A conservatory project of Babette Craens. Two singers give expression to and depict the duality in Virginia Woolf’s thinking.

The life of Virginia Woolf: a woman in a writer’s world dominated by men in which there was no place for a woman. A life that becomes tangible through diaries in which an intimate portrait emerges from and in between the words. Marked by the spirit of the time but still hugely contemporary. Virginia Woolf describes her feelings honestly and offers a unique perspective on her life and the stigma attached to mental health that still persists today. 

In his song cycle From the Diaries of Virginia Woolf the American composer Dominick Argento (1927-2019) sets fragments of Virginia Woolf ‘s diaries to music. Pianist Pianiste Babette Craens conceives her own project around this work from the perspective of a modern woman. Two singers, Lorena Rexhepi and Herlinde Van de Straete, give expression to and depict the duality in Virginia Woolf’s thinking. The soundscapes of Rúben Borges (1994) enhance our perception of this unique world. Director Wouter Van Looy guides the project and the quest to give shape to Virginia Woolf’s mental world in a contemporary musical theatre performance. 

Credits

  • Concept | Musical direction | Piano • Babette Craens
  • Text Adaptation • Babette Craens
  • Coaching | Final direction • Wouter Van Looy
  • Composition • Dominick Argento / RĂºben borges
  • Text • Virginia Woolf
  • Vocals • Herlinde Van de Straete / Lorena Rexhepi
  • Light design • Wim Bernaerts