Earlier this week, Canadian solo artist and former Strapping Young Lad member Devin Townsend announced he was putting on an orchestral performance of his rock opera The Moth in the Netherlands with the assistance of North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra. The performance, to be held on March 27 at De Oosterpoort in Groningen, NET, sold out rather quickly, and a second performance on March 28 at the same venue has been scheduled.
“For his latest project, [Devin Townsend] has teamed up with the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and composed The Moth,” explains a press release about the performance that was reported on by The PRP, “a ‘rock opera’ he has been working on for years, which represents his lifelong ambition. The Moth tells the story of the human experience from birth to death, comparable to the transformation of a caterpillar into a moth. It symbolizes the human quest for meaning and offers perspectives on the fear of death through analogy and narrative. Ever since Townsend witnessed large musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar and Phantom of The Opera in the 1970s, he has seen this project as his calling.
“The Moth has been in the making for over a decade,” the release continues, “and Townsend has been building towards it for 30 years. Now, he is ready to bring it to life. He will share the stage at De Oosterpoort in Groningen with no less than seventy musicians from the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, a sixty-member choir, and his own band, which includes Mike Keneally, Joseph Stephenson, Darby Todd, and James Leach.”
The additional date has already sold out, so no word on whether even more additional dates will be added.
