Tight and razor-sharp? No. But that's not what this afternoon is about at all. This is a celebration of singing together, with the end result being a performance of Handel's oratorio that you wouldn't want on CD, but which is of a surprisingly high standard and, above all, one you wouldn't have wanted to miss for the world.
Much has been written about the problems at the Orchestra of the East and its sometimes difficult relationship with the Netherlands Reisopera, based in the same city. Much has been written about the cuts that hit both hard. While one sought a solution in a forced leap forward that unfortunately turned out to be a pipe dream, the other took drastic action, dismissing the entire choir and surprising friend and foe with high-profile productions. But also sees that it is actually structurally short of money.
That's politics, and a story that will have many sequels. But on 6 December, a day after St Nicholas, Orkest van het Oosten, Nederlandse Reisopera and the choir Consensus Vocalis, also from Overijssel, gave a heartwarming performance of the Messiah. Orchestra, opera and choir not only connected the audience to themselves, but emphatically made that audience part of the performance.
In the capital, three companies from Overijssel showed how it can be done: working together, connecting and showing in the Randstad that the region, recently lumped together as 'countryside' by Alexander Pechtold in the Lower House, can achieve something that 'the Randstad' is not capable of. This was the very first sing-along Messiah in Carré.
Figuratively and artistically successful
And a very successful one, first of all numerically. Not only were the six hundred available sing-along tickets sold out in no time, the remaining seats were also in great demand, not least on a Sunday afternoon when many people were celebrating a belated Sinterklaas AND two competing Messiah performances were taking place in Amsterdam.
But artistically too, this Messiah was of a high standard. Not only thanks to the aforementioned companies, or the four soloists, but also to the six hundred sing-alongs. They were everywhere, filling not only the entire hall, but also the lodges and even part of the balcony. Just the sight of that immense choir rising en masse for the first choral part 'And the glory of the Lord' is impressive. Because sopranos, altos, tenors and basses were placed in groups, a wonderfully spacious choir follows. The singing literally comes from all sides and at the best moments - 'And we like sheep have gone astray' - offers new insights even for the mere listener.
The unifying factor here is Nicolas Mansfield, who not only conducts soloists, orchestra and Consensus Vocalis with visible pleasure, but in the choral parts gives the six hundred sing-alongs instructions that are almost impossible to miss. And it works. After a single rehearsal, the sing-alongs turn out to be capable of a lot. This is not entirely surprising: the Netherlands is a singing country. Singing in ensemble/choir is still our country's biggest non-sport related hobby. A large proportion of those singing along had clearly done it more often. And those who were less experienced? "I clung to the more trained sopranos next to me," one of the participants told me afterwards, "then it went naturally."
The audience also connected with each other, Randstadians and non-Randstadians, as a matter of course.
Connection
It is no coincidence that the v-word crops up all too often here. After all, since Minister Bussemaker put the word 'connection' so emphatically on the agenda, it is heard everywhere. With companies, for instance, that have learned to go along with the fads of the culture minister in charge. There is a new magic word every cabinet term. Purified as they are, they mainly insert that new magic word into the already existing plans, but politicians are usually shorter of memory and get to work overzealously. Connecting, combined with the previous magic words audience reach and market forces then quickly results in forced cooperation, in order to disguise the fact that culture is actually still being cut back. However, mergers and cooperation imposed from above are counterproductive, the examples are legion.
Winning audiences for you is not in blind faith in market forces or in letting companies and brick buildings merge. The real connection comes from the creators. They can achieve more together and with their audiences in one afternoon than directors with underlying party interests, the entire supporting civil service and overly ambitious directors combined.
We saw exactly that on December 6 in nota commercially operated theatre by subsidised companies and the massed audience.
Hallelujah!
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