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Bowie Verschuuren

Geweld & Vibrato

Huba de Graaff, HIIIT (voorheen Slagwerk Den Haag)
Fri 6 Jun 20:15 - 21:15
Fri 6 Jun 2025
20:15 - 21:15
  • Fri 6 Jun 2025
    20:15 - 21:15
    Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag
    Hall 2
    Tickets

Geweld & Vibrato (Violence & Vibrato) is an opera performance for singing actor, soprano, percussion, strings, live electronics, radio and a soundscape of insects.

On colonialism, the extreme violence by Dutch military forces during the Indonesian war of independence, violently imposing its own (western) culture, but foremost: on hearing without listening — particularly while singing too loud.

Sifting through old letters and photographs of her parents, composer Huba de Graaff found out about the paradox in her family concerning this matter. There’s the story of her uncle, who fought on the Dutch side, and that of her Indonesian granddad, who appeared to act in the anti-colonial movement of resistance. De Graaff, then, is the embodiment of both sides of this war. 

As a result of these discoveries, De Graaff has written a unique piece that defines her as a composer; Geweld & Vibrato is a somewhat unorthodox, by all means overwhelming opera which turns the genre inside out completely. Original footage of radio speeches serves as a guideline for historical storytelling, whereas the notion of vibrato becomes a metaphor for western imperialism.

Van 19:00 tot 19:45 uur vindt er een verdiepend voorgesprek plaats in de foyer.

In the media

THEATERKRANT
“Schurende strijkers en beukende percussionisten spelen indrukwekkende aanklacht tegen kolonialisme”

DE WERELD VAN WILLEM nr. 126
”ronduit verpletterend. In een regie van Marien Jongewaard – en wie zijn werk kent, weet dat waanzin hier ook écht waanzinnig is (…) Een ijzersterke voorstelling.”

Bowie Verschuuren
Bowie Verschuuren
Bowie Verschuuren
Bowie Verschuuren

No Dutch Required

Greetings internationals and Anglophiles!

Credits

singing actor Xander van Vledder | soprano, violin Kitty Lai | cello Amber Docters van Leeuwen | double bass Vasilis Stefanopoulos | percussion HIIIT (Slagwerk Den Haag), Pepe Garcia, Mei-Yi Lee, Joao Brito | music Huba de Graaff | direction Marien Jongewaard  | dramaturgy Marijn van der Jagt | advice Erik-Ward Geerlings | sound direction Nina Kraszewska | scenography & light Bogi Bakker | costumes Leila El Alaoui & Dewi Barend | production Keshia Emke | production HubadeGraaff in co-production with HIIIT