Florestan is imprisoned in the dungeons of Pizarro's tower to prevent him from exposing his disgraces. Rocco, the prison warden, is ordered to starve Florestan out. But that is beyond Leonore, Florestan's loyal and heroic wife. She, disguised as Fidelio, comes to her husband's aid and joins Rocco as a prison guard.
It remains very exciting to detach an opera libretto from the music and all the formal conventions that come with it. WALPURGIS strips the skin off the sung texts so that their content can resonate in a different way.
A bevy of actors, actresses, singers and vocalists read the libretto of Beethoven's Fidelio, a freedom opera that calls for love, compassion and justice. The story is based on a true anecdote set during the time of the French Revolution.
For this new edition, we are delighted to introduce the actors Guy Dermul, Wouter Hendrickx, Joris Hessels, Eline Kuppens and Evelien Van Hamme, who throw themselves wholeheartedly into the libretto of Beethoven's only opera Fidelio, traditionally interspersed with musical excerpts from the opera performed by Irish baritone Conor Biggs, young soprano Anne Maistriau and our artistic director and soprano Judith Vindevogel.
The prisoners' choir is composed of several asylum seekers who participated in the production last summer PORT 010 (WALPURGIS & 't ARSENAAL) and some members of Tutti Fratelli, the socio-artistic group around Reinhilde Decleir.
Traditional African question-and-answer motifs, afrobeat, highlife and European fanfare get a place in this melting pot of percussion and horns.
Armed with brass, wood and leather, and with their surprising timing and exuberance, BRASSAFRIK pulls off a memorable party!
