Carmina Burana: a resounding success
Three fully booked performances, nearly 3,000 visitors and favourable reviews. Carmina Burana, the opening performance of Festival Classique on Friday 8 June, was a resounding success. In a magic circle on Scheveningen beach Carl Orff's popular masterpiece became an exciting ritual with Lady Luck in the centre. Newspapers NRC, Trouw - each awarded 4 stars – and Theaterkrant were present at the misted-over première.
Striking images
"Many hands carry Lady Luck to a pedestal on Scheveningen's Noorderstrand. There she is, dazzlingly white with swan-like wings, surrounded by ritually strewn flowers and veneration.... The crystal-clear and powerful choir is on both sides of the stage. Director Serge van Veggel translates the symbolic of the eternal wheel, time and human fate into striking images.... Sea mist shrouding the stage ... gave Carmina an almost mythical character. Conductor Rick Schoonbeek combines intimate-musical scenes with whipping rhythms." (NRC)
Heart-breaking
“Carl Orff's popular work was performed by Theaterkoor Dario Fo, a project choir of 300 amateur singers, the Haags Matrozenkoor and four beautifully singing and acting professional soloists.... The fog did not ruin the performance; it added to the already spectacular background. In particular the hazy view of the Ferris wheel on the Pier was magical.... Praise for the staging by director Serge van Veggel and the beautiful, evocative dances created by choreographer Thom Stuart for De Dutch Junior Dance Division. The scene with Lady Luck blindfolded being cornered by drunks in the tavern was heart-breaking." (Trouw)
Full of drama
“Director Serge van Veggel did not cast Lady Luck as an anonymous force but as a young woman (played by dancer Laurie Chomel) who during the performance is confronted with fortune's whims ... In the first part Lady Luck experiences young love in a rustic setting with the skilled and playful dancers from De Dutch Junior Dance Division. In the second part she lands in a pub and is humiliated by the choir and two singers. Baritone Martijn Sanders impresses with his mature sound. His expressive physical attitude arouses both pity and horror.... Thom Stuart's choreography was executed elegantly and skilfully, the piano music and the percussion were powerful and full of drama." (De Theaterkrant)
Carmina Burana was produced by Festival Classique, OPERA2DAY and Kwekers in de kunst, together with De Dutch Don’t Dance Division, Haags Matrozenkoor, Pianoduo Scholtes & Janssens, and Percossa. Anne Reitsma made the photos.