Yo! Opera Festival 2007
Intimacy was the main theme of the fourth edition of the Yo! Opera Festival, which took place between 31 October and 4 November 2007. Under the slogan 'Ik zing alleen voor jou!' [I sing only for you!], the focus of the programme was on small scale projects and personal contact. The stage gestures opera is famous for, its weighty themes and its lavish sets were replaced by cosiness and direct contact. Friendship, love, connection, solidarity: easily recognisable themes, which were incorporated in performances on a human scale. Vocal, creative dialogues (which was the title of the simultaneous symposium) between singers and audience were a thread through the entire festival programme. The target groups of the festival were children and youth.
De Operaflat was organised for the second time, taking place at the Faustdreef in the Utrecht district of Overvecht. This time, the mini-performances were made by students of vocational art schools only. On Saturday afternoon, the project attracted more than 500 visitors, who came to see and hear the works young composition and singing students had made especially for these confined spaces; the door openings of the apartments. In the district of Kanaleneiland, pupils of Delta College literally took their audience by the hand to lead them to a performance by the British opera company Glyndebourne, which visited Delta College and staged the performance Wild Dreams inside the school. For this festival, Yo! Opera again collaborated with both Oosterlicht College and VocaalLAB. Artistic director Romain Bischoff created the performance Alive and Kicking, again together with 25 young, talented pupils. The industrial atmosphere of the former shipyard in Nieuwegein formed a perfect background for this show.
The special atmosphere of De Haar Castle in Haarzuilens was the natural set of the expressive performance Stom Paard [Silent Horse] by Walpurgis from Flanders. The piece was translated from Russian and was beautifully directed in an intimate setting by Judith Vindevogel. It was a true gem within the festival programme. Another example of the unmistakably poetical character of Belgian theatre was Het meisje de jongen en de rivier [Girl, Boy and River] by Music Theatre Company Transparant. Humour and virtuoso singing combined with new, partly electronic music by Wolfgang Mitterer could be heard in the interpretation of the fairy tale of Het dappere snijdertje [The Brave Little Tailor] by the Austrian company Wiener Taschenoper - an international prize winning performance. The Netherlands was represented at the festival programme most notably in the concerts of two quality companies, which both form part of the rich ensemble culture of our country. Ensemble Ziggurat played Babylon by Theo Loevendie, featuring both oriental music and brilliant tap dancing. The young Wervelwind Ensemble played Jimmy, an opera on falling in love, based on a book by Edward van de Vendel and directed by Marcel Sijm.
Het Operanest welcomed a variety of opera-like performances and acts. Just For One Day by composer Thomas Myrmel and choreographer Inari Salmivaara featured a combination of singing and dancing; composer Tian Rotteveel presented an intense physical voice performance and works from Yo! Opera's workshop projects. De Zingende Stad [The City Sings] was launched at Theater Kikker – an exciting mix of locative media and singing.
De Operaflat was organised for the second time, taking place at the Faustdreef in the Utrecht district of Overvecht. This time, the mini-performances were made by students of vocational art schools only. On Saturday afternoon, the project attracted more than 500 visitors, who came to see and hear the works young composition and singing students had made especially for these confined spaces; the door openings of the apartments. In the district of Kanaleneiland, pupils of Delta College literally took their audience by the hand to lead them to a performance by the British opera company Glyndebourne, which visited Delta College and staged the performance Wild Dreams inside the school. For this festival, Yo! Opera again collaborated with both Oosterlicht College and VocaalLAB. Artistic director Romain Bischoff created the performance Alive and Kicking, again together with 25 young, talented pupils. The industrial atmosphere of the former shipyard in Nieuwegein formed a perfect background for this show.
The special atmosphere of De Haar Castle in Haarzuilens was the natural set of the expressive performance Stom Paard [Silent Horse] by Walpurgis from Flanders. The piece was translated from Russian and was beautifully directed in an intimate setting by Judith Vindevogel. It was a true gem within the festival programme. Another example of the unmistakably poetical character of Belgian theatre was Het meisje de jongen en de rivier [Girl, Boy and River] by Music Theatre Company Transparant. Humour and virtuoso singing combined with new, partly electronic music by Wolfgang Mitterer could be heard in the interpretation of the fairy tale of Het dappere snijdertje [The Brave Little Tailor] by the Austrian company Wiener Taschenoper - an international prize winning performance. The Netherlands was represented at the festival programme most notably in the concerts of two quality companies, which both form part of the rich ensemble culture of our country. Ensemble Ziggurat played Babylon by Theo Loevendie, featuring both oriental music and brilliant tap dancing. The young Wervelwind Ensemble played Jimmy, an opera on falling in love, based on a book by Edward van de Vendel and directed by Marcel Sijm.
Het Operanest welcomed a variety of opera-like performances and acts. Just For One Day by composer Thomas Myrmel and choreographer Inari Salmivaara featured a combination of singing and dancing; composer Tian Rotteveel presented an intense physical voice performance and works from Yo! Opera's workshop projects. De Zingende Stad [The City Sings] was launched at Theater Kikker – an exciting mix of locative media and singing.
