De Man die afdreef op de Zee

A man wakes up on the air mattress he fell asleep on. He’s no longer on the beach – he drifts on the open sea. No land in sight. He encounters no-one, only his own fears, desires and deamons.

“De Man die afdreef op de Zee” tells the story of someone waking up in the middle ocean and is part of a three-part opera I’m writing together with Elea Bekkers. Written for chamber orchestra, one singer and an air mattress and with a playtime of around 20 minutes, this compact monodrama takes the audience on a journey through mental and phsysical heartship.

The following are excerpts from the piece, sung by Elea Bekkers.

“Overal water…
De zo vertrouwde witte lijn van zand… een zee van blauw?”

“Water, everywhere…
The familiar trusted line of sand… A sea, of blue?”

“Help… Ik drijf af… Op de zee”

“Help… I’m drifting off… off at sea”

Wiegen van het Luchtbed

“Swaying of the inflatable Mattress”

“Als ik het ruisen van de zee ontken, hoor ik het verre wuiven van de bomen.”

“When I deny the constant rustling of the sea, I hear the distant swaying of the trees.”

“Hoe ik hem haatte! Stijve koude dood! Barre, starre dood!”

“How I hated him! Stiff, cold death! Barren, rigid death!”

“Hij lokt, hij jokt, hij wiegt, hij liegt, hij wrijft en verwerpt!

“He lures, he jesters, he sways, he grates and discards!”

USConcert Mahler & Brahms

Two posters designed for the Utrecht Student Orchestra (USConcert).

These two posters portray a different side of Sem’s design work which could be called “fantasy realism”. In this style photo manipulation is order of the day instead of vector design.

These two posters were designed for the USConcert fall tour of 2016, and the spring tour of 2017.