Kapotski you can! Play while you drive.
composer and performance: Kapotski/Zonzo Compagnie
La Route Impériale no. 2 - Bus Line 3
Under the authority of Louis Napoleon, the Utrecht road Amsterdamsestraatweg was constructed in 1812, to the amazement of the population. It was a dead straight road between Paris and Amsterdam: La Route Impériale no. 2, the second most important international connecting road within the empire. The line 3 bus route takes you along this road and along many other memorable venues; it is a historical journey through ages of immigration and emigration. Between the GVU city bus station until the terminus of line 3, folk songs, brass music, curious passengers and robust opera singers will fill the bus.
composer: Gábor Tarján, librettist: Heleen Verburg, director: Monique Corvers
Zonegrens - Bus Line 11
A journey from the past to the present; from the old mediaeval city centre of Utrecht to the new Uithof, where you find the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital and a music installation. But before you get there, listen to travel poems made by children in hospital, sung to you by a soprano. The children wrote about their dreams and their future. This is how your bus ride crosses the boundaries between fantasy and reality.
composer: Daniël Hamburger, director: Henk Schut, librettist: Ruben van Gogh, image and sound art: Jake de Vos, Dyane Donck
