music theatre in flanders - Muziekcentrum Vlaanderen

international. It is much more essential that the artist (composer,
librettist…) is allowed to remain true to himself and it is the producer’s
task to assess which creation will have an international
potential, and which will not. That is how he can prevent people
from being disappointed. The question is also whether it would
not be better if the producers would raise their artistic demands,
because the quality of the opera creations often fails to go beyond
regional standards. There is a discrepancy between the international
ambitions and the actual overall quality.
Still, most forms of contemporary music theatre have a potential
for broad international appeal. Language usually is not an
obstacle, because the singing is mostly done in a foreign language
or because the productions allow for performance in various languages.
But the success will greatly depend on subject matter,
composition style and the diverging perceptions of innovative contemporary
music theatre.
An AFFluenT FleMISh MuSIC TheATre SCene
The Flemish music theatre landscape is particularly lush and rich
in variation. Apart from the Flemish Opera, there is an array of
small to medium size music theatre houses. This can partly be
explained by the available artistic quality, but also by the career
opportunities the Flemish government has created during the
past fifteen years. This affluence and broadness are quite unique
in the international performing arts and the government’s choice
to give the genre full bottom-up support has proven fruitful.
Most music theatre organizations in Flanders have an international
profile or are on the way to international recognition.
They are oriented towards international quality standards. An invitation
to a foreign festival is considered a useful indicator for the
quality of domestic production. And performing at the festivals
of Aix-en-Provence or Edinburgh usually generates invitations to
other festivals. The Flemish government has always supported
this international ambition and could even go one step further by
keeping organizations informed on a pro-active basis about upcoming
major events and festivals. Some additional support in
external communication might prove equally useful.
Flemish theatre makers’ urge to perform abroad is primarily
a result of that international quality label, but it also has much to
do with the fact that Flanders only has to offer a rather limited
number of venues. The local cultural centres take less risks – the
number of Flemish co-producers is declining, making an orientation
towards an international market a necessity. Some Flemish
music theatre productions can be seen more often abroad than
in Flanders itself, as a result of their sheer size. The government
could, perhaps, aim for an increase of the number of venues
where such relatively demanding productions could be staged.
MuSIC TheATre OuTSIde FlAnderS
For a government, it is important to create the basic conditions
for the development of a diversified music theatre scene. In
most countries, priority is given to an opera house or a prominent
festival, leaving little room for other quality music theatre.
The Netherlands, for instance, strongly invest in the international
promotion of productions and spend huge amounts of money on
presentation abroad, but too little has been invested in the quality
development of small-scale music theatre. Apart from the Dutch
Opera and one or two interesting medium size houses (such as
Paul Koek’s Veenfabriek and O.T.…) the Netherlands have only recently
developed a more creative music theatre policy, as a result
of which the Netherlands are trailing behind when it comes to
small-scale quality projects with an international appeal. Small-
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