In January, TivoliVredenburg celebrates a double anniversary. Five years ago, the building opened its doors and on top of that, the Great Hall celebrates its fortieth anniversary. They will celebrate this grandly: from Thursday 24 January to Sunday 27 January you will find too much to experience in TivoliVredenburg. For days on end, all the halls, and the many spaces in between, will have something for everyone to enjoy.
As part of that anniversary, Culture Press presents a series of interviews with regular visitors and looks for the secret of the building in a background story.
The night of the sweet-soft child's voice of Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, of course; but also the night of Joke van Leeuwen; of Maria Farantouri and Mikis Theodorakis; of 'illusory poet' Hans Klok even; and of the families of Nisrine Mbarki and Ivo de Wijs. I will try to explain the latter in a moment, in my unpoetic style, forgive me. On my...
From 19 to 24 April, Utrecht venues will finally - temporarily - open their doors to the public. Pilot events, 'pilots', are taking place all over the Netherlands this month. TivoliVredenburg, De Helling, EKKO, Stadsschouwburg Utrecht and Podium Hoge Woerd are also trying out how testing for access at coronaproof programmes works. Pilots will take place in the cultural sector in April
There is an artist café in Utrecht that few Utrechters know about. And I don't mean Theatercafé De Bastaard, where by now a whole generation of actors, filmmakers and writers come from, but the artists' foyer of TivoliVredenburg. I've eaten and hung out there a few times, as an embedded reporter of De Nacht van de Poëzie, when it's very late into...
'I work five nights a week and so I have to find out specifically when I can go to a concert. Sometimes I take time off for it. And then they do say, "hey, are you going to a concert again already?", and I say, "of course I'm going to a concert again". But I don't think it's extreme either.' Petra Gerritsen is process expert
'When I look in the auditorium at a classical concert now, I do think: it's full now, but in 20 years eighty per cent will be dead. So the bottom has to be fed, and TivoliVredenburg does that well. They do it, for example, with Out of the Blue, which is a programme where you get great food and by a special host
Peter Vossen says he experiences live concerts on average twice a week. Not just in TivoliVredenburg, although he visited there almost 40 times last year. 'I also see a lot of free concerts on the streets and in cafés, of course.' Jazz is his great love, but he also attends soul, funk, Latin or pop concerts. Regularly, he can be found
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