Venus and Adonis is the only opera by the English baroque composer John Blow. This little gem with its simple plot borrowed from Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a reflection on love. 

The opera, comprising dancing, choral pieces and intermezzos, is based on the characters of Venus, Adonis and Cupid. Venus and Adonis is the starting point for Muziektheater Transparant’s youth opera 2011. Some 30 young singers and instrumentalists are preparing an intractable version of this work in an extremely short rehearsal period.  The musical direction is entrusted to Nicolas Achten, who is assisted by the Polish baroque violinist Marcin Lasia. For the staging, Transparant has this year opted to cooperate with the Danshuis Station Zuid from Tilburg.  In addition to singers and instrumentalists, dancers have been invited to participate this time around.  The Israeli choreographer Itamar Serussi is supervising the stage rehearsals which will be attended by a number of young dancers as well. It is becoming an extremely enthralling project, one that tests the limits between opera and dance. 

Credits

  • Musical direction • Nicolas Achten
  • Orchestral Coach • Marcin Lasia
  • Choreography • Itamar Serussi
  • Production manager • Itamar Serussi