Nicholas Lens Noorenbergh (born 1957) is a Belgian composer of contemporary music, particularly known for his operas. His work is published by

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second-oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were foun ...

and Mute Song and distributed by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

and

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

. In 2020 Nicholas Lens signed with

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

. Lens lives alternately in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. He has one daughter, the Berlin-based painter Clara-Lane Lens

Works

Operas

* ''Is this the gate?'', chamber opera with libretto by

J. M. Coetzee John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...

, world premiere at

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

2024 * '' L.I.T.A.N.I.E.S,'' trance-minimal chamber opera with libretto by

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

, written and produced by Nicholas Lens &

, release by

2021 * ''

Shell Shock Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...

'', opera with libretto by

, world premiere on 24 October 2014 at the Royal Opera House La Monnaie * '' Slow Man'', opera with libretto by

based on his novel '' Slow Man'', world premiere on 5 July 2012 at the Malta Festival, Grand Theatre, Poznań

Vocal and chamber music

* ''The Puppet Designer'' (Der Bashafer fun Marionetn) for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, live performance at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

(The Power of Culture, Festival 18 June 1996), published by

2006 * ''Wired'', theatrical chamber music for

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

and

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

, premiered at Beijing, China on 5 December 2006. * The trilogy '' The Accacha Chronicles'' (2005), for

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, male actor, small choir, mixed choir and

, Sony BMG 82876 66239 2, published by

*# '' Flamma Flamma'' – The Fire

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

(1994), Sony Classical SK 66293 *# '' Terra Terra'' – The Aquarius Era (1999), BMG Classics 74321 697182 *# '' Amor Aeternus'' –

Hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s of Love (2005), Sony BMG 82876 66238 2 * '' Orrori dell'Amore'' (1995) for

, counter tenor and

, CD release on Sony Classical (SK 62016), published by

Study books

* 100 Etudes, Exercises and Simple Tonal Phrases for Piano (Volume I and volume II), published by

. * Venticinque Movimenti per Contrabbasso solo (25 Movements for solo double bass), published by

Films and film scores

* The film (22 min.) '' Love Is the Only Master I'll Serve'', premiered at the Brooklyn International Film Festival New York, June 2006, directing, script and music score * The soundtrack of ''Mein erstes Wunder'', a film by Anne Wild, world premiere at

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, 2003 * The soundtrack of ‘'Marie Antoinette is niet dood'’, a film by Irma Achten, world premiere at

Rotterdam International Film Festival International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

, 1996

Novel publication

Nicholas Lens is the author of the novel ( Dutch language) called ''Het bed van lucht'' released by Borgerhoff & Lamberights.

Artistic residencies

* Academia Belgica,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

1 September 2021 – 31 January 2022 *

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Vandoeuvres, Fondation JAT - M.M., 6 residencies in 2023, 2024, 2025 * Chang Mai, artistic residency at Prem Tinsulanonda - patronized by Mom Luang Tridhosyuth Devakul -, 2023 https://artistresidencythailand.com/

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lens, Nicholas 21st-century Belgian composers Belgian opera composers Belgian male opera composers Musicians from Ypres 20th-century Belgian classical composers 21st-century Belgian classical composers Belgian film score composers Belgian male film score composers Flemish composers Belgian writers Flemish writers 1957 births Postmodern artists Musicians from Brussels Living people writers from Brussels Postmodern composers Composers from Venice 20th-century Italian male musicians 21st-century Italian male musicians