Een oog in zee (An eye in the sea) is a musical theatre production by the Noorderklank Foundation: a contemporary version of the myth of Ariadne and Theseus directed by Zephyr Brüggen at the initiative of Helena van Heel and Nanny Roed Lauridsen. Salomé Roodenburg wrote the libretto: the story from the perspective of Ariadne as an “eye” for the truth “in a sea” of lies and manipulations with which some rulers impose their will on the people. Willem Boogman’s new composition includes Haydn’s Arianna a Naxos in its entirety. An Eye in the Sea will premiere on Saturday 5 November 2022 at November Music in Den Bosch and will tour the Netherlands in 2022-2023.
“Without monsters no heroes, without a labyrinth no freedom.” The Greek myth of Ariadne and the gruesome bull man, the Minotaur has fascinated people for centuries. In the new music theater performance An eye in the sea, composer Willem Boogman sheds a different light on this immortal story. In traditional myth, Theseus defeats the Minotaur and King’s daughter Ariadne rescues the hero Theseus from the labyrinth.
The role of Ariadne is sung by mezzo-soprano Helena van Heel. The roles of Theseus and Dionysos are played, in music, by horn player Fokke van Heel and accordionist Vincent van Amsterdam. Dancer Kenzo Kusuda expresses the space and feeling of Ariadne in movement. By making the composition almost visible, he guides the audience through the story. In Zephyr Brüggen’s direction and Salomé Roodenburg’s stage design, the boundaries between what is true and what is not are blurred. This shadowy world is shaped by canvases with paintings by Roodenburg and a lighting design that can create shadows and projections. Ariadne makes us realise that the Minotaur is a fabrication to oppress the people with fear, but can we really trust her blindly?
Zephyr Brüggen on directing An Eye in the Sea:
“What scares me is a world where there is no longer a way to know what truth is. Where the boundaries are blurred between reality and fiction, between lies, propaganda, marketing strategy and genuine story. In my direction of ‘An Eye in the Sea’, this principle is central. Of nothing you will see in ‘An Eye in the Sea’ you will know whether it is true or not: Ariadne moves in a shadowy world of other characters, images, texts, and their siren song. Are they fooling her? Or is Ariadne fooling us, the audience?”
In Noorderklank Foundation, mezzo-soprano Helena van Heel and creative producer Nanny Roed Lauridsen share a common artistic and musical vision. They believe in the intrinsic power of music and are convinced that when creators and performers approach this intrinsic power of music with an open ear and heart, (musical) drama emerges that carries the audience along and touches them broadly and deeply – regardless of age or origin. Stichting Noorderklank is a production house for music theatre, with a specific mission to let experienced and beginning makers work together and in a collective process come to co-creations.
Greek mythology often uses various archetypes that, both consciously and unconsciously, are reflected in our contemporary imagery. Even without knowing these stories, role patterns and ideas from these stories are ingrained in our culture. It is good to ask ourselves what meaning we want to give these stories today. An Eye in the Sea examines how we relate to the myth of Ariadne in the 21st century.
In the traditional myth, the hero, Theseus, defeats the Minotaur – half man, half bull – and the king’s daughter Ariadne rescues Theseus from the labyrinth. She goes to Athens by ship as his bride, but is abandoned by Theseus on the island of Naxos on the way.
An Eye in the Sea follows the intriguing interpretation of writer Hella Haasse from her play Een draad in het donker (A thread in the dark, 1963). Haasse decided that the Minotaur – the monster in the labyrinth on Crete – does not really exist. Ariadne extracts this truth from her father, King Minos, and discovers that he uses the spectre of the monster to perpetuate his rule over his people. Theseus too understands that he can secure his forthcoming leadership of Athens by insisting that the monster exists and that he has defeated it. An unprecedented drama then unfolds. Wonderful material for a new musical drama.
In today’s society, truth is the battleground where political power relations are settled. Citizens no longer know whether an image in the newspaper is truth, or manipulation and therefore lose their trust in the media. The pressing topicality of political manipulation, fake news, a ‘post-truth’ society and a culture of fear based on that manipulation, is evident in our version of Ariadne’s story.
Willem Boogman – Composition
Salom̩ Roodenburg РLibretto
Zephyr Brüggen – Direction
Helena van Heel – Mezzo sopraan
Vincent van Amsterdam – Accordeon
Fokke van Heel – Horn
Kenzo Kusuda – Dance and Choreograpy
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