Marco Ferreri caused a veritable scandal in 1973 with his film »La grande bouffe« (»The Big Feast«), in which four world-weary friends literally eat themselves to death in a frenzy of decadent overindulgence. Now, the Belgian period ensemble B’Rock Orchestra – something like the bad boys of the early music scene – brings this setting to the concert stage as a theatrical-musical banquet.
At the heart of the performance are four striking characters: the self-critical critic Casper, the perfectionist chef Romain, the depressive performance artist Linde and the diva Raphaële, seemingly trapped in her operatic world. These contrasting personalities shape the music as well: operatic fragments from across music history are distorted and exaggerated by electronic beats. The result is a darkly satirical commentary on a society trying to fill its inner emptiness with unchecked excess – and collapsing under the weight of it.
PERFORMERS
B’Rock Orchestra vzw chamber ensemble
Raphaële Green mezzo-soprano
Romain Dayez baritone
Casper Clausen vocals
Linde Carrijn vocals
Aïda Gabriëls concept, direction
PROGRAM
»A Last Supper«
A staged banquet between baroque and pop, based on the film »La grande bouffe« (director: Marco Ferreri, FR/IT 1973)
Selections from Mozart’s »Don Giovanni«, Handel’s »Il Tamerlano«, Rameau’s »Les Indes Galantes«, Lully’s »Atys« and other works