LA MONNAIE / DE MUNT

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.

You will immediately recognise this musical fragment, with one of the most recognisable and quoted melodies in the entire history of music. Peer Gynt fantasises about a visit to a troll, the mountain king, who, seated on his throne, rules over a people of gnomes and goblins. According to Grieg himself, it is the most idiosyncratic Norwegian work ever written.

For her legendary, often visceral stagings over the last four decades, she has scaled all heights and plumbed all depths of the human soul. This has earned her cult status and recognition as one of the all-time greats of German theatre. Discover Andrea Breth and her productions at La Monnaie.

Director Andrea Breth, an icon of the European theatre scene, gives her vision on Britten's chamber opera and clarifies from what angle she approached the piece in her staging.

In this introductory video conductor Ben Glassberg explains how Britten translates the titular "screw" in his music, General and Artistic Director Peter de Caluwe lays out how this project came to be, and scenographer Raimund Orfeo Voigt offers insight into the concept behind his ingenious set design. 

While rehearsing for our double concert dedicated to the best moments of Rossini’s Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra and Donizetti’s La favorita, Italian primo tenore Enea Scala took a moment to give us his vision of bel canto.