Tom Goossens

Tom Goossens started studying drama at KASK in Ghent, Belgium, in 2012. From his third bachelor year onwards, he focused on opera direction. In addition to his own work, he assisted opera director Guy Joosten at the International Opera Academy in 2016 and 2017. Goossens became a resident at Translab, the young-maker operation within Muziektheater Transparant. Under Translab and his own company, DESCHONECOMPANIE, he created Così and Le Nozze which, together with his graduation performance Don Juan, form DEDAPONTETRILOGY, three adaptations of the Mozart-da Ponte operas. In this cycle, the three performances were programmed at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV), De Munt, Operadagen Rotterdam and Theater Aan Zee.

Early 2019, Goossens created his first children’s performance Banket! Or De Wraak Op De Macbeths for OBV. In 2019, he became an artist in residence at OBV. After a semi-scenic direction of Der Jasager and Ravel’s one-act L’Heure Espagnole with Flanders Youth Orchestra, he made his opera debut there in 2023 with Le Nozze di Figaro.

With DESCHONECOMPANIE, he created two more opera adaptations: Rigoletto and The Barber. In the summer of 2023, with Muziektheater Transparant, he created a radical adaptation of J. Strauss’ Die Fledermaus: Fledermaus Forever.

As an actor, Goossens appeared in Steven Prengels and Arno Synaeve’s musical theatre production Berg and in his own production Rigoletto.

Besides working in theatre, Goossens also works as a teacher of Musical Theatrical Education at the classical singing class of the Ghent Conservatory of Music.

foto: Marcel Lennartz