People will be central to the next three KlaraFestivals. What makes people what they are? How do they deal with their limitations and their aspirations? What forces determine their actions? The KlaraFestival will be taking a look at the inner man and at what unites us all in a common humanity.
For centuries man has been in search of harmony and perfection, of improvement and good fortune. In close cooperation with Klara, Bozar, De Munt, Flagey and Kaaitheater, this year's Klara Festival moves between hope and imagination, between utopia and reality, and between beauty and abhorrence. More than 30 concerts feature on the programme under the title Imagine Paradise. Central guest is René Jacobs. This internationally renowned Belgian conductor is bringing two concertante opera productions to the Klara Festival: Haydn's Orlando Paladino and Händel's Aci, Galatea e Polifemo. Jacobs conducts both the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.
A brimful programme
In addition to René Jacobs, the KlaraFestival is welcoming Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques, Sir Roger Norrington and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner and the Brussels Philharmonic, Francois-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles as well as Steven Isserlis, Daniel Hope, Jan Decorte, Dez Mona, Ronald Brautigam, Ian Bostridge, Marlis Petersen, Werner Güra, Alexander Melnikov and many others.In addition to classical concerts, the KlaraFestival is presenting a number of new multidisciplinary productions: Via Dolorosa with images by Carl De Keyzer, Sága with ballads by the Antwerp band Dez Mona, Liszt/O Death with texts written and performed by Jan Decorte, and Utopia 47 by Muziektheater Transparant. In Utopia 47 Eric Sleichim, Christina Zavaloni and Bl!ndman project themselves into the year 2047.
Other exceptional projects are the performance of Britten's War Requiem on 11 September 2011, 10 years to the day after the attacks in Washington and New York, and the debut concert by the new children's choir Shanti! Shanti!, created by Flanders Festival Brussels and MET-X.
Following up on last year's success, the KlaraFestival will end on 16 September with Club-K at the Brussels club Mirano where the Rascher Saxophone Quartet will be playing music ranging from Bach to Glass.
