Electronic music meets opera
Specially for the Opera Forward Festival, Nene H, Başak Günak and GAEL, three creatives from the Dekmantel network, have been invited to let their creativity loose on the genre of opera. As DJs and producers, they perform in Europe’s top clubs and venues, sweeping everyone in the room up in their music. Now OFF is giving them the opportunity to show another side to their artistry. They are being asked to channel their inner composer to draw inspiration for example from a beautiful aria from the operatic repertoire, or the interplay between voice and breath. Their encounters with singers and instrumentalists from the world of opera and classical music enable a creative exchange between the various art forms. The result is a thrilling evening featuring three unique performances — the perfect event to get you in the mood before hitting Amsterdam’s clubs.
Untitled
Nene H
In this piece, DJ/producer Nene H takes a bold, new approach to operatic tradition. She collaborates with soprano and vocal artist Stefanie Janssen to explore the primal force of human breath, through extended vocal techniques and electronic manipulation. They experiment with breath rhythms, glissandos, and non-verbal vocalisations, amplifying and transforming them into rhythmic and harmonic patterns. The electronics loop, distort, and enhance these sounds, creating a constantly evolving soundscape that pushes the boundaries of what opera can be.
Nene H: “Revisiting my classical roots, this composition embraces a fresh, forward-thinking approach to the voice and electronics. It’s about breaking down traditional barriers and inviting the audience into a space where two worlds coexist in an innovative dialogue.
O Solitude: Reimagined
GAEL
Inspired by O solitude, my sweetest choice, a song by baroque composer Henry Purcell, DJ/producer GAEL and countertenor David van Laar explore the profound human need for introspection in this performance. While Purcell’s music presents solitude as a pastoral retreat, our era contends with hyper-connectivity and isolation. We seek refuge in nature, yet the digital world shapes how we experience it. While solitude cultivates self-discovery, it can also breed anxiety. How do we find true peace amidst constant noise and social media's bombardment? Can solitude alone fulfill us, or is human connection essential for complete self-growth? This piece questions the balance: the need for inner quiet versus the vital exchange with others. It is in this tension, between self and connection, that we seek true understanding.
Flesh is a flesh is a flesh (excerpt)
Başak Günak
Composer and sound artist Başak Günak: “Flesh is a flesh is a flesh explores the underneath of the skin as a desired place of otherness, disturbance and uncanniness, exploring what is itching, oozing and diffusing inside. Inspired by the French philosopher Georges Bataille, the artists investigate their relationship with their instruments and voice, working both rhythmically and a-rhythmically in terms of sound and movement. In Flesh is a flesh is a flesh, soprano Brigitte van Hagen, tuba players Gabriel Lopes and Néstor Martínez Jara, and I explore new potential identities that pulse through instruments and voice, unveiling the disturbance, transforming it, constructing it again.”
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