CRASH FLIGHT

libretto, stage direction and set for Benjamien Lycke’s opera

ABOUT

CRASH FLIGHT is a new opera about human ambition, artificial intelligence, and the search for meaning in a world on the brink of collapse.

Soprano Emma Posman stars as La Giuditta, a world-famous art-pop diva returning to the stage after seven years. With her Butler (bass-baritone Timotheus Maas) and a virtual assistant (actress Hannah Snow) at her side, she delivers a dazzling concert-performance exploring the legacy of female performers throughout history. But when her partner Bluebeard (baritone Julian Arsenault) confronts her with the disruptive influence of AI on her music, her triumphant comeback begins to spiral out of control.

In Act II, the focus shifts to Bluebeard — a Silicon Valley visionary with Faustian ambition. On a one-way mission to Mars, he turns his livestream into a platform for three unsettling confessions. When machines inherit our reason, will humans reclaim only passion — the urge to love, to kill, to crash — and call it freedom?

The music is performed by three of Belgium’s leading chamber ensembles — Desguin Kwartet, Kugoni Trio, and Ataneres — who appear on stage as visible agents in the drama. Fast, fractured, and multilingual in form, CRASH FLIGHT combines classical music, opera, electronics, and video into an immersive stage experience.

CREATIVE TEAM
Benjamien Lycke, composition, video
Mien Bogaert, libretto, stage direction, set
Dennis Peschke, costumes

CAST
Kugoni Trio
Ataneres
Desguin Kwartet

Emma Posman, La Giuditta
Timotheus Maas, Butler
Julian Arsenault, Bluebeard
Hannah Snow, The Core
Lillian Liu, Mission Commentator 1
Michiel Van Hende, Mission Commentator 2
Marjolijn Gijbels, extra

PRODUCTION & TECHNICAL TEAM
Marjolijn Gijbels, stage direction assistance
Ruben Cuyvers, light
Lukas Proot, video and light technician
Sarah De Meester, subtitling
Bart Bogaert, set design assistance

PERFORMANCES

September 7th, 2025 at Theater Tinnenpot Gent (BE) (try-out)
October 25th, 2025 at Stadsschouwburg Brugge (BE) – tickets
November 14th, 2025 at 30CC Leuven (BE) – tickets

A SYNART production in co-production with Serenata, with the support of the Flemish Government, Sabam for Culture, and the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government.

Multilingual performance with Dutch surtitles.

Photos: © Bram Van Eenoo