‘Brexit: Goodbye, Hello’

This lecture concert about the Brexit takes place on March 29, the date on which the UK was scheduled to leave the EU. The long awaited liberation of Britain from the ‘Mephistophelian pact with Europe’ may be postponed, some people are still eagerly looking forward to the Brexit to come.
Balancing between laughter and tears, humour and critical reflection, we will focus on the centuries-old artistic bonds between the British isles and the European continent. Artists on both sides of the Channel have always influenced and enriched each others' work.
The British Aurora Orchestra and tenor Ian Bostridge, conducted by Nicolas Altstaedt will perform Les Illuminations, a song cycle by Benjamin Britten to texts by the French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Finally, with Haydn’s ‘Farewell Symphony’ we call it an evening with a wink and a nod...

Between the musical works, literary giants Jonathan Coe and Ali Smith will read from their Brexit-novels. British writer Sulaiman Addonia, who has Eritrean roots but lives in Brussels, brings a brand new short story.

The ‘Brexit concert’ emphasises what unites Europe and the United Kingdom, not what divides them.