In 2000, the theatre company “Hollandia” played the opera ‘Triumph of Spirit over Matter’ with a libretto by Johan Thielemans and music by Wim Hendrickx.
The story is about an underrated painter, who forges works by twentieth-century colleagues to take his revenge. His wife sells the works and everything runs smoothly until he is caught. This exciting scenario raises fundamental questions of talent, ability and originality.
Theatre company “Hollandia” usually performs plays in temporarily or permanently abandoned buildings. The idealistic and functionalistic features of a building act as a frame for interpretation, allowing the real world to play an important part of the performed play. For this travelling opera, architect Francine Houben was asked to design a new, meaningful space. This way the principals of theatre in situ can be sustained.
Four different chairs by Charles and Ray Eames, and one by Frank Gehry are chosen as starting point for the décor. The five chairs, each with a pronounced character, match the archetypal personages of the opera.
La Chaise with its flowing synthetic form – based on a seated woman with her legs extended sideways by Gaston Lachaise – is for the artist’s wife Elsie. Frank Gehry’s awkward Wiggle, a ribbon of folded packing carton, is for the artist Beck. The elegant office chair Aluminium is for gallery owner Gunther Dreck. The simple chromium steel mesh of Wire is for his secretary Frans Beacon. And the knotted tension of the natural wood of Plywood is for the journalist Theo.
The two main rooms in the opera, the artist’s studio and the gallery, are shaped by two gigantic chairs in contrasting materials, inspired by Gerrit Rietveld’s Zig Zag chair. This accentuates, enlarges and gives prominence to the idea of getting chairs to personify the characters.