Australian Premiere
OPERA
Universally acclaimed and utterly
unique, Michel van der Aa’s crossgenre masterwork grapples with a
compelling, singular question: what
was the defining moment of your life?
Could you distil your life to a single instant?
A moment that, if all else were to fade, you
would choose to live with for the rest of eternity?
Michel van der Aa, house composer for the
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam
and one of contemporary opera’s most assured
and ambitious voices, burrows deep into the
very question of why we live with this profound
contemporary masterpiece.
As six lost souls gather in limbo, they are asked to
decide on the one memory each of them will take
with them into the afterlife. Those who cannot
choose must remain, trapped in purgatory until
they can find a way to move on.
Based on the acclaimed 1998 Japanese film of
the same name, this landmark Netherlands
production is a heart-rending fusion of opera,
theatre and film. The textured vocals of the
six singers, set to an ethereal score performed
by a 23-piece orchestra, blend with an intriguing
element of documentary: as the characters
struggle to choose a single, defining memory,
their stories are intercut with footage of real
people contemplating the same decision.
Grandiose in scope, Van der Aa’s audacious
blending of arts makes for a fitting final operatic
presentation from Festival Director Brett Sheehy,
who throughout his work with Australian festivals
has sought to champion contemporary opera
as a vivid and essential 21st century artform.
After Life joins such works as Jonathan Mills’s
Eternity Man, Jonathan Dove’s Flight, Osvaldo
Golijov’s Ainadamar and Pascal Dusapin’s Medea in
bringing us another compelling demonstration of
contemporary opera’s artistry and vitality.
Warning Strobe lighting
Composer, Stage Director, Video Script
& Direction Michel van der Aa
Technical Production Development
Frank van der Weij
Costume Design Robby Duiveman
Conductor Wouter Padberg
Performers Yvette Bonner, Yannick-Muriel
Noah, Helena Rasker, Margriet van Reisen,
Richard Suart, Roderick Williams
Film Projection Flint Louis Hignett,
Bert Hornback, Dee Jager, Esther Jager,
Tessa Marwick, Juul Muller
Michel van der Aa presents a free talk as part of
Ringside: Artists in Conversation (see page 51).
Event Information
Regent Theatre
Thu 11 – Sat 13 Oct at 7.30pm
1hr 40min no interval
Premium $130
A Res. $100 / $75 / Grp $90 / Snr $85
B Res. $80 / $60 / Snr $68
C Res. $56 / $42 / Snr $47.60
Student (B & C Res.) $25
Transaction & booking fees may apply
Ticketmaster 136 100
melbournefestival.com.au
Photos Mark Allan
The original fully staged version was commissioned by
De Nederlandse Opera/Netherlands Opera.
International tour management by Intermusica Artists’
Management Limited.
Michel van der Aa
(Netherlands)
After Life
The Barbican Centre’s
semi-staged London production
Libretto by Michel van der Aa,
after Hirokazu Kore-eda
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