House and people

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV) presents opera, ballet, concerts, and music theatre as contemporary and living art, from its home bases in Ghent and Antwerp. Moreover, through its Vonk productions, the house provides a platform for young people to experiment and innovate, focusing on participation and co-creation. OBV is the largest cultural institution in Flanders. The organization has a symphony orchestra, a choir and children’s choir, and a ballet company. Annually, OBV merges opera and ballet into unique hybrid productions such as Alain Platel’s C(H)ŒURS 2022 (Verdi, Wagner) and Ombra, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Satyagraha (Philip Glass), and Alan Lucien Øyen’s Rusalka (Dvořák). Other notable opera productions recently staged by the house include Strauss’ Salome by Ersan Mondtag, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde by Philippe Grandrieux, Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust by video artist Julian Rosefeldt and choreographer Femke Gyselinck, and the world premieres The Convert (Wim Henderickx) and Brodeck (Daan Janssens). Recent highlights within the ballet programmation are repertoire pieces by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker such as Mozart / Concert Arias, Fase and Rain; Wim Vandekeybus’ Puur, Pina Bausch’ Le Sacre du printemps and creations such as Jan Martens’ FUTUR PROCHE (that premiered in 2021 at the Cour d’honneur in Avignon) and his GRACIELA QUINTET, Ella Rothschild’s Petroesjka and Marcos Morau’s Romeo + Julia.