The talented composer Meriç Artaç created five distinct musical characters during her two year artist-in-residency at Festival Dag in de Branding. These characters are inspired by people Meriç meets on the street and which she brings to life with her powerful imagination. In her new opera The Arrival of Mr. Z Artaç brings her characters together in their search for their creator: Mr. Z.

In The Arrival of Mr. Z, Meriç Artaç raises the issue of what she sees happening around her. Meriç examines the role of external mechanisms in our society, such as faith, ideals and power. To what extent do they have a connective function and to what extent do they pose a threat? The Arrival of Mr. Z. is a reflection on the tension between individual freedom and the need to be led by something outside yourself. An imaginative opera about transformation and hope with an amazing cast of stage personalities.
Meriç Artaç: ‘Together with director Sjaron Minailo, I create a very colourful, dynamic experience for the audience. All the characters I have presented separately come together in the grand finale, in Mr Z’s house. During the opera they will have to work together: the lonely characters desperately need each other’s support.’
The characters
The five characters in Meriç Artaç’s new opera are the result of an investigation into the musical expression of deep emotions and the inner processes that arise from this. In Rudan (baritone Jussi Lehtipuu), Artaç investigates the sound of depression, in Yori (bass clarinet, David Kweksilber) the sound of fear, in Gece (soprano, Brigitte van Hagen) the sound of melancholy, in Korke (voice and tap dance, Julia Pallanch) the sound of prid,e and in Zizos (flute, Felicia van den End) the sound of protection.
The Arrival of Mr. Z will also be performed on November 14 at November Music (Den Bosch) and December 9 at Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam)

Funda Müjde, voice (Funda)
Brigitte van Hagen, soprano (Gece)
Jussi Lehtipuu, baritone (Rudan)
Felicia van den End, flute(Zizos)
David Kweksilber, scYori)
Julia Pallanch, voice and tapdance (Korke)
Robbrecht van Cauwenberghe, bayan
Meiyi Lee, percussion
Robin Veldman, violin
Anna Jurriaanse, viola
Harry Broom, cello
This Dag in de Branding production is supported by: Gemeente Den Haag, Fonds 21, Fonds Podiumkunsten, Fonds Henri Fock (Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds), BNG Cultuurfonds, Société Gavignies
14:00
Korzo
The Parliament of Things
Aftab Darvishi –
Duet for violin and alto saxophone
Sarah Neutkens –
People & Things
Karmit Fadael –
Gaia
Kjell Perder –
Helinnia
Nuno Lobo –
Venus Flytrap Union
Merel Vercammen, violin / Femke IJlstra, saxophone
CANCELLED
16:00
Nieuwe Kerk
Meriç Artaç –
The Arrival of Mr. Z
Sjaron Minailo, director / Funda Müjde, voice / Brigitte van Hagen, soprano / Jussi Lehtipuu, baritone / Felicia van den End, flute / David Kweksilber, bass clarinet / Julia Pallanch, vocals and tap dance / a.o.
19:00
The Grey Space
In a Landscape
Lo Shi-Wei –
Things hoped for, things unseen
Isang Yun –
In Balance
Piet-Jan van Rossum –
Apple on the sideboard
John Cage –
In a Landscape
Tóru Takemitsu –
Stanza II
Doriene Marselje –
Interludes
Doriene Marselje, harp
20:30
Amare
Richard Rijnvos –
Afrique (world premiere)
Mendelssohn –
Symfonie nr. 3 ‘Schotse’
Residentie Orkest / Slagwerk Den Haag / Antony Hermus, conductor
browsehappy.com sluiten