On Sunday, September 4, everyone can once again enjoy the most beautiful opera, classical and jazzy melodies for free on Antwerp's most colorful square. Sint-Jansplein will then - as is customary each year - be the setting for the open-air concerts of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. Together they close off the summer and warm you up for the new cultural season. The first Sunday in September, Sint-Jansplein is THE free festival site for the classical music lover, but also for all those experiencing opera and symphonic music for the first time. More than 200 musicians, choir singers and soloists bring spectacular arias, impressive choral parts, passionate duets and exciting instrumental music to the heart of Antwerp-North. In summer atmosphere, everyone can get acquainted with the world talent that these two renowned institutions have in store. Sunday morning at 11:30 starts traditionally with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. The internationally acclaimed Symphonic Orchestra and the Choir Opera Ballet Vlaanderen under the direction of maestro Alejo Pérez, music director of the institution, walk through next season's program. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is allowed to open the festival with highlights from his opera Le Nozze di Figaro. Then it continues via Gabriel Fauré and Kurt Weill to Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner with highlights from, among others, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Ernani, Macbeth and Tristan und Isolde.
As soloists you will hear and see soprano Tineke van Ingelgem, mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Romanova and baritone Kris Belligh.
At 6:00 PM we make room for the young talent of the Re-Mix Orchestra, one of the youth projects of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. Under the direction of conductor Paul Griffiths, they unleash their rousing creations on the audience. Special guest is N'Faly Kouyaté. This singer and kora player from Guinea brings in his own unique way a mix of traditional kora music, afropop, classical music and electronic music. The festival closes at 7:30 PM traditionally with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, THE symphonic orchestra of Flanders and Belgium. Under the direction of maestro Jaume Santonja, they build a musical celebration full of swinging jazz riffs, southern rhythms and now and then a wave of wonderfully beautiful lyrics. Arias by Giacomo Puccini are followed by music and songs by, among others, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin and Giuseppe Verdi. The soloist of the evening concert is Antwerp soprano Liesbeth Devos. The ideal start to September Festive Month, in which Antwerp Symphony celebrates the 125th anniversary of its Koningin Elisabethzaal. Host during the concerts is Klara presenter Johannes Wirix-Speetjens. Seating is provided. Of course there is the possibility to buy a bite and a drink on the square, but in warm weather visitors are best to bring a bottle of water and protection against the (evening) sun. After this glorious closing of the summer, everyone is charged up on Monday morning to start the new cultural season at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.
Practical Information
Where: Sint Jans Plein, Antwerp
11:30 AM - 12:45 PM: Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Re-Mix Orchestra
7:30 PM - 9:15 PM: Antwerp Symphony Orchestra
Entry to these events is free.