Tuesday, May 10th marked a genuine milestone for the Flemish music landscape: The Convert by composer Wim Henderickx. The spectacle was nothing short of a psychological Grand Opera. In collaboration with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Stefan Hertmans' magnificent story came to life. We follow Vigdis Adelais, Sarah, black Hamoutal (soprano Lore Binon) in her search for meaning, a place, for her children – who is the convert, really?
The Convert is groundbreaking in both sound and language, and cannot be summed up in a few words. What initially started as a review has evolved into a true exposé – an exhibition of the opera. Just as Vigdis continues searching in the story, this is a journey through the complex landscape of the latest opera, I dare say masterpiece, by Wim Henderickx.
The composer who gave Vigdis her voice
Over recent decades, the Flemish music landscape has seen several composers emerge who master the international zeitgeist: Luc Brewaeys, Karel Goeyvaerts, Annelies van Parys, and Wim Henderickx as well. Creating a legacy that speaks has nothing to do with grandeur or spectacle, but with the language you teach the audience to "speak" (by listening). A new musical language is constantly born from the fingers of composers like Wim Henderickx. I had to sum up Wim Henderickx's musical language in three words for Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, and the word that stuck with me most is "multidisciplinary" (the others were, if I recall correctly, "intense" and "sensational"). And that is indeed so; Wim Henderickx's musical language always flows with the story. Multiple disciplines and cultures are involved. Soundscapes, multi-vocality, mantras – instrumentally and vocally, a lot reaches the listener. And it fits perfectly. The compositions show the greatest respect for sound and culture, with a clearly audible affinity for making music accessible. Few composers possess this gift. Another example that comes to mind, though from a completely different genre, is film composer Howard Shore. What I'm trying to achieve with this account is to create a picture of how many facets exist in Wim Henderickx as a composer, and how this puzzle creates a unique sonic image. For the music of The Convert Vigdis, the tragic protagonist, was the muse of his musical language. And like a painter, Wim Henderickx set to work to give us the complex, musical tableau of the opera The Convert.
The woman in all her complexity: The Convert by Stefan Hertmans
That the opera of The Convert places the woman in all her psychological nakedness is putting it mildly. Throughout opera history, woman has always played a dual role: as a protagonist or antagonist in the first sense, but also as a psychological, or even sexual, driving force in the second sense. Never be mistaken when you listen to or watch an opera: the underlying layers of the characters create new dimensions, and even sounds. A woman has always been a being of fascination and conflict – think of the Queen of the Night in her pursuit of power, but also of freedom – for what woman would bury her power together with her husband –, in Mozart's The Magic Flute (1791), the magnificent Floria Tosca, in all her conflict between her own strength and her love for Mario (Tosca, Giacomo Puccini, 1900), or the tragic, realistic Sister Angelica by Puccini (second part of The Triptych, 1918). This latter, in her penitence and the haunting past, could almost be a reincarnation of Vigdis – the convert. There is something beautiful, fragile, tormented about the story of the blonde Jewess. Her desires are entirely human, but her fate is tragic.
That Stefan Hertmans based himself on historical sources – he researched Jewish documents concerning a Christian woman from the eleventh century who threw away her life for love of a Jewish man – makes reality tangible. That The Convert by Wim Henderickx has evolved from a chamber opera (in the words of OBV director Jan Vandenhouwe) to contemporary Grand Opera is hardly surprising.
WHAT: The Convert(The Convert)
WHO:Wim Henderickx [music], Krystian Lada [libretto], Hans Op de Beeck [direction]
CASTLore Binon, Vincenzo Neri, Amel Brahim-Djelloul, Luvuyo Mbundu
ORCHESTRASymphonic Orchestra Opera Ballet Flanders, Choir and Children's Choir Opera Ballet Flanders, Madam Fortuna City Choir
WHERE:Opera Ballet Flanders, Antwerp
WHEN:Tuesday 10-5-2022, premiere
where and when:The Convert can be seen until May 19 in Antwerp, and on May 27, 29 and June 2 and 4 at the opera in Ghent. Tickets and more information atthis link.
