Dante Songbook is a theatrical concert linking Dante’s masterpiece with life questions of the present day. What is it to be human today? Is love and connection possible without facing the dark depths? Sterre Konijn descends into the dark caverns of Dante’s world and of her own soul. It is a quest for both love and darkness. A journey full of mystery and contemplation.

Will Sterre, who is usually kind and who as a small child only wrote the good news in her diary, succeed in seeking the chaos and the shadows? Does she manage to find love and harmony?

Italian vocals and Dutch lyrics are combined with a rich instrumentation including percussion, viola, synthesisers, theremin and duduk, performed by four all-round performers. With influences from contemporary classical music, Gregorian chant, pop music, non-Western music and minimal music, Sterre creates a bridge between old and new, between Dante’s world and our own.

Sterre Konijn takes you into her fascination with Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. To get out of his dark forest, the Italian poet makes a journey through Hell to Paradise. Through a long road on which he faces all monsters and undesirable but human traits, he finally finds the love and enlightenment he was looking for. 

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
Mi ritrovai per una selva oscura
Che la diritta via era smarrita.

Dante Alighieri