About 'Be My Superstar'

THE BEATS ARE LOUD. 
THE LIGHTS ARE BLINDING.
THE ATMOSPHERE IS EUPHORIC.
YOUR FRIENDS ARE WITH YOU, YOUR TROUBLES AT HOME.
YOU FEEL FREE.
THE PARTY IS ON.

THE STORY

Be My Superstar begins in a nightclub, the singers and musicians are dancing when the audience comes in. As an audience, you are invited to join the party. All of a sudden, the soprano's dress falls down a bit, resulting in someone taking a picture of her in a very embarrassing way. Soon, the picture goes viral on social media. A true nightmare for any young girl. The others start to slutshame her and bully her a lot. Will someone stand up for her? Is everyone taking part in the bullying? 

The other character in Be My Superstar, the countertenor, is also bullied at school. He is often lonely, until he meets the soprano and there starts to grow a connection between the two. How do they react against the bullying? 

HOW DID 'BE MY SUPERSTAR' COME ABOUT? 

The director Alexandra Lacroix, composer Šimon Voseček, dramaturge Aïda Gabriëls, soprano Astrid Stockman and filmmaker Franziska Guggenbichler-Beck were all participating in a workshop about 'creating opera for a young adience'. They found a common interest in wanting to create an opera that is very close to the daily lives of youngsters. They wanted to discuss 'bullying', because it is something almost every youngsters is somehow confronted with. That's how the idea for Be My Superstar originated. 

Of course, they did not realise this on their own. You also need producers, technicians, costume designers,... and of course, also teenagers! During a series of 'labs' all over Europe, they experimented with local youngsters to look for the right tone of voice, to see if they can relate to the situation, to see how the react to the music... For example: the Whatsapp conversations that you see in the performance are written by a group of youngsters from Ghent.

WHO DOES WHAT?

The director is the one who thinks of the idea for the performance, guides the actors / singers / musicians and is involved in every part of the opera to make it a whole. 
The composer writes the music for the opera. The musicians and singers are performing his composition.  
The librettist writes the libretto, that is what we call the 'script' or 'lyrics' in the opera.
The dramaturge helps the director throughout the creative process by bringing in additional literature, and by overlooking the whole creation: does the music match the libretto? Sometimes, the dramaturge also provides introductions for the audience before the performance. 
The scenographer draws the set design. 
The production manager takes care of all the planning for the rehearsals, the costumes, the transportations... 

EXERCISE: WHICH CONCEPTS DID YOU LEARN? 

Director, composer, composition, libretto, dramaturge, scenographer, production manager 

PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS

Everyone looks at a performance differently, that's the case for the audience, but also for the artists involved in the creation. You can hear the artists speak about their role in the creative process in the short videos below. 

DIRECTOR ALEXANDRA LACROIX COMPOSER SIMON VOSECEK 

SOPRANO ASTRID STOCKMAN & COUNTERTENOR LOGAN LOPEZ GONZALEZ