Composer of the month
FROM VONDEL 1685 TO THE DUTCH FRENCH ERA 1812 • 26 APRIL 2020
On Sunday 26 April 401DutchOperas and the Nederlands Muziek Instituut will give a unique concert with the long lost operas of the Amsterdam Opera School 1685-1710 (Hendrik Anders, David Petersen, Servaes de Koninck and Elias Brönnemuller), the first Haarlem opera in Paris (Johan Mulligens Acajou from 1773), the first Frisian opera (Jean des Communes’ opera Het dorp in het gebergte from 1812) and a try-out of two pieces from the unknown opera Vestas Feuer from the Zutphen born composer… Beethoven! With tenor Denzil Delaere, soprano Jolien De Gendt, baritone Hans Voschezang, mezzo Sarah Konig, soprano Gina de Jong and tenor Hugo Kampschreur. Camerata Delft is the chamber ensemble, Pieter Dhoore pianist.
26 April 2020, Oud-Katholieke Parochiekerk, Juffrouw Idastraat 7, Den Haag (NL).
Opera of the month
GOVERT BIDLOO/VONDEL: FAËTON (1685) • 26 APRIL, DEN HAAG
Vondel was the most famous Dutch playwright of the 17th Century. Yet by 1663 Amsterdam City Theatre director Jan Vos thought his work outdated and he refused to mount Vondel's Faëton. it was finally performed there posthumously in 1685, when new director Govert Bidloo gave it disguised as an... opera! To pull this off he had personally added an hour of text and anonymously composed music to the play, turning it into a Lully-like opera. The five authentic dances and arias preserved in the Nederlands Muziek instituut have been made perfromance ready by Andy Clark for our 26 April 2020 concert 'From Vondel 1685 to the Dutch French Era 1812'. Camerata Delft is our chamber ensemble. Vocalists are Denzil Delaere (Spring), Gina de Jong (Summer), Sarah Konig (Autumn) and Hans Voschezang (Winter).
26 april 2020, Oud-Katholieke Parochiekerk, Juffrouw Idastraat 7, Den Haag.
401Concerts 2 Vlaamse opera highlights
401Concerts Nr. 2
François-Auguste Gevaert
François-Auguste Gevaert
Remembered mostly as director of the Brussels Conservatory and for his theoretical publications, François-Auguste Gevaert is slowly regaining some of his former stature as as a composer. In 2015 the Brussels Conservatory performed his Offenbach-like opera Le capitaine Henriot (preserved by us on film) and we present highlights from his most famous opera, Quentin Durward, sung by baritone Joris Grouwels and soprano Pauline Lebbe. 401DutchOperas released the video as download under 401Concerts Nr. 2.
Gevaert: Quentin Durward
Gevaert: Quentin Durward
Gevaert's opera Quentin Durward was premiered at the Paris Opéra-Comique in 1858. It spread to Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Switserland and The Netherlands. On a libretto by Eugène Cormon & Michel Carré after Walter Scott, the opera is considered Gevaert's masterpiece. We filmed these highlights at the concert of Joris Grouwels and Pauline Lebbe in Museum Vleeshuis, Antwerp. They are a valuable extension of the currently available repertoire from the Opéra-Comique of those days and available for download under 401Concerts Nr. 2.
Limnander van Nieuwenhove
The Flemish composer Armand Limnander van Nieuwenhove conquered Paris in 1847 with his opéra-comique Les Monténégrins. Meyer- beer respected him, Auber copied him, yet his name fell into complete oblivion. Recently soprano Pauline Lebbe sang an aria from De Nieuwenhove's opéra-comique Le Maître-Chanteur from 1853 (post Wagner's work renamed into Maximilien à Francfort). 401DutchOperas was there to capture this precious moment on film.UNIQUE VIDEO DUTCH OPERA ARIAS CONCERT
The video and audio downloads of the April 26, 2015, 401DutchOperas Concert are now available here. They include stunning performances of arias and duets from Dutch and Flemish operas. Participating are soprano Jolien De Gendt, tenor Denzil Delaere, and pianist Pieter Dhoore. Performed were duets and arias from operas by Ten Cate, Van Bree, Von Brucken-Fock, Brandts-Buys, Eckert, Lilien, Jan Rijken, Harry Mayer, De Pauw, and Miry.Martijn Padding (1956)
In June 2014, Dutch composer Martijn Padding (1956) presented his second opera, Laika. He then became composer of the month June.
Jan van Gilse: Helga von Stavern
Jan van Gilse: Helga von Stavern
Because of his opera Thijl (1940) Jan van Gilse now counts as The Netherlands's most important opera composer but he would not find recognition until 35 years after his tragic death in 1944. His first opera Helga von Stavern failed to make it to any stage because of the bizarre Marxist-political libretto. 401Concerts 4 (18 December 2016 in the OBA Concert Hall The Hague - Spui) will bring the reprise of Helga's monologue 'Ist es denn wahr?', in which the Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde blends with Elektra. Additionally we will bring the world premiere of the final duet between Haron and Helga, with bass-baritone Andreas Goetze and soprano Barbara Schilstra. Helga's monologue from the earlier concert is available in the creation of Jolien De Gendt via 401Concerts 3 download. The creations of Schilstra and Goetze shall be made available as 401Concerts 4 download from December 20 onwards.
Vlaams Opera Symposium
In December 2015 a special symposium on past and future of Flemish operas was organized in the Ghent Opera, focusing the rise of Flemish opera in 1840 to the fin de siècle works by Jan Blockx, Emiel Wambach and Paul Gilson. Lecturers were Adelheid Ceulemans, Jan Dewilde and Johanna Ferket. Following a panel discussed the sense or nonsense of reviving the best operas of Blockx, Wambach or Paul Gilson today. This resulted in a heated discussion!
Ignace Lilien • Beatrijs
Polish-Dutch composer Ignace Lilien (1867-1943) scored one of the greatest successes in Dutch operatic history, with Beatrijs (1928). We wil perform some of its most impressive excerpts at the very first 401DutchOperas live concert of April 26, 2015, in Hoog-Keppel. Among these excerpts the exuberant central duet Beatrijs–Gratiaan stands out.
G.F. de Pauw: Bellida (1897)
Gustaaf Francies de Pauw
Dutch composer Gustaaf Francies de Pauw (1867-1943) composed but one opera, in 1897: Bellida. With the unique 2003/2004 revival now being opera of the month, we made De Pauw composer of the month February. Bellida also features in our first ever 401DutchOperas live concert of April 26, 2015, in Hoog-Keppel, where Flemish tenor Denzil Delaere shall sing the Act I aubade of Bertino, 'Le mai sur le charmille'.
Arnoud Noordegraaf: As Big As The Sky
In his opera As Big As The Sky which mixes traditional Kunqu opera and Wagnerian late romantic, Dutch composer Arnoud Noordegraaf investigates the clash of cultures between East and West, tradition and avant garde, romanticism and reality. With decors by Ai Weiwei.
