HARDKOOR- Naomi Velissariou

A stream of self-consciousness, set to techno, trip hop and choral music.

After the disruptive PERMANENT DESTRUCTION triptych, Naomi Velissariou forms a new musical-theatrical formation, together with composer and producer Frank Wienk (Binkbeats), drummer Jens Bouttery  and the Nederlands Kamerkoor: HARDKOOR is a stand-up tragedy concert, a stream of self-consciousness, set to techno, trip hop and choral music.

Prior to her fortieth birthday a single mom and artist withdraws from public life for a year. From the stillness of her burnout (which she defines as a crisis of the entire system, both physically, mentally and spiritually), she battles against the racing of time, against the societal images she’s trying to escape from by (not) conforming to them, and against her excessive self-awareness and self-criticism. Through a personal and exhausting endeavor of language, music and movement, she carves a path towards a life without shame, in which the endless pursuit for validation gives way to radical self-love and a not-so-boring-balance.

Under the motto “never waste a good crisis” and in the presence of the audience, she deals with the personal and societal blind spots that have brought her into her current state: her insecurity as a single mom, the pressure of social media, the disturbed relationship with her body, the cult of growth and self improvement, the bullshitization of our working lives, the commercialization of healthcare, the bankruptcy of the family as the cornerstone of society and the constant overstimulation of our brain as a result of a contemporary lifestyle.

In HARDKOOR Velissariou’s brutal language, a fluid combination of english and dutch aimed at obliterating suffocating images of human nature, is interwoven with the mind-fucking sound design of Joost Maaskant and Frank Wienk (Binkbeats). Velissariou previously formed the PERMANENT DESTRUCTION duo with Maaskant. Percussionist and producer Frank Wienk translates their sound into a composition that blurs the boundaries between acoustic and electronic music. This composition is being performed by drummer Jens Bouttery and the Nederlands Kamerkoor (NKK). For over 80 years the NKK ranks among the best choirs in the world and is known for its innovative approaches to the development and performance of top-level choral music. All this takes place in a setting that designer Boris Acket describes as a “brutalist techno temple”: a modular installation of light and sound technology, with a special role for the voices of the choir. Acket is a contemporary artist, composer and director, specialized in building multidisciplinary systems. The costume design consists of high fashion loungewear from the hands of MAISON the FAUX, a creative studio posing as a grand couture fashion house, whose work is also determined by its multidisciplinary approach.

The combination of the brutal honesty of the text, the uplifting rhythms of the sound design, the ecclesiastical grandeur of the choral singing, the raw minimalism of the installation and the high fashion of the costume design, make HARDKOOR into a harmonizing ritual of fulfillment in times of hysterical reality experience.

English and Dutch spoken, with English surtitles.

HARDKOOR is  a coproduction between Theater Utrecht, Nicole Beutler Projects, Holland Festival and the Nederlands Kamerkoor. Nicole Beutler collaborates as movement-coach for Naomi and choreographes the movement of the choir.

Theaterkrant- MET GENADELOZE ZELFKRITIEK BEZINGT NAOMI VELISSARIOU HAAR MOEDERSCHAP

NRC

★★★★☆

'Wat het diepst raakt in Hardkoor, is het korte moment waarop uit een van de speakers de stem van Velissarious zoontje opklinkt. „Ga maar lekker slapen mama”, zegt hij, zijn stem licht vervormd (en beschermd) door de autotune. „Dan word je gauw weer beter.” Dit zorgzame kind, en alles wat dat zinnetje impliceert, verscheurt je hart. Het besef dat zich op dit moment in de voorstelling opdringt, is dat het naast elkaar kan bestaan: de wanhoop én de liefde. Die twee sluiten elkaar niet uit. Wat in werkelijkheid tegenover de moederliefde staat, is de romantisering ervan.' Shira Keller

DE VOLKSKRANT

★★★★☆

'Schaamteloos toont Velissariou haar eigen zwaktes, vlijmscherp ontmaskert ze de huichelarij van anderen – hilarisch is haar sarcastische schets van het zelfvoldane Vinex-kerngezin. Tegelijk is ze pijnlijk eerlijk over haar gevoel van falen, van niet aan deze dwingende norm voldoen. Haar meedogenloze maatschappijkritiek versnijdt ze vervolgens knap met tedere momenten van diepe liefde voor haar zoon, zoals in een lied voor haar ex, dat een vermomde ode aan hun kind blijkt.' Herien Wensink