Cutting Edge: Coppens modeled a series of clearly arranged arias from the almost one and a half century old relic, and he dragged Bizet into the 21st century.

How? With the synthesizer, as a symbol of a digital revolution that – it is hard to deny – has completely shaken up the soundscape of the past fifty years. Coppens, however, understands the art of dosing: he allows the synths to blend organically into the chamber music palette of deCompagnie, an ensemble that he helped to build up and which today can be counted among the top of the Belgian music scene. Sporadically, the composer-arranger opens up all the stops with penetrating, lingering tones, with an effect that is as refreshing as it is disruptive for the listener. Moreover, whenever Coppens sees the opportunity, he posits interludes that completely elude the discourse of Bizet's score. Not to showcase itself, but from the philosophy that tradition can only live on if it resonates with what lives in the here and now among the audience present.