FIM

The high­ly esteemed and much appre­ci­at­ed Opera and Ballet Orchestra in Flanders is being threat­ened to shut­down soon. Such clo­sure would result in a major part of Flemish cul­ture being seri­ous­ly erod­ed if not com­plete­ly eradicated.

How is this pos­si­ble? It is a direct con­se­quence of polit­i­cal machi­na­tions. An exter­nal report was ordered by the Flemish Minister of Culture, Sven Gatz, then com­piled by Koen Vandyck.

This dam­ag­ing report seems to imply the absorp­tion of the Flemish Opera Orchestra into the Philharmonic Orchestra in Antwerp. The appar­ent aim is to ‘strength­en’ pro­gram­ming and effi­cien­cy. Exactly how such effi­cien­cy would come about remains unclear.

A major part of Flemish cul­ture would be seri­ous­ly erod­ed if not com­plete­ly eradicated

The Flemish Opera Orchestra feels strong­ly that it has for more than a cen­tu­ry ful­filled a nec­es­sary and vital role in the cul­tur­al life of Flanders. Currently, the orches­tra per­forms to 96% full hous­es which stands as tes­ti­mo­ny to pub­lic sup­port and pub­lic desire to be part of such a rich cul­tur­al heritage.

Historically, for cen­turies, Flemish arts have reflect­ed the beau­ty, gen­eros­i­ty and com­pas­sion of its nation. The cul­tur­al rich­ness and diver­si­ty of Flemish arts have had a direct impact on inter­na­tion­al coop­er­a­tion and com­mu­ni­ca­tion. The merg­ing of two orches­tras would not only result in the per­ma­nent loss of count­less jobs but also in a far less vibrant cul­tur­al life in Flanders and an adverse effect on local economy.