August 2013

Quadrant de Ouverture

Quadrant, de Ouverture a video opera by Rob Moonen, Jeroen Strijbos & Rob van Rijswijk for the city of Helmond (NL)

The textile and metal industry made the city of Helmond great, and artist Rob Moonen is honoring the worker in 2018 with a grand, audiovisual city opera.

The title Quadrant refers to the four different parts into which downtown Helmond is divided by the intersection of the Zuid- Willemsvaart and the Kasteel Traverse. Moonen is putting together a special opera, for and with the city. The oeuvre of Helmond composers such as Matthijs Vermeulen and Alphons Stallaert will be given a place, integrated with (archival) images of the city's labor history, the city's special architecture and the industrial heritage of typical Helmond companies such as Vlisco, Raymakers, and Nedschroef.

Jeroen Strijbos and Rob van Rijswijk composed the opera, which consists of an overture and four movements. The joint works by Strijbos and Van Rijswijk are characterized by the combination of computer compositions with elements of spatiality, design, and music technology, in which the boundaries and intersections of various artistic disciplines are explored. For the performance of Quadrant, Moonen is collaborating with the many choirs, harmonies, and brass bands in Helmond. The performance will take place in a public space, with music linked to large projections on public buildings.