In the touching production #uncut Renske Vrolijk lets her inner struggle echo in music
(★★★★★ – De Volkskrant)

Vivian used to be trapped in the body of a boy. This is her story. Uncut. And yes, that is the question she is most often asked.

The tough and poetic production#uncut tells the story of Vivian, a trans woman. She looks back on a transition that was not only courageous, but also still poses problems for her. After a lengthy process of psychological examination and medical interventions, she is now who she wanted to be. Isn’t she? But what to do with her past? What to do with the old photos? Who was she then, and who is she now? ‘You’re happy now, aren’t you?’ She hears that all too often. But is she?

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I am like any other & Please God, Not This

Scenes 4 and 5

Vivian is in denial of being different. Although she is functioning normally, the people around her are starting to ask questions about her background. “Psst Vivian, say something!”

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Dreaming of later on & Voice breaking

Scenes 9 and 10

The child Vivian dreams about a future in which everything will be right. When she wakes up tomorrow her hopes are that ‘she will be who she is’, and that she will always be able to sing. The cynical adolescent Vivian knows that this dream will be nothing but a nightmare, while the adult Vivian has lost her voice. She only sings with her ‘internal’ voice, for the rest she is unable to sing. We listen back with her to the moment of her voice breaking.

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This Storm is not approaching from over the Sea

Scène 21

Vivian is in a hospital bed, dazed by tranquillisers. She is waiting for her Big Operation. The choir sings about her calmness, that is anything but calmness.

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Renske Vrolijk #uncut (world premiere)

Nederlands Kamerkoor
BL!NDMAN [sax]
ORBI – The Oscillating Revenge of the Background Instruments
Krista Audere conductor

Eline Welle Vivian (mezzo soprano)
William Knight Vivian (tenor)
Syl Becht, Amélie Knape, Irene Kortlever, Vivian (child)

Renske Vrolijk idea and composition
Annechien Koerselman concept, libretto en musical dramaturgy
Wendela de Vos libretto
SMITH, Lise Bruyneel visuals
Tido Visser mise en espace

_{Recording live performance at Muziekgebouw Amsterdam on 25 May 2022}