(EINE) WINTERREISE

Presentation

(EINE) WINTERREISE grew out of workshops held in Belgian prisons by Sarah Théry et Christia Hudziy, and the desire felt by some detainees to re-visit the classical repertoire from the perspective of electro-acoustic music. What would be the best form for these creations? How best to frame them? And, above all, where to perform them?

Two main aims structure the project:

1. To allow people who may feel alienated from the classical repertoire to find a fresh point of access.

2. To bring new narratives into the theatre, drawn from contemporary society and representing people who are rarely seen on or around the stage.

To meet these challenges, (EINE) WINTERREISE decided to give power back to the participants, inviting them to co-create, co-construct and collaborate on a total art work (Gesamtkunstwerk) which will echo their reality.

The project invites groups of non-professional participants to experiment with musical composition, stage production and dramaturgy together with the Collectif Meute and the innovatory music group Pompéi. The aim being to collectively rediscover Schubert's iconic work. During a series of workshops held in psychiatric hospitals and penitentiary units, a contemporary dramaturgy and musical refashioning will be created. This rewrite process is based on the participants lived experience of confinement and its social dynamics.

On stage, five musicians interpret this choral re-composition. Between classical and contemporary music, this object-performance of 1½ hours duration incorporates the audio testimonies and compositions of the participants. By means of an immersive stage production devised by Claire Pasquier and the visual artist Joanie Lemercier, the public will be both spectator and participator in what happens on stage: the mental and physical confinement of a narrator caught in an infinite loop of past and present.

Artistic Team

The team for (EINE) WINTERREISE is pluridisciplinary. It blends artists with producers, researchers, cultural actors specialising in audience development, and socio-educational instructors; all of whom, from the inception of the project, co-construct the content and its implementation. The diversity of partners makes it possible to co-construct a coherent project adapted to the localities and the people encountered there. Through the partnership with the University of Lille, an in-depth analysis can be made of the practices and impacts of the project. The artistic team itself is a coalition of different skills and influences drawn from a range of milieux. The graphic and visual artist Joanie Lemercier, the lyrical compagnie COLLECTIF MEUTE (Claire Pasquier, Sarah Théry), the chamber musician Christia Hudziy and the innovative electronic music group Pompéi (Gilles Mortiaux, Karim Gharbi, Quentin Manfroy) . Each in their own way, these artists question the modalities of production, the interactions and hierarchies inherent to creation in music and the performing arts. Originating from a range of different countries - Belgium, Tunisia, Ukraine, England and France, amongst others - all of these artists have developed their own individual working methods. Separately and together, they are determined to take account of the social dynamics of today's world and to reserve a prominent place within their teams for women and members of the LGBTQI community, who are still too often absent from decision-making committees. The artists are equally committed to the principle of sustainable development. The Opéra de Lille, co-producer of the project, was the first French opera house to be awarded the international ISO 20121 certificate in recognition of its environmental and social practices. This sense of civil responsibility is of primary importance to Joanie Lemercier, who campaigns for an environmentally sensitive approach to be adopted in the digital and virtual arts.

Partners