Het Muziek & Silbersee present a thrilling new rendition of Berio’s Recital (for Cathy), where the soprano is plunged into a mesmerizing and hallucinatory state of mind. This groundbreaking music-theater performance blends the soprano’s powerful vocal performance with captivating film projections and real-time footage, offering a behind-the-scenes and on-stage perspective. Berio composed Recital (for Cathy) for his first wife, the American mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian. Soprano Eleonore Lemaire delivers a stunning interpretation of this dramatic masterpiece, which features quotations from composers such as Monteverdi, Schubert, and Donizetti.

This program also features new work by Karmit Fadael. In The Usual, composer Karmit Fadael takes the audience on a musical and theatrical exploration of the subtle yet disruptive power of microaggressions. Remarks and behaviors that may seem harmless (or even well-intentioned) take on a different meaning when viewed through the lens of personal experience or real aggression. When does a glance become hurtful? And why do we so often accept certain power plays without question?

With a sharp eye, a touch of humor, and a nod to the work of composer Luciano Berio, Fadael exposes the mechanisms behind our unconscious biases. The Usual is a short, thought-provoking piece of music theater that navigates the fine line between discomfort and aggression.