Aida | NL

RELATED ACTIVITIES

What are all the other possibilities for things to do during the performance period of Aida related to Leeuwarden- Friesland 2018?

ON THE OPERA GROUNDS

This year the grounds are open from 5:00 p.m. Dinner will be served from 6 p.m. onwards.

AIDA, A MIRROR IN PHOTOS

Noorderlicht, House of Photography is engaging in an interdisciplinary collaboration with Opera Spanga. In the pasture landscape of the small Frisian village it is creating an innovative installation as visual prologue and epilogue to the opera performances. Aida, a pictorial representation, links the opera, with its timeless story of power, to extensive international representations of war and love in our present world. Works from Kei Ito and Guillaume Simoneau.

www.noorderlicht.com

© Guillaume Simoneau, Love and War

FOUR CONTEMPORARY TRIUMPHAL MARCHES

In Verdi’s Aida we can hear the triumphal march which also reverberates in our football stadiums.
Commissioned by the municipality of Weststellingwerf as part of Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018 , Opera Spanga invited composers Monique Krüs, Feras Khouri, Floris van Bergeijk and singer-songwriter Jente Meijer from Wolvega each to compose a triumphal march. Before Aida these four new triumphal marches will be performed by local choirs (in collaboration with Cultural Village 2018 De Hoeve) conducted by Monique Krüs, the Syrian/Dutch Music group Mozaïek conducted by Feras Khouri and Soli Brass Leeuwarden with Jente Meijer.

IN THE CLOSE VICINITY

In the wonderful nature reserve De Rottige Meenthe – during the whole of July and August.

OBSERVATION HUT FOR THE NON-EXISTENT BIRDS OF THE ROTTIGE MEENTE

A Multifunctional art work by O.C. Hooymeijer

A bird observation hut, but with a difference. Situated on the Foot Path, a stone’s throw away from the Opera Spanga location. Not constructed for spotting “ordinary” birds, but to observe unusual non-existent specimens, birds sprouted from the creative brain of artist O.C. Hooymeijer (Spanga). From the Neopolitan and German herons to the Fishgulper and the Dungpicker, he has been imagining, painting, drawing and describing them for a number of years. Many species could be seen in places such as the Nature Museum Fryslan (Leeuwarden, 2016) and can be found in his “Concise Guide to the Non-Existent Birds of Europe” (Bornmeer Publishers). But as an inhabitant of the Rottige Meenthe Hooymeijer found that he missed a real bird observation hut which would allow him to observe his own creations. So he designed the “observation hut for the non-existent birds of the Rottige Meenthe', a stimulating, surrealistic work of art, solid observation post and fantastic shelter and resting place for both hikers and bikers. In this oasis of rest visitors find colorful signs with useful information about some fifty non-existent feathered friends. In collaboration with the State Forestry Service, the bird observatory will also be included in excursions, educational activities and workshops for young and old.

Visiting address: Voetpad Spanga, ca. 500 m from the Pieter Stuyvesantweg.

www.ochooymeijer.com

THE TRAIL BACK

In the Forest Management’s building ‘De Tentepolle’ an exhibition of water colors, drawings, wood and lino cuts by Dirk Kerst Koopmans (1906-1998) from the years 1932-1942. In 1932, after four years in South America, he returned to his birthplace to work and live on the banks of the Scheene in a “tente”, a worker’s dwelling, amongst the peat workers, fishermen and reed cutters. . DKK documented their life, but also the unspoiled landscape of that time. He shared their poverty but considered himself free and fortunate. In a second “tente” that he purchased, he founded a small peatery museum which also served as his studio.

Thanks to Opera Spanga in the summer of 2018 you will be able to see DDK’s works 20 years after his death in the place where he created them between 1932 and 1942.

'Tjalligje Doeven and Johanna Yben sitting on a dri’ j', water color, between 1932-1937, 410 x 575 mm. Printed in the magazine Fen Fryske Groun from 1 oktober 1937. A dri’j, is a narrow plank over The Scheene with a box on the end containing a boulder so that one person could work this little bridge.

FORESTRY MANAGEMENT BY PUNT THROUGH THE ROTTIGE MEENTHE, FOR YOUNG AND OLD

The Rottige Meente was once a depressing area where impoverished peat workers struggled their way through the soaking peat. At present it is a lovely nature preserve with lots of water and reed. Characteristic are the draught-holes with “ribben”, swamp and trilling peat. This is a habitat for the large fire butterfly. The otter also calls this home. In the various land stages (from water to woods) there are many species of flora. The green tuberous orchis, yellow iris and panicled sedge adorn the area. Many dragonflies live around the water, which is partially overgrown with water plants. Crushed shell pathways provide walking and biking pleasure..
In addition the area has a terrific canoe route, which in large part runs along the peat stream De Scheene. This waterway used to serve as the means of transporting peat out of the area. The first inhabitants settled here and often led an impoverished life. Until the 1950’s income was mainly based on peat digging, fishing, reed harvesting and agriculture.

An ideal place to see rare plants and animals, but also for the lover of peace and quiet. The ranger from the Forestry Service is happy to take you aboard a historic open peat barge to introduce you to this unfamiliar bit of Fryslân. The trip lasts about one hour.