Holland Festival presents a chilling opera by composer Ben Frost
There is nothing quite like the hold True Crime has over its audience. From gory plotlines to suspenseful crescendos… it is the car crash phenomenon which has taken over the world. Whether you are a documentary-watcher, podcast-listener, or YouTube hunter, there are many mediums in which True Crime finds its audience, however, one of the lesser-known gems is this operatic performance, With The Murder of Halit Yozgat, by Australian composer Ben Frost. Known for his diverse body of work, featuring experimental and electronic sounds, Frost is presenting this year at the Holland Festival a dark and alluring opera narrating a crime that took place in 2006.
21-year-old Halit Yozgat was murdered in broad daylight on April 6, 2006, five witnesses were present, and it took place at his family’s Internet cafe. Yozgat was shot twice in the head. However, nobody noticed anything? Not even the undercover agent who was present. This gripping and puzzling tale has been reconstructed by Ben Frost using an unconventional (and highly alluring) combination of sound, from deep foreboding electronics to dark metal. This performance, described as “chilling”, connects the dots — asks the questions every true-crimer would ask — and reflects on the “sound that no one paid attention to”.
