The Red Horseman
Koenraad Tinel and Oleg Lysenko met for the first time at a performance with the Dutch poet/visual artist Armando in Amsterdam. After the Armando performance, they played a performance with Stefan Brijs in Ostend: http://www.vrijstaat-o.be/stefan-brijs-koenraad-tinel/ during the period of collaboration between Koenraad and Stefan on a social-artistic project in Genk and the preparation of the book Stories of the Pajottenland (Atlas Contact Publishers). This was followed by a performance with Stefan Hertmans and his acclaimed War and Turpentine. This resulted in the production Music for the crossing in which the three artists each gave shape to ‘their’ war: WWI (Stefan Hertmans), WWII (Koenraad Tinel), the war in Ukraine interwoven with the tensions between Russia and the Netherlands (Oleg Lysenko). Its memorable premiere took place in Flagey, the first performance after the lockdown in Brussels after the attacks.
Koenraad Tinel, although a visual artist, is very active on the theater scene. His first major performance was the theater monologue Scheisseimer, a production of HET PALEIS. The performance was based on the graphic novel of the same name, published by Lannoo. In this performance, the drawings from the book were projected on a large screen while Koenraad Tinel told the story of the two-year flight to Germany and back during WWII, together with his parents and little sister, based on the drawings, supported by songs. and piano playing. A performance that he performed in all Flemish theater houses and in a French-language version in Brussels.
He once also painted the impressive opening scene on a 9 by 6 meter canvas at the start of the theater performance LARF by Josse De Pauw and Peter Vermeersch, a performance that is burned into the spectators’ memory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-A_iHGEZ6w
The new Babel/Red Riding Hood performance is the fruit of Koenraad Tinel’s long-standing fascination with the work of Isaak Babel.
He has mastered the atmosphere and content of the stories over the years to the point that he prefers to recite them himself, which heightens the emotional impact of the performance and ties it back to his very first theatrical monologue.
For Oleg Lysenko, the literature of this Ukrainian-born writer is like coming home; the music he brings evokes both the Russian soul and the Jewish voice in the stories of Isaac Babel, laced with propaganda music and wistful Cossack songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P80X1dGVNE4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr-FzDWOzd4
The performance is built around the first and last story from the Stories of the Red Horseman cycle.
The premiere took place on Het Betere Boek, which was devoted to Russia on 14 October this year.
Because the period 2019/2020 commemorates one hundred years of the Russian Revolution, the stories of Isaac Babel in their immortal greatness are once again extremely topical.
The video link to the project can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/274254242
Bookings
Other performances
The Blizzard, The Snowstorm, Alexander Poesjkin
Oleg Lysenko and Harry-Imre Dijkstra presents: The Blizzard by Alexadr Poesjkin. It is 1812, Napoleon is about to invade Russia. Unaware of the impending danger, Masha, a sweet girl of seventeen, and Vladimir, a young ensign on leave, are desperately in love. Marriage...
Music for the crossing
'Music for the crossing' is a special performance on the border of visual art, music and literature. With AKO literature prize winner Stefan Hertmans and his 'War and Turpentine', visual artist Koenraad Tinel and Oleg Lysenko as musicians. A crossover in which Stefan...
I heard that people were listening Armando played by Cherry Duyns
'I heard that people were listening' is the title of the literary concert that Armando and Oleg Lysenko gave over two years. Writer, painter, sculptor, film and theater maker Armando read from his great oeuvre. Accordionist and bandoneonist Oleg Lysenko accompanied...