LA MONNAIE / DE MUNT

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?

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.

Romantic vocal lines, atonal sprechgesang or even just spoken word – give Georg Nigl a text and he imprints expression and meaning on each and every syllable. In honour of his literary recital, we delved deep into our archives and found this – equally literary – fragment: his heartfelt interpretation of the poet Jakob Lenz in the eponymous opera by Wolfgang Rihm, which earned him the title of ‘Singer of the Year’ in 2015.

At la Monnaie, we are aware of the urgency of the climate challenge and want to ensure sustainability is part of all our institutional practices. In the 2018-19 season, we initiated the 'Green Opera' project to develop an eco-responsible production model. Project manager Sophie Cornet and Etienne Andreys (head of our set workshops) present some of the spearpoints of the project.

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 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.

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. 

Alain Altinoglu is back at La Monnaie to conduct his first opera production of the year. We got to follow our Music Director during the orchestral rehearsals of Tosca, after which he kindly took place behind the piano to guide us along the great musical themes that make this opera one of the must-see pieces of the repertoire.

From his personal connection with Rome to the influences of Caravaggio and Pier Paolo Pasolini. From the way he approaches the main characters to the inspiration of the moment in the rehearsal room ... The Spanish stage director Rafael R. Villalobos guides you through the latest La Monnaie production.