Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe (b. 1995) is a contra tenor, performer and director of operatic and visual productions. He interweaves elements from opera with pop, electronics, ballet and performance, and sees theatre as an echo chamber in which old and new forms exist interchangeably. “I'm conducting a conversation between the past and the present, rather than coming here to burn the place down.” Benjamin is not interested in presenting a clash of styles, but in ‘connecting’: his work builds bridges between genres, art movements, artists and audiences.
Benjamin’s work surprises with radical scenographies and highly diverse casts. He entices dancers to sing and singers to dance – thus questioning notions like musical perfection and virtuosity in one fell swoop. All of this results in deeply sensitive, overwhelming shows with the power of rituals that resonate with today's world.
Composer and producer Valgeir Sigurdsson is known for his immersive sound world, often blurring the boundaries between contemporary classical music and electronic production. An explorer of implicit sound, he composes for film, visual media and stage. He is also active as a composer of concert works and opera, and as a performing musician.
Recent film work includes Grímur Hákonarson's The County, and An Acceptable Loss, a political thriller by Joe Chappell starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Tika Sumpter.
At Greenhouse Recording Studios, Reykjavík, which he founded in 1997, Valgeir has worked extensively as a producer, engineer and/or arranger with artists from all over the world, including Björk, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Feist, Tim Hecker, Anohni, CocoRosie, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Víkingur Ólafsson and many others.
Elisabeth Klinck studied violin at Luca School of Arts Leuven, Royal Conservatoire in Brussels and University of Gotëborg. Since 2019, she has been studying 'live electronics' at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and working as a freelance (alto) violinist.
Klinck currently works mainly on her own music and creations, characterised by frugality and a sense of poetry. She also creates music for theatre performances (The Importance of beeing Flemisch, Night Swimming, Bambiraptor) and is co-founder of the contemporary music ensemble Nemø.
Klinck has already played solo sets in concert hall AB, at KRAAK Festival, at the Miry Concert Hall,... She is active in the classical, electronic as well as experimental scene, and is currently working on her solo debut.
From the 2022-2023 season, Klinck can be seen in Miet Warlop's NTGent performance ONE SONG - Histoire(s) du Théâtre IV.
In 2023, she will also be a resident at Studio Classic.
One of a kind combination between electronic and contemporary classical music
The Belgian theatre director Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe will be looking for a unique match between electronic and contemporary classical music together with Icelandic producer/composer Valgeir Sigurdsson (Bedroom Community).
Performed with Belgian violinist Elisabeth Klinck.
The project is a co-production with the North-Norwegian Culture Festival Festspillene i Nord-Norge (Harstad), where Valgeir Sigurðsson is an Associated Artist in 2023, the North-Norwegian Classical Festival Nordlysfestivalen (Tromsø) and C-mine.
This production was realized with the support of the Tax Shelter measure of the Belgian federal government, Gallop Tax shelter and Het Nieuwstedelijk.
