Description
De Materie is Dutch composer Louis Andriessen’s four-part meditation on the meeting of mind and matter. Each part stands alone, with a central figure: a 17th-century philosopher, who argues that all matter is made of indivisible atoms; the mystic Hadewijch of Antwerp, seized by a vision of God; the painter Piet Mondrian, who also happened to dance the boogie-woogie; and Marie Curie, researching radioactivity despite the loss of her husband Pierre.
Commissioned by the Holland Festival and De Nederlandse Opera, De Materie was completed in 1988 and first staged by Robert Wilson a year later. Andriessen wrote it on his own terms: no opera chorus, no standard orchestra, but a tenor, a soprano, two speakers, eight voices and a large ensemble thick with percussion and saxophones. Here Bach and Stravinsky meet Steve Reich, boogie-woogie and disco. Avant-garde at the time, with music that swings. For conductor Bas Wiegers, Hadewijch’s visions are the most beautiful notes Andriessen ever wrote. Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s production is conducted by Bas Wiegers with the company orchestra and the Brussels contemporary music ensemble, Ictus. Phia Ménard directs and designs a scenography that moves with the piece, and KOR’SIA created the choreography of the Mondrian movement.
Full performance streamed on OperaVision from 6 November 2026 at 19:00 CET to 6 May 2027 at 12:00 CET: https://operavision.eu/performance/de-materie
CAST
Gorlæus
Robin Tritschler
Hadewijch
Katrien Baerts
Dancers (speaking role)
Samantha Hines
Ausia Jones
Marie Curie
Lies Pauwels
Dancers
Dansers Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
Chorus & Orchestra
Symfonisch Orkest Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
Ictus Ensemble
Music
Louis Andriessen
Conductor
Bas Wiegers
Concept
Phia Ménard
Jan Martens
Staging
Phia Ménard
Choreography
Antonio de Rosa
Mattia Russo
Phia Ménard
Costumes
Marie La Rocca
Lights
Éric Soyer
Chorus master
Jan Schweiger
Dramaturgy
Tom Swaak
Assistant choreographer
Zoe Ashe-Browne
Sound design
Maarten Buyl
Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision.
Managed by Opera Europa, OperaVision is a freeview streaming platform supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe funding programme. Between 2025 and 2028, Creative Europe’s support will help Opera Europa to promote and train emerging artists working in opera and dance. Known as Opera Europa Next Generation, this initiative will give visibility and development opportunities to over 560 emerging artists – in person and online, including via OperaVision – and all thanks to the efforts of a consortium of 44 opera houses and talent development organisations from 17 European countries.
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