With his foolish yet brave knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, Cervantes created an immortal character. Now this literary masterpiece comes to life on stage. The Dutch composer Patrick van Deurzen dedicates a contemporary music drama to this legendary anti-hero. ‘Foolishly-comically-disruptive-and-also-with-singing-and-other-sound!’, Van Deurzen announces his Mancha Mancha with some self-mockery.

After Cervantes’ acclaimed first two parts in the Don Quixote epic, there is now an updated third part for which Don Quixote rises from the dead. Van Deurzen and librettist Ernest van der Kwast bring Don Quixote and his faithful companion Sancho Panza into the 21st century. The brave warrior of yesteryear emerges as a wonderful archchagrin who shines his light on our mounting crises, healthcare, the banking world, farmers and sustainable energy. Get ready for an entertaining comedic farce full of fights and misunderstandings.

Van Deurzen took lessons with composers Peter-Jan Wagemans and Klaas de Vries and is just as quickly inspired by Monteverdi as Miles Davis, Tom Waits and old funk music. With Mancha Mancha! from 2016, Van Deurzen wrote his first music theater work. For Mancha Mancha! Van Deurzen has put together a true star team, led by the DoelenEnsemble and with baritones Henk Neven and Mattijs van de Woerd at the forefront. They are accompanied by pianists Maarten van Veen and Hans Eijsackers. A sparkling, imaginative performance that turns our familiar world upside down.

That performance is a part of the annual contemporary music festival November Music.