Silbersee

The arena is the last male bastion: where aggression is still considered a virtue, strength and courage are living conditions and anger is the only emotion that counts. Doubt is a weakness here, gentleness a risk. Those who stand face to face with a raging animal and dance with death can only save themselves by force. Or does love get a chance anyway?

In Amor Matador, the heroic matador disappears into the background. The story is carried by Carmen and Maria, his lover and his mother. While matador José eats his way into revenge, they refuse to accept the repetition of fate. They long for a different story: one in which blood no longer flows to prove, but continues to flow to live.

Raw, poetic and disruptive
Silbersee and Het Muziek (formerly Asko|Schönberg) present a contemporary re-reading of Carmen about love, revenge and the price of violence. Actress Ariane Schluter voices Maria: clear, timeless and multilingual. The Burkinabe multi-instrumentalist Kaito Winse moves like Carmen between voice and body. And matador José sounds in the arias of the Argentine tenor Jonatan Alvarado.

A new sound world
The music of American composer and drummer Brendan Faegre deconstructs Bizet's classic and reassembles the material into a new sound world, with acoustic guitar, electric harp and the menacing roar of a bull. Director Aïda Gabriëls merges musical theatre, opera, dance and visual arts into a ritual in which the arena only exists as an echo.

Credits
Direction: Aïda Gabriëls librettist Jibbe Willems Composition: Brendan Faegre Musical dramaturgy: Romain Bischoff performers Ariane Schluter, Jonatan Alvarado, Kaito Winse, Astrid Haring, Berber Heerema, Pepe Garcia Campaign image and trailer: Bowie Verschuuren

Amor Matador is a co-production with The Music (formerly Asko|Schönberg).