For more than three centuries, new operas have been born in the heart of Brussels, a tradition we are proud to continue in the 21st century. Because we firmly believe that The Great Repertoire is not a closed book, but a story to which each era can add its own chapter, full of exciting music, relevant themes and innovative writing. Our era too. That is why we will present one or two brand new commissioned works every season until 2025. You can follow the preparations for these unique productions on this blog.
In its complete version, originally intended as a mini-series for television, Fanny och Alexander lasts about 5 hours. If that makes you wonder whether this work actually lends itself to a theatrical adaptation, you should know that Ingmar Bergman himself wrote a version for the stage. For those interested: the piece is currently being performed at the Comédie Française in Paris....
Here's the Woman! Time for Albane Carrère to step into the spotlight. During the first video recordings, our costumiers and make-up artists transformed her for the first time into the protagonist of Is this the End? #2, a mysterious woman lost between life and death, between illusion and reality.
Between 50,000 and 70,000 people marched in the capital on Sunday, each of them aware of the scale of the problem and the need to change our lifestyles. An atmosphere of solidarity, indignation and commitment. Signs and slogans everywhere, some humorous, others with a more direct message of concern. A striking number of young people, including the activists of Youth for Climate, but all generations are represented...
Another demonstration to draw the attention of politicians and citizens to the urgency of the climate issue. Will they be heard this time?
Bergman has always stuck with me, because his films are at the same time harsh and tender. They can be bitter, they look life straight into the eye, but in this they always remain humane.Ivo van Hove
With Fanny och Alexander, Ivo van Hove is not entering unknown territory. The celebrated Belgian director has already made several theatrical adaptations of films by Ingmar Bergman: Scenes from a Marriage (2005), Cries and Whispers (2009), After the Rehearsal / Persona (2013).
On September 22nd, La Monnaie hosted the first meeting between composer Bernard Foccroulle – whose opera Cassandra deals with the urgent issue of climate change – and young activists from Youth for Climate. It provoked a fascinating exchange about the difficulty climate campaigners have making their voices heard.
Present at the meeting were a number of key figures from the ‘Green Opera’ project at La Monnaie and composer Kris Defoort. Later that evening, Anuna Dewever and her fellow activists attended the latter’s latest creation The Time of Our Singing, which gave them some idea of the scale of an opera and the ecological challenges staging it presents.
I knew that the score of my opera that I'm writing, or rather the two-thirds that I’ve finished, was in good hands. It wasn’t at my place. I remember when I was rescued, when I was taken down from the balcony with a lift, that this was the first thing that popped in my head: "Ah, I still have my notes." That was more important than all my furniture together.Philippe Boesmans in La Conversation avec Camille De Rijck on Musiq3 - 16-9-21
Each opera is the result of a complex symbiosis of hundreds of sounds, talents, metiers and emotions. And yet everything always starts with the basics: a piano, a human voice and a score waiting to be discovered. This is how it all begins for Is this the End?#2 too, during the first musical rehearsal with conductor Ouri Bronchti and soloists Albane Carrère, Sarah Defrise and Amaury Massion (lylac) on Wednesday 18 August.
Cisgender, fluidity, transgender, non-binary... Issues of gender identity not only form one of the cornerstones of Les Nids d'oiseaux, they have become increasingly central to many people's expressions of self. A new vocabulary is emerging to account for the differences between body, sex (the anatomy prescribed at birth) and gender. Language helps us to identify who we are and to understand others. In this National Geographic article you will find a glossary to help you find your way in the rainbow of possible identities .
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNiIgn3B-Lg
"This commission is the final link in a chain of miracles." (continued). We write September 1 of the 2020 corona year. After months of lockdown, La Monnaie announces its rescheduled autumn programme. The first opera for which an audience is allowed back in the Great Hall? À l’extrême bord du monde, Harold Noben’s chamber opera about the last days of writer Stefan Zweig and his wife Lotte, just before their suicide in Petrópolis, Brazil. Whereas the planning of an opera house is normally fixed for years, this piece now unexpectedly gets the chance to have its world premiere at La Monnaie. The arrival of the piano quartet is hanging by a thread, in just a few weeks a semi-staged production must be worked out and the number of rehearsal days in La Monnaie are very limited. But Leonard Bernstein already knew that "to achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time." The creation on 4 October is such a success that General director Peter de Caluwe promptly asks the composer for a new symphonic creation...
With three quarters of the opera score now completed, composer Bassem Akiki has meanwhile had the opportunity to test his innovative compositional technique (more on this later) on a symphonic orchestral work. Huis Clos I is based on two musical themes from Amor fati, which are consistently developed according to the same mathematical principles that also govern the opera. The title refers to Sartre's existential drama that, together with Racine's Andromaque, forms the basis of the libretto, but also to the fact that the piece was written in full lockdown. Bassem Akiki conducted its premiere on 27 August 2020, at the head of the Sinfonia Varsovia chamber orchestra.