I Silenti

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.