Fabrizio Cassol recomposed Monteverdi’s madrigals for the Roma musician Tcha Limberger as a homage to everyone who has been silenced.
In 2019, Bruegel was a surprising production for more than one reason, not least because of the exciting dialogue that Lisaboa Houbrechts created on stage between drama and live music. That did not escape the notice of composer Fabrizio Cassol, who promptly invited her to work with him. With projects like Coup Fatal and Requiem pour L., Cassol has proved to be a master at ‘recomposing’ existing music and magically transforming it into a new story.
And this new story is special: through the figure of Tcha Limberger, a blind Roma musician, I Silenti makes a connection between the Porajmos, the forgotten genocide of the Roma during WW II, and excerpts from Monteverdi’s madrigals that speak of love and war. Two worlds that conduct a dialogue and flow into each other.
Tcha Limberger is joined by Claron McFadden, Nicole Wemyss and Jonatan Alvarado for the vocals and recitation. Philippe Thuriot, Georgi Dobrev, Ezgi Elkirmis and Vilmos Scikos are accompanying them on an arsenal of instruments from very diverse musical traditions. In this hybrid universe, Houbrechts evokes echoes of the lost mother, the lost Indian origins of Tcha and the Roma, through the appearance of Indian dancer Shantala Shivalingappa.
I Silenti is like a poem that not only tells about the Roma but also everyone who has been silenced. A homage.
And this new story is special: through the figure of Tcha Limberger, a blind Roma musician, I Silenti makes a connection between the Porajmos, the forgotten genocide of the Roma during WW II, and excerpts from Monteverdi’s madrigals that speak of love and war. Two worlds that conduct a dialogue and flow into each other.
Tcha Limberger is joined by Claron McFadden, Nicole Wemyss and Jonatan Alvarado for the vocals and recitation. Philippe Thuriot, Georgi Dobrev, Ezgi Elkirmis and Vilmos Scikos are accompanying them on an arsenal of instruments from very diverse musical traditions. In this hybrid universe, Houbrechts evokes echoes of the lost mother, the lost Indian origins of Tcha and the Roma, through the appearance of Indian dancer Shantala Shivalingappa.
I Silenti is like a poem that not only tells about the Roma but also everyone who has been silenced. A homage.
How do you bring a loaded topic like the forgotten holocaust of the Romani to the stage? By making it more straight-forward, Fabrizio Cassol and Lisaboa Houbrechts, the composer and director of I Silenti, say in unison.
Credits
director
- Lisaboa Houbrechts
composition
- Fabrizio Cassol
vocals, violin
- Tcha Limberger
vocals
- Claron Mcfadden
- Nicola Wemyss
- Jonatan Alvarado
accordion
- Philippe Thuriot
contrabas
- Vilmos Csikos
percussie
- Simon Leleux
kaval
- Georgi Dobrev
dance
- Shantala Shivalingappa
scenografie, video
- Oscar van der Put
costumes
- An Bruegelmans
light
- Carlo Bourguignon
sound
- Carlo Thomson
- Guillaume Desmet
dramaturgical advice
- Christian Longchamp
productie-assistent
- Maya Galle
technische directie
- Julien Soumillon
production
- Théâtre de Namur
coproduction
- P.U.L.S. - Project for Upcoming Artists for the Large Stage
- Toneelhuis
- Cav&ma
- Théâtre de Liège
- Le Théâtre National de la Communauté française de Belgique F.U.P,
- Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg
- Célestins - Théâtre de Lyon
- L'Opéra de Lille
- Festival De Marseille
- la Coop asbl
- Shelter Prod
with the support of
- Les ballets C de la B
- ZHK-Ustadgah Foundation (Mumbai-Inde)
- Camargo Foundation
- taxshelter.be
- ING
- tax-shelter van de Belgische Overheid
