Composer Kris Defoort approaches classical composition with the same attitude as a jazz improviser, aiming for each note to be expressive and precise.
Notable Performances
The world premiere of "House of the Sleeping Beauties" took place on May 8, 2009, at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels.
Composer Biography
Kris Defoort, the composer, studied both early music (recorder) and jazz (piano, composition, free improvisation), and lived in New York for several years as a jazz pianist.
Compositional Technique
Kris Defoort's opera transforms the original novel's monologue into a musical composition with multiple voices, including a chorus, soprano, baritone, actress, and actor.
Composition History
Kris Defoort's opera "House of the Sleeping Beauties" is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Japanese Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata.
Compositional Technique
The opera uses both sung and spoken parts, with the sung sections representing the old man's inner thoughts and memories, and spoken dialogues for his interactions with the madam.
Composition History
This opera is Kris Defoort's second collaboration with director Guy Cassiers, following their successful 2001 opera "The Woman Who Walked into Doors."
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