De Materie

De Materie (Matter) is a four-part vocal and orchestral work by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, written over the period 1984 to 1988.

[1] Robert Wilson directed the first staging of the opera on 1 June 1989 at the Muziektheater, Amsterdam, with James Doing, Wendy Hill, Beppie Blankert and Marjon Brandsma as the soloists at the premiere.

[3] The complete work received its first US performance in 2004 at Lincoln Center, New York City.

[4] "Hadewijch" received its UK premiere at the 1993 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

[6] The work incorporates eclectic musical influences, ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach and Igor Stravinsky to the old Netherlands chanson "L'homme armé" and 20th-century boogie-woogie.

First staging of De Materie (Amsterdam, 1989), with Robert Wilson, Louis Andriessen and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands