AARDAPPELVRETERS

I think that a lot will change in the future.
Where our food comes from, how we look at the environment and how much we waste.
There is a need for more awareness.

Being a farmer is a free profession, but the freedom is no longer what it used to be.

If I do not let my business grow, my income goes down.
Farmers are pressed to mass production.
Mass is money

The citizen and the consumer are two different people.
The citizen has high demands.
The consumer thinks about his wallet

As a farmer, I am bound to a long-term vision.
In recent years rules have changed so frequently, it is no longer workable

‘Aardappelvreters’ is a contemporary opera about the growing divide between the farmer and the citizen. Made in joint collaboration by Silbersee, Gouden Haas and Slagwerk Den Haag, the performance is not shown in a classical theatre setting but on location, at different farms in the Netherlands. Peeters was commissioned a photo exhibition depicting the life of eleven Dutch agriculturalists which the public could visit before or after the performance. The series depicts the modern farmer’s approach; their strengths, their struggles, their stubbornness to pursue the passion for what they do. 

Client
- Silbersee
- Gouden Haas
- Slagwerg Den Haag

Support
- BankGiro Loterij Fonds

Exhibition
2018 - Aardappelvreters, Karavaal Festival, Egmond aan den Hoef, The Netherlands
2018 - Aardappelvreters, Oerol, Terschelling, The Netherlands

Online Exhibition

Alongside the exhibition, there is also the oppertunity to delve into the famer’s stories online. With the aid of Slices each reportage has been digitally reproduced (Dutch-only). Starring: Klaas Valkering, Marco Klaver, Cees Spanjer, Ad Baltus, Tineke van den Berg, Willemien Koning-Hoeve, Kees Nieuweboer, Jaap Nieuwman, Ted Boon, Matthieu Koning, Aldert Dekker.
This website presents a selection, for more stories visit: www.aardappelvreters.nl 

Opera

A farmer’s family comes together to bury their deceased mother and to divide the meager inheritance. The son stayed at the potato farm. The daughter left the countryside for a more refined city life. With the division of the inheritance the family threatens to become further torn apart.

‘Aardappelvreters’ is about the tension between city and countryside: the differences in landscape, culture and lifestyle. In the modern farmer there may house an independent soul, in the meantime he is bound in all respects: to the banks, to European rules and to customers who stipulate minimum prices. In ‘Aardappelvreters’ the romantic image of a farmer clashes with a prosaic reality.

The opera is performed on location.
Karavaan festival: Farm Valkering, Zomerdijkje 20, Egmond a / d Hoef
Oerol: Farm Spanjer, Lies 18, Lies, Terschelling

artistic direction Romain Bischoff, Gienke Deuten | direction Gienke Deuten | musical dramaturgy Romain Bischoff | musical direction Slagwerk Den HaagFedor Teunisse | libretto Jibbe Willems | composition David Dramm &  het collectief | music, song and play Fanny Alofs, Hebe Dijkstra, Pepe García, Star Rabbit, Arnout Lems, Joey Marijs, Niels Meliefste, Björk Nielsdottir, Anne Stam, Guus van der Steen Gabriele Segantini (understudy percussion) | scenography Marlies Schot | light design and head techniqueJeroen Smith | sound design and technique Maurits Thiel | costume design Carly Everaert | costume makerEl Taller Hendry Perdon, Edu Martens | artistic assistant Juliette van Ingen | artistic producer Esther Dikkers | trailer Bowie Verschuuren | graphic design Lise Bruyneel - la fabrique des regards

Press
- Aardappelvreters is een geslaagd sprookje met humoristisch acteerwerk en fascinerende muziek (****), De Volkskrant, June 3rd 2018

- Mooie beelden en muziek in Aardappelvreters, Scènes, June 3rd 2018

- Radio interview(min 54), Spijkers met Koppen, NPO Radio 2, June 2nd 2018
- Kiezen tussen Stad en Land, Theatherkrant, June 1st 2018
- Theater in het hoge gras is razend populair, Trouw, June 1st
- Een opera tussen de koeien, Noordhollands Dagblad, May 31st 2018
- Onbekende Werelden Induiken, De Telegraaf, May 31th 2018