Boze Bejaarden

An 8-part tragicomic operetta set in and around a retirement home. Boze Bejaarden/Enraged Elderly is a comedy of errors riddled with miscommunications as well as romantic, saccharine and warm moments. Simultaneously, as befits an operetta, it is sharply critical of how we deal with health care and with the elderly.

Having first published this as an online radio play, WUNDERBAUM collective and HERMES Ensemble present an in-person version with eight actors, five musicians and two singers. Conductor is Stijn Saveniers. Annelies Verbeke and Gaea Schoeters wrote the texts. Annelies Van Parys arranged arias from the classical operetta repertoire and added some snippets of new music.

Tsunami

Sonoro Quartet

One of the Belgian string quartets causing a furore is undoubtedly the Sonoro Quartet. Now their international dream is also coming true. Within the European Concert Hall Organisation, they were chosen as Rising Stars and will represent Bozar in no less than 16 European concert halls during the ‘23-‘24 season. Their luggage will also contain a token from one of our most distinguished Belgian composers, Annelies Van Parys. She wrote the work Tsunami especially for this tour.

About Tsunami
"The piece is inspired by the marvelous call of the Japanese Cicadas. Their sound struck me when I was walking through the parcs in Tokyo during my residency at the TOKAS Tokyo Arts and Space. Not only their voicing, but also their rhythm as well as the strength of their call was extraordinary to my ears and I immediately knew I would use them for a string piece. When the request for Sonoro Quartet came a few weeks later, I gladly accepted because I knew this would be the perfect ensemble for my idea. So the Tsunami here is not one of water but one of Cicadas…" - Annelies Van Parys

Mew Poems

No one listens better than a tree

This musical encounter between mezzosoprano Frauke Elsen and Trio O3 takes us on a journey through the secret wishes, prayers and desires of past generations. Absurd and melancholy poems, ancient spells, cries and murmurs intermingle under the pen of four Belgian female composers. Built around Jacqueline Fontyn's Galgenlieder, this unique collaboration guarantees a concert that is poetic, profound and philosophical, yet light-hearted and with a touch of absurdist humour. This project is the perfect opportunity for these 4 young musicians to create a new ensemble sound that will reflect their influences through intense, inspired playing.

PROGRAMME: Jacqueline Fontyn, Annelies Van Parys, Fanny Libert, Judith Adler de Oliveira, Kaija Saariaho