Wagner/Verdi: C(h)oeurs 2022 (Gent, March/Antwerp, April/Lille June 2022)

This was the production that we were just about to open in 2020 when everything was shut down due to the pandemic. It feels somehow defiant to have resurrected it 2 years on. I still have to pinch myself that we are again able to sing and dance with full chorus, ballet and orchestra - and even better, in front of a full house audience. No more social distancing, and no more having to sing whilst wearing a mouth covering, and the concert is not being live-streamed because the audience are not attending via their computer screens!

The music is a collection of some of the best chorus music by Wagner and Verdi, as well as some orchestral music. The team of dancers often highlight the silence in-between pieces through dancing only to the rhythm of their breath. I can't explain the dancing, but it is an impassioned contemporary choreography style that evokes emotion to the watching audience.

I am enjoying being a part of this production immensely. I am proud of this work. It is very poignant in the current political climate that we find ourselves in. Although mostly the same direction from Alain Patel as two years ago, everything takes on new meaning with the significance of the conflict in Ukraine currently, and the challenges and sadness during the pandemic.

I was also thrilled to be asked not only to sing in the chorus, but also to cover the soprano solo in Verdi's Requiem "Libera me".

More information and photos (nl) : https://operaballet.be/nl/programma/2021-2022/choeurs-2022
More information (en): ​https://operaballet.be/en/programme/2021-2022/choeurs-2022

Photo by Filip Van Roe

Photo by Filip Van Roe

Rehearsal Photo by Pippa Samaya