Selected by Ellen ten Damme
Season 26-27 / What are creators and musicians themselves looking forward to? In our Selected by… series, leading voices from the music and theatre world share their personal highlights from the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ’s new season.
Ellen ten Damme doesn’t have to think long about the performances she wants to attend at the Muziekgebouw this new season. ‘There’s just so much that appeals to me.’ The singer, multi-instrumentalist and actress is known for her theatrical performances, in which she effortlessly blends music and spectacle.
Whether it’s chanson, rock, classical music or experimental theatre, in her work she jumps between genres with an adventurous spirit. That variety is what drives her as a creator and captures her attention as a spectator. She is particularly looking forward to L’histoire du soldat, performed by, among others, the Salzburger Marionettentheater and violinist Isabelle Faust. ‘Stravinsky – intense, but incredibly cool, a true spectacle.’ Plus, the performance features narrator Dominique Horwitz. ‘I know him from my time in Germany; we acted in some films together. He’s an actor and a singer who performs in both French and German – we have much in common.’ The mix of music, theatre and puppets resonates with her. Performances in which different disciplines reinforce one another; something she herself has been involved in for many years.
She wholeheartedly applauds the Muziekgebouw’s growing focus on this, exemplified by the new Unbound series. It is exactly the kind of work she herself prefers to create, although that isn’t always possible. ‘I’m going on a club tour now, and it’s just not an option there.’ In her view, it is important to have venues where these forms can flourish, where music is not just played, but also becomes a visual experience.
Countertenor Phillipe Jaroussky can also look forward to having Ten Damme in his audience. ‘My boyfriend and I have a hobby: watching operas while in the bath. That’s where Jaroussky first popped up. Naturally, I was listening to a lot of Baroque music while preparing for my show Barock, and that’s how I discovered Jaroussky. He sings phenomenally; he’s easily one of the best in the world in his field.’ Her love for Baroque music took root during the pandemic. ‘I was sitting in my house in France, by the open fire, cracking walnuts from my own tree, and I felt as though I were living in the 16th or 17th century. That music was the perfect accompaniment.’ It became the foundation for her show Barock, in which she reimagined that era through her own lens, blending it with her signature theatrical style.
Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Mahler – they all move Ten Damme, but the Baroque era remains a special fascination. ‘Lully is my current favourite, as is Monteverdi, the father of early opera. So interesting. In Venice, you had these theatres with little balconies that allowed singers to echo one another – the very birth of opera. Very special.’ Ten Damme effortlessly brings this music into the present day. She translated Purcell’s famous aria from Dido and Aeneas into Dutch. ‘Pure sacrilege,’ she laughs. ‘I turned it into a choral piece.’
And then there is Buxtehude. ‘I’m especially obsessed with his organ works – sometimes it’s just straight-up punk, mind-blowing.’ Just as Bach did in 1705, she recently made the pilgrimage to Lübeck to get as close to the master as possible. Her love of classical music also seeps into her own work. She isn’t afraid to combine styles, and classical influences are woven into her music and performances. ‘On my new album Medusa, I have included little quotes in every track,’ she says. ‘For the keen listener.’ In doing so, she continues to seek ways to bring different worlds together – exactly as she prefers to see it on stage.
