From may 17th to 30th, ‘The Archive of Untold Stories’ was hosted again at ZSenne ARTlab examining the archive as a presentation tool and presenting projects in different stages of completion. The archive boxes, old and new ones, can be opened up again and reveal their stories. A live broadcast on saturday 22nd, presented the contents of a brand new box: the Aquarius story. It’s a story that wanders through the life of the artist, where the zodiac figure keeps popping up in the strangest of places and times and at the same time, a wobbly spiritual prophecy about the world and it’s future. We travelled through time and dug up memories about the musical, an old friend, a dead composer and his inspiration. And with some luck, we’ll find some hope for the future…
Looking back it was quite the experience digging into a piece of personal history, getting in touch with the family of a lost friend, Thomas. I had to realise parts of my memory are already gone, not having updated the memories for almost twenty years. A humbling experience. The conversation with Thomas’ brother Immanuel was a long, very heartwarming videocall and in the end, we set out some plans for the future! We’re getting together to go through the drawings Thomas has left behind. To be continued…
The Aquarius opera by Karel Goeyvaerts, staged in 2009.
‘Aquarius’, an opera by Karel Goeyvaerts.
Directed by Pierre Audi
Musical Direction by Sian Edwards
Stage Design by Christophe Hetzer
Produced by Holland Festival and Vlaamse Opera
Performed by Nederlands Kamerkoor, Symfonisch Orkest van de Vlaamse Opera, Warre Borgmans
Karel Goeyvaerts composed this opera, his magnum opus, commissioned by the Antwerpen’93 European Cultural Capital organization, but never saw the first staging, as he passed away shortly before. Visual Kitchen created the visuals for the backdrops. Photo credits: Vlaamse Opera