Hamlet

SYNOPSIS

Act 1 and 2

The Danish king Hamlet has passed away. His widow Gertude is remarrying her brother-in-law Claudius no more than two months later. The opera starts on the day of the coronation of Gertrude. Son of the late king, Hamlet junior, Prince Hamlet, son of the late King and Gertrude, is upset that his mother has remarried so soon and wants to leave the court. Hamlets love Ophélie is worried about his melancholy and his departure. Hamlet comforts her and tells her never to doubt his love for her. Laërte, Ophélie's brother, interrupts them and says that he is being sent to Norway as an envoy. He entrusts Ophélie to the care of Hamlet. Courtiers, on their way to the banquet, enter. Hamlet refuses to join Laërte and Ophélie as they leave to join the banquet.
 
Horatio and Marcellus meet the sequestered Hamlet and they tell him that they have seen the ghost of Hamlet's father the previous night. As the clock strikes midnight, the Ghost also appears to Hamlet. The Ghost tells him that Claudius murdered him with poison and asks his son to take vengeance on Claudius, but Gertrude must be spared. The Ghost withdraws and Hamlet swears to avenge his father.
 
A first confrontation follows quickly. King Claudius and Gertrude enter. Hamlet, full of aversion to the royal couple, feigns madness, while he develops his plan of approach. That same night he will engage a troupe of actors to perform a play for his uncle and mother.

Ophélie is concerned at Hamlet's new indifference towards her. Hamlet, working on his theatre performance, gives her no attention. It all becomes to much for Ophélie. She confides in Gertrude that she would like to leave the court,  but the queen begs her to stay. The players come in and Hamlet asks them to mime the play The Murder of Gonzago.

While singing a drinking song with the players, the courts arrives for the pantomime. It tells a story similar to how Hamlet's imagines the murder of his father. The audience sees how the poison is administered and how the assassin places the crown on his head. Claudius, looking at this turns pale, commands the play to stop and the actors to leave. Hamlet believes that this proves that Claudius is guilty and attacks him. The upset assembly sees how a revenge murder is scarcely avoided.

- Intermission - 
 
Act 3, 4 and 5

Hamlet wonders why he didn't kill the king when he had the opportunity. Thinking about his father returning as a Ghost he reflects on the mystery of life and death in the aria 'Être ou ne pas être’, based on the most famous monologue of all. A next opportunity to kill Claudius arises. The king appears and kneels in prayer. Claudius asks his brother to advocate him to the eternal judge. Hamlet, deciding Claudius' soul may be saved if he is killed while praying, delays again his revenge. When Claudius experiences a presence, Hamlet understands from his exclamation that Polonius, father of Ophélie is complicit in the murder. Gertrude and Ophélie enter. The queen tries to persuade Hamlet to marry Ophélie. But Hamlet refuses and tells Ophélie to resort to a monastery. When alone with his mother, Hamlet tries to force her to confront her guilt, but she resists. As Hamlet threatens her, he sees the Ghost, who reminds him he must spare his mother.

After Hamlet's rejection, Ophélie has gone mad with grief. She commits suicide.

Hamlet, moving away from the court to avoid the revenge of the king, comes upon two gravediggers digging a new grave. He asks who has died, but they do not know. On this contemplative place, he realizes the grief that he put Ophélie through by leaving her. He doesn't know yet about her death. Laërte has learned of his sister's death and Hamlet's role in it. He challenges Hamlet to a duel, that is interrupted by Ophélie's funeral procession. Hamlet finally realizes the new-dug grave is meant for her. In despair he kills Claudius, and confronts the choice about his own life: Être... ou ne pas être'...

THE OPERA VERSUS SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY

The two librettists Michel Carré and Jules Barbier were quite faithful to Shakespeare’s play. However, as always with opera libretti based on plays, they abbreviated the text and sometimes opted for a different structure. They also left out several characters, such as Fortinbras, and Rosenkranz and Guildenstern. Polonius has a less important part. Moreover, he is not murdered in the opera. The opera’s original length of 3.5 hours was narrowed by OPERA2DAY to its essence. For example the ballet, which takes half an hour, was deleted.The final act of Thomas’ s opera departs the most from Shakespeare’s play. Laërte and Gertrude do not die. Moreover, Thomas composed two versions of the end. In the Parisian one Hamlet lives on and is crowned king. In the London version he takes his own life. OPERA2DAY combines the most important parts from these finales, keeping the best of both versions, both in content and in music.

ARTISTIC TEAM

Artistic direction and stage direction Serge van Veggel

Musical direction Hernán Schvartzman

Project development Alice Gubler

Artistic direction New European Ensemble Emlyn Stam

Development OPERA2DAY's version Serge van Veggel, Hernán Schvartzman

Composition and arrangements Daniël Hamburger

Cinematographer Margo Onnes

Stage direction comedians Femke Luyckx

Scenography Herbert Janse

Light design Uri Rapaport

Sound design and soundscape Arne Bock

Technical production Ronald Tebra

Costumes Mirjam Pater

Hair and make-up Nienke Algra, Marissa Coster

Researsch historical recordings Emlyn Stam & Hernán Schvartzman

SINGERS/ACTORS

Hamlet Quirijn de Lang

Ophélie Lucie Chartin

Claudius Martijn Sanders

Gertrude Martina Prins

Laërte / Comédien queen Jan-Willem Schaafsma

Horatio / 1st Fossoyeur Patrick Pranger

Ghost of the father / Comédien old king Joop Keesmaat, Hans Peter Ligthart (8 &17 March)

Polonius / Spectre (singing) / Comédien new king Yavuz Arman Isleker

Marcellus / 2nd Fossoyeur Georgi Sztojanov

Courtisans Judith Pranger, Sonja Volten, Adélaïde Rouyer

Voice-over Hamlet Jonathan Rouah

Understudies Horatio Gulian van Nierop, Arnout Lems

NEW EUROPEAN ENSEMBLE

1st Violin Rada Ovcharova

2nd Violin Joanna Wronko / Anoek Brokaar

Viola Emlyn Stam

Cello Willem Stam / Sebastiaan van Halsema

Double bass James Oesi

Oboe Roger Cramers / Arthur Klaassens

Flute Felicia van den End / Mirjam Teepe

Clarinet James Meldrum / Jasper Grijpink

Bassoon Amber Mallee / Gretha Tuls

Trumpet Ryan Linham / Sven Berkelmans / Marc Kaptijn

1st Horn Martijn Appelo / Hanna Guirten

2nd Horn Edward Peeters

Trombone Jaume Gavillan / Alejandre Luque Belmonte

Harp Astrid Haring

Percussion Natalia Alvarez-Arenas Arias

DURATION

1 hour and 12 minutes before the intermission, and 1 hour after the intermission

SUPERTITLES

The performance was sung in French and supertitled in Dutch and English

PROGRAMM BOOKLET

Download the programm booklet of the production here (in Dutch)

PREMIERE

18 January 2018 in The Hague, the Netherlands