LA MONNAIE / DE MUNT

Heard in movies as diverse as The Iron Lady, 2046 and Avengers: Age of Ultron, "Casta Diva" is one of the most famous arias (more precisely, a cavatina) in operatic history. But there is much more to Norma than this piece alone. The Italian conductor Sesto Quatrini explores five other unforgettable extracts.

One week to go, and with the arrival of the orchestra, the team behind Lulu shifts into top gear. What does the full orchestra pit change for our leading soprano? And how does she prepare for the final sprint after a marathon of five intense weeks of rehearsals?

Bringing a production back to life in an opera house, nine years after its first performance, is only possible through a whole series of small steps, all lined up like dominoes. Stretching from the last closing night to the upcoming opening night, they involve every single part of the show, and therefore every department that worked on the original production.

Living the life of a monk, dealing with bruises and a daily trial of strength with an intimidating score: it takes a lot to climb the Everest of soprano roles. In this video portrait, we follow Barbara Hannigan during the first weeks of her preparations for Lulu. "I don't want to think about opening night, much less about closing night." 

One of the leading lights in the European theatre, Krzysztof Warlikowski is celebrated for his psychological precision, the non-conformism of his dramaturgical readings and his contemporary visual language. In this video portrait, he walks us through his previous La Monnaie productions.

The bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner behind The Time of Our Singing would have loved to attend the world premiere of this opera adaptation. The promotional obligations surrounding his latest novel Bewilderment decided otherwise. A planned encounter with the author thus became an extended Zoom conversation that deserves to be shared here in its entirety - despite the occasional internet glitch and subpar pixel quality.

A few days before the world premiere, we talk to conductor Kwamé Ryan about the unique musical mix in The Time of Our Singing, his collaboration with composer Kris Defoort, and what it means to bring this immensely relevant opera to life in this day and age.

In this programme text, conductor Kwamé Ryan dissects from a personal point of view the topic of multi-ethnic identity and the musical eclecticism in The Time of Our Singing.

In The Time of Our Singing, Abigail Abraham plays Ruth Daley, a character at the crossroads of various musical influences. We followed the singer during a jam session at Kris Defoort's home and talked to her about her connection with Ruth.

In The Time of Our Singing, the US writer Richard Powers describes how, against the backdrop of post-war segregation in his country, a racially mixed family is both united and pulled apart by music. The novel inspired Kris Defoort for his magnum opus. We paid the Belgian composer a visit, to discuss this La Monnaie commission in the company of his librettist Peter van Kraaij.

A bloodhound and a not-quite-so-innocent shepherd. Our production of Tosca sees MM Academy members Kamil Ben Hsaïn Lachiri and Logan Lopez Gonzalez at work on the opera stage. The two young singers talk about their experience in our training programme, their first steps as professional singers and their role in Tosca.

He might be the youngest artist to take the stage for Tosca, but Sacha Pirlet is not your average twelve-year-old. With plenty of experience in the field of acting for both film and stage and with his coach Mehdi Mojahid to back him up, Sacha is more than ready to step into the shoes of Pier Paolo Pasolini.