Interview with musical director Phillip Pointner

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• Interview with musical director Phillip Pointner

  3 November 202108:55 Comments Off on Interview with musical director Phillip Pointner

  Together with director Julien Chavaz, musical director Phillipp Pointner has adapted the rhythm and structure of Roméo et Juliette to contemporary standards. “Roméo et Juliette has never been performed in this new structure. The result will be very interesting and exciting for the audience.

  How do you characterize the music that Gounod wrote for this opera?

  The opera Roméo et Juliette characterizes the transition to impressionist music. New is the way in which the music highlights the relationship between Roméo and Juliette. The four duets that Roméo and Juliette sing together show the process of falling in love. While listening you discover the unique colors and ingredients of love, as in a watercolor. The battle scene, on the other hand, is very heroic. There are also facets from the opera comique, which will make you laugh. Because Gounod combined motifs from all times, a kind of patchwork opera has arisen.’

  Together with Julien Chavaz you have adapted the rhythm and structure of Gounod’s opera. Why?

  “We must remain loyal to the great masters by playing their music with respect, but we must not be afraid to help them in our time. Unnecessarily probably; I don’t change anything about Gounod’s music, only the structure of the opera is different.’

  What is the most important change?

  ‘The most important? Gounod wrote Roméo et Juliette like a number opera, with room for applause after every scene. Our version of Roméo et Juliette is more continuous. The five deeds have been merged into two parts. In order for these acts to be uninterrupted, I have created new musical transitions. Of course I use Gounod’s music for this. Now there is more flow and less loss of drama. After Juliette’s aria there is room for applause, but not in places where it does not serve the opera.’

  This rewrite requires intensive collaboration with the director. How does that work?

  “Due to Covid, we zoomed a lot in the past year. It is a demanding process in which you decide together which parts of the score to use or not. Also during the rehearsals a lot has been discussed and changed. The result will be very interesting and exciting for the audience, because in this structure, Roméo et Juliette has never been performed! Of course that is a risk. But it feels good. My instinct tells me we made something good.”

  INFO & TICKETS: operazuid.nl/romeo-juliette

  Interview Manon Berns

• Love on stage

  26 October 202116:51 Comments Off on Love on stage

  Love and desire are so overwhelming and compelling in Roméo et Juliette that they can only find a way out in death. How do Anna Emelianova (Juliette) and Peter Gijsbertsen (Roméo) experience it to show this intense love in public?

  How do you prepare for such an iconic role?

  Peter: ‘There was already contact about this role two years ago and I have been reading and singing the score ever since. For a role as big as this one, it was nice to have the time to really empathize with Roméo. Finally, together with Anna, I carry a large part of the performance on my shoulders. Nevertheless, the pressure is high. Audience always compares. That is why it is so important that you do not perform a role as others did or as the audience expects. We create our own Roméo and Juliette.” Anna: “Juliette is one of my dream roles. The large number of arias requires a lot of strength from me. Technically it has to be good and precise and I naturally look for connection with my own thoughts and feelings. The popularity of this opera does create a sense of responsibility. People will compare me to previous Juliettes. I think it’s important that they appreciate my interpretation of Juliette.”

  How do you put yourself in this special love between Roméo and Juliette?

  Peter: ‘There’s nothing special about the love between Roméo and Juliette. It is love as we all experience it. You meet and there is a spark. Pat’s boom, you’re in love! That is what makes this story special for everyone. From the moment I sing the beautiful music makes me feel the love. It’s in the notes, in my words and in what I get back from Anna. Her eyes, her voice.” Anna: “I imagine this youthful love very easily, because as a young girl I was very much in love. I still remember the emotions and thoughts so clearly. I use these feelings to put myself in Juliette’s place. That works very well. But of course it could also be Peter, haha. It’s hard not to fall in love with him, isn’t it?”

  You switch between public scenes where many actors are on stage to private scenes with just the two of you. What does that ask of an opera singer?

  Peter: “One minute Roméo is fighting the Capulets, the next he’s in bed with Juliette. The scenes show different sides of Roméo; from an overly confident fighter to an insecure lover. It is precisely because of the different emotions and quick transitions between the scenes that I like to play this role.’ Anna: ‘I like the strong character of Juliette, she is not shy at all and knows what she wants. You can see this confidence most strongly in the private scenes. In the public scenes she lets herself be confused and the emotions become too much for her. Both emotions are great to play.”

  Do you recognize the tension between public and private in your daily life?

  Peter: ‘My wife and I met each other on the internet, so very public. Later we got married to show our immediate environment that we chose each other. Not one photo from the wedding day has made it to the internet. Proof that you can live your life very publicly and at the same time keep it very private.” Anna: “In Russia, your family is extremely involved in your private life. I speak to my mother about two or three times a day. That is expected of me and even though I sometimes set limits, in general I think it’s cute.’

  Finally, what is your favorite scene?

  ‘The bed scene’, Anna and Peter answer laughing in unison. Anna: ‘Because of the beautiful duet. Roméo and Juliette are emotionally one, the scene is cheerful and playful.” Peter: “In the duet they show for the first time that they will be together.” Anna: “And it is of course very comfortable to take a break in the middle of the performance. to lie in bed under a blanket.’

  INFO & TICKETS: operazuid.nl/romeo-juliette

  Interview: Manon Berns

• Kick-off Roméo et Juliette

  18 October 202113:23 Comments Off on Kick-off Roméo et Juliette

  We have launched with Roméo et Juliette! The cast received a presentation from the artistic team about their intentions and view of the production. The super romantic drama will be updated. We eagerly await the final result!

  When Romeo and Juliet meet, it’s love at first sight. But their rival families do everything they can to keep the two apart. A battle that ultimately kills the lovers. Charles Gounod based his opera Roméo et Juliette on the popular play by Shakespeare. The universal love story is interpreted in a contemporary way by director Julien Chavaz.

  Tour: 12 Nov. until 11 Dec. 2021

  For more information and tickets: operazuid.nl/romeo-juliette

• Guest at OZ: Maartje Rammeloo and Jan-Willem Schaafsma

  9 June 202111:13 Comments Off on Guest at OZ: Maartje Rammeloo and Jan-Willem Schaafsma

  TELL ME THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE is a music theater performance about love, distance and proximity with the Limburg soprano Maartje Rammeloo and tenor Jan-Willem Schaafsma. Two opera singers from one household: they may be close to each other on stage, but is that really necessary to be able to convey true love? An intense performance with humor and perspective, but above all with a lot of love.

  Watch the try-out this Sunday at 2:30 pm in Studio Malpertuis. The performance will be shown again at Parkstad Limburg Theaters on 14 July at 20:30.

  Info & tickets: https://www.ticketkantoor.nl/shop/Tellmethetruth

• Opera Zuid, Nederlandse Reisopera & Dutch National Opera sign for cooperation

  20 May 202111:54 Comments Off on Opera Zuid, Nederlandse Reisopera & Dutch National Opera sign for cooperation

  On 19^th of May, in the decor of L’elisir d’amore, the three opera houses signed a covenant in which agreements were made about working together to support young opera talent. It is the first time that the three companies have so explicitly expressed the ambition to work together.

  All houses consider it an important part of their mission to enable artistic opera talent to develop further. The three houses are therefore joining forces and using their resources and experience for a long-term collaborative program aimed at talent development in the Dutch opera and music theater.

  The tangible result of the collaboration will be an annual co-production with the three companies, which will be promoted nationally through a tour.

• Gratis livestreampremière van L’elisir d’amore

  30 April 202116:28 Comments Off on Gratis livestreampremière van L’elisir d’amore

  Onze voorjaarsproductie L’elisir d’amore zal dit seizoen niet spelen in de theaters. We hadden het stiekem gehoopt maar de realiteit heeft ons ingehaald. Echter niet getreurd want de première zal toch doorgaan! Deze wordt live vanuit Studio Malpertuis gestreamd op zondag 23 mei om 20:00 uur op het internationale platform OperaVision.

  In deze ‘coming of age’ opera komt een prille liefde tussen twee jonge mensen onder druk te staan. We volgen de emotionele ontwikkeling van deze twee personages tijdens een lange zomeravond. Tegen het ochtendgloren zijn ze niet meer de personen die ze waren…

  L’elisir d’amore is een coproductie van Opera Zuid samen met Nederlandse Reisopera en De Nationale Opera. Met een jonge talentvolle cast afkomstig van De Nationale Opera Studio.

  Klik hier voor meer informatie over de productie.

• Klassiek na corona: Podcast met Waut Koeken

  12 April 202112:25 Comments Off on Klassiek na corona: Podcast met Waut Koeken

  Door de Volkskrant recensent Guido van Oorschot

  Luister via www.buzzsprout.com/1635298/8280865

  De coronacrisis heeft in de klassieke-muzieksector verwoestend huisgehouden. Concertzalen sloten de deuren, operahuizen vielen stil, musici zaten werkloos thuis. Iedereen hoopt dat het oude normaal na de zomer van 2021 weer terugkeert. Maar is dat ook zo? In de podcast ‘Klassiek na corona’ onderzoekt muziekjournalist Guido van Oorschot de komende maanden hoe de Nederlandse klassieke podiumkunst na de pandemie denkt op te veren.

  Wanneer zitten de zalen weer vol? Komt er artistieke vernieuwing? Gloort er een mooie toekomst, of zien we een blijvend litteken? Van Oorschot gaat te rade bij tien muziekprofessionals, van zzp’er tot zaaldirecteur, van concertprogrammeur tot componist. Hoe kijken zij aan tegen Klassiek na corona? Deze week Opera Zuid’s intendant Waut Koeken.

• Want to audition at Opera Zuid?

  4 April 202110:39 Comments Off on Want to audition at Opera Zuid?

  ANNULERING AUDITIES 2022

  We hadden er ons op verheugd maar de auditie rondes van 2022 kunnen helaas door de omstandigheden van COVID-19 niet doorgaan. Hou wel onze sociale media en website in de gaten omdat we bekend zullen maken wanneer de auditie rondes weer beginnen.

  Opera Zuid is altijd op zoek naar zangtalent. Audities worden jaarlijks gehouden in februari en september. Om in aanmerking te komen voor de audities in februari dienen aanmeldingen voor januari van dat jaar te zijn ingediend. Om in aanmerking te komen voor de audities in september dienen de aanmeldingen voor juli van dat jaar te zijn ingediend. Uit alle aanmeldingen zal een selectie worden gemaakt welke zullen worden uitgenodigd.  

  Aanmeldingen kunnen gestuurd worden naar audities@operazuid.nl.

• Aankomende streams

  17 March 202111:43 Comments Off on Aankomende streams

  Twee van onze producties zijn binnenkort gratis online te beleven! Een lied voor de maan, een unieke kinderopera gebaseerd op het gelijknamige boek van Toon Tellegen, zal voor het eerst te zien zijn tijdens de online editie van het Opera Forward Festival en onze veel geprezen double-bill van La voix humaine/ L’heure espagnole is te bewonderen op het internationale online platform van OperaVision.

  Een lied voor de maan | Zo 21 maart om 16:00. Meer info? Klik hier.

  La voix humaine/L’heure espagnole | Vr 26 maart t/m za 26 juni. Bekijk het hier.

• Frankenstein!!

  23 February 202115:15 Comments Off on Frankenstein!!

  Escapisme: de gewoonte of neiging de werkelijkheid te ontvluchten. Wie heeft er nu geen behoefte aan in deze tijden? Het concertprogramma Frankenstein!! biedt alle gelegenheid.

  Het begint met een wervelende voorstelling van Martinu’s uitbundige Suite uit de opera Comedy on the Bridge, opgevolgd door de betoverende Pavane pour une infante défunte van Ravel en als klap op de vuurpijl H.K. Grubers Frankenstein!! (niet voor niets met twee uitroeptekens).

  In Frankenstein!! trekt een bonte stoet aan personages aan het oor voorbij: John Wayne, Robinson Crusoë, Kleine Muis, Superman & Loïs Lane, vrouwtje Dracula en natuurlijk: Frankenstein zelf! Het orkest spiegelt deze optocht met een caleidoscoop aan stijlen en instrumenten, echte én van speelgoed. Sinds de Weense dirigent/componist/chansonnier H.K. Gruber het stuk in 1971 schreef, beleefde het honderden uitvoeringen, veel daarvan met Gruber zelf in de hoofdrol. In deze knotsgekke muzikale satire is uw zanger/verteller niemand minder dan Marc Pantus.

  Bekijk Frankenstein!! live op Concert in Huis van classicnl op vrijdag 5 maart om 20.00 uur. Voor tickets en meer informatie klik hier.

  Dit Livestream Concert is een co-productie van philharmonie zuidnederland en Opera Zuid. Frankenstein!! wordt in het Duits gezongen en in het Nederlands ondertiteld.