Herman van Veen

After his unforgettable, packed performances to mark his 60 years on stage and 80th birthday, Herman van Veen returns to Brussels in 2027 with his new show Vandaag. A personal, moving and musical journey full of stories, songs and reflections, with the unpredictable humour and sharp wit that have characterised him for decades now. And what a journey! Thanks to what he himself describes as “luck with genes” and especially "singing" – the things that he says keep him young and active – he still performs on stage with heart and soul, giving around 140 performances per year. Herman began his career in Belgium in the 1960s. Ever since, he has called it his motherland. Kwam laatst op de markt iemand tegen die me verbaasd aankeek. ‘Bestaat u nog?’ Had de neiging me om te draaien. We raakten aan de praat. De man had mij in de jaren zestig in de schouwburg gezien. Hij was ooit geëmigreerd maar terug naar Nederland gekomen om zich te zijner tijd in Utrecht te laten begraven. Vertelde hem dat naast de genetische mazzel, het zingen er waarschijnlijk voor gezorgd heeft dat ik nog steeds met hart en ziel zo’n honderdveertig voorstellingen per jaar kan spelen. Natuurlijk kraakt het hier en daar en spring ik niet zo hoog als met achtenzeventig jaar. Dus ja meneer, ik ben er nog. En als het aan mij ligt nog langer nog. - Herman van Veen Herman van Veen (1945) is a singer, writer, composer, painter and theatre maker. He grew up in Utrecht, where he also attended the Conservatorium. Since his debut in 1965, he has been travelling the world with his shows. He is a regular guest at venues including Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam (620 times to date), the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Philharmonie Berlin and the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerpen. He has performed in series on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall in New York, concerts at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and is a frequent guest in Paris at l’Olympia, La Salle Gaveau, Théâtre de la Ville and Théâtre de la Comédie des Champs-Elysées. He has released some 180 CDs, written about eighty books, penned two dozen theatre shows and produced a wealth of paintings. He has frequently received flowers, prizes, and honorary titles for both his artistic and humanitarian work. Herman is the father of four children, grandfather of three grandchildren, and stepfather to the animated orphan duck Alfred Jodocus Kwak and the just recently born fairy-tale character Anne de Poes.