The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

at Schouwburgstraat 3. However, the company shares one orchestra, choir, technical team, etc. The organization is mainly financed by the

Flemish government The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, ...

and the city councils of Antwerp and Ghent. In its current form, the company was created in 1996 as a successor to the Flemish Opera Foundation (''Vlaamse Opera Stichting,'' which had existed since 1988), and the Opera for Flanders (''Opera voor Vlaanderen,'' which had existed since 1981). Both former institutions were similar fusions between the former opera houses of Antwerp and Ghent. Since the fusion in 1981, the company has been giving performances in two different historic theatres.

History

Antwerp

The first public opera performances in Antwerp date back to 1661. Performances took place on the stage of the ''Schouwburgh van de Oude Voetboog'' (Theatre of the Guild of Crossbowmen) at the Grote Markt. The theatre gradually lost its popular Flemish character as French artists were engaged and the performances were no longer performed in the local ( Dutch) language, but in French, the adopted language of the Flemish elite. In 1709 a new theatre was installed in the "Tapissierspand", a former covered market for

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...

where alternately Italian and French operas were performed. The new auditorium burnt down in 1746 and was replaced by a new "Grand Théâtre" which opened in 1753. During the period of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

, the theatre was promoted to "Théâtre Royal". At that time the old theatre was already in decay and it became too small to house the growing public. Plans were made to tear down the old building and to replace it by a new and more prestigious building. In 1829 the last performance was given in the "Tappisierspand". The new theatre opened after the Belgian revolution in 1834. (This building is now known as the ''Bourlaschouwburg'' and is used today for regular theatre performances.) The French repertoire (and, to a lesser extent, the Italian repertoire in French translation) continued to dominate. The opera house closed in 2005 for a two-year renovation of the entire building. In November 2007, exactly 100 years after the grand opening in 1907, the opera opened again for a new season. New office buildings were constructed, the main auditorium was updated with new seating, a new heating system, and the walls were painted in a new fresh green colour. Behind the scenes all the offices are combined in the new 'Office territory' behind and next to the stage. Major improvements are the leveling of the stage floor (which had a rake of 4° due to 19th century practice), a big new side stage, updated lighting and mechanical structures. Because of budget limitations (the first budget estimate for the entire renovation was 33 million euro but, after certain non critical phases were removed from the master plan, the total budget was 24 million euros), only the most urgent tasks were executed. Therefore, not all the ornaments where cleaned and the public hallways are painted white. It is expected that when new funds are available, the golden ornaments and hallways will be updated.

Administration

*Directors :1947–55 : Vina Bovy :1981 : Alfons Van Impe :1987 :

Gerard Mortier Gerard Alfons August, Baron Mortier (25 November 1943 – 8 March 2014) was a Belgian opera director and administrator of Flemish origin. Biography Born in Ghent, the son of a baker, Mortier attended in youth the Jesuit private school Sint-Barb ...

(ad interim) :1989 : Marc Clémeur (till 30/07/2008) :2008 : Aviel Cahn (from 1/8/2008) *Chief conductors of the Symphonisch orkest van de Vlaamse Opera (Symphonic orchestra of the Flemish Opera): :1989 :

Rudolf Werthen Rudolf Werthen is a Belgian violinist, conductor and teacher. He is founder and artistic director of the orchestra ''I Fiamminghi'' and was chief conductor of the symphonic orchestra of the Flemish Opera in 1989. He has taught at the Royal Conse ...

:1993 : Stefan Soltesz :1997 : Marc Minkowski :2000 : Massimo Zannetti :2002 : Ivan Törzs :2011: Dmitri Jurowski (from 1/1/2011) *Chief conductors of the Koor van de Vlaamse Opera (Choir of the Flemish Opera): :1989 : Peter Burian :1991 :

Simon Halsey Simon Halsey, CBE (born 8 March 1958) is an English choral conductor. He is the chorus director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus ( CBSO Chorus), a position he has held since 1983, and has been chorus director of the London Symphony Cho ...

:1994 : Andrew Wise :1997 : Peter Burian :2002 : Kurt Bikkembergs :2008: Yannis Pouspourikas :2013: Jan Schweiger

External links

* {{authority control Opera houses in Belgium Theatres in Belgium Buildings and structures in Ghent Culture of Ghent Tourist attractions in East Flanders Theatres completed in 1709 Theatres completed in 1753 Theatres completed in 1834 Music venues completed in 1709 Music venues completed in 1753 Music venues completed in 1834 1709 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire