LA MONNAIE / DE MUNT

In Zauberland, Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe, cornerstone of the Lied genre, is paired with new compositions by Bernard Foccroulle. We payed our previous intendant a visit to ask him about his inspiration behind this engaged recital production.

Trilogia Mozart Da Ponte is set in Brussels in the year 2020. The French creative arts company Clarac-Deloeuil > le lab is using Mozart to kick the ‘here and now’ into overdrive by making maximum use of video technology. In parallel to rehearsals for the three operas, the company also mobilized a full film crew and, with all the singers from the cast in tow, made its way to twenty-three surprising locations in Brussels. We went along to the set to talk to le lab directors Olivier Deloeuil and Jean-Philippe Clarac.

It can be quite challenging to get hold of a conductor in the final stretch before an opera premiere, let alone when he’s conducting three productions at the same time. We did however manage to talk to Antonello Manacorda, who will guide our orchestra through the Trilogia Mozart Da Ponte, about the musical genius from Salzburg.

Whatever politicians may be claiming, nobody is better suited to embody “the voice of the people” than our Choir. From partying peasants to wide-awake soldiers, from experienced sailors to loyal servants: no challenge too great for our choristers. In the Trilogia Mozart Da Ponte, for once, they can just be themselves: Brusseleirs in this present day and age. In a two-part documentary we follow them in their preparations for our Mozartian triptych.

He’s known the work for almost two decades, and being a French conductor with an immaculate feeling for coloration and rhythmical precision, it’s as if Offenbach wrote the score with him in mind. And yet… Alain Altinoglu has waited until now to tackle Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Why? We’ll let our maestro himself explain that, all while he's performing the highlights of the opera at the piano.

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 December, the Polish stage director presents a new staging of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann in the house that has played a key role in his opera career. In this video portrait, he walks us through his previous La Monnaie productions.

‘Love makes us great, but tears greater still…’ This season, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Jacques Offenbach with a new production of his musical will and testament, Les Contes d’Hoffmann. The fantastic tale, the musical archaeology of the score, and the staging choices: they all take you on fascinating but winding roads. Follow the guide!

No clear-cut reprise, but not a complete rewrite either: Zeitigung might be the most original example of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s ever continuing search for new approaches to the Rosas repertoire. Ten years after the premiere of Zeitung, the choreographer starts off with the same musical building blocks – an anthology of two centuries of German classical music, now performed live by pianist Alain Franco – but she also invited dancer-choreographer Louis Nam Le Van Ho to bring his own flavour to the source material. A conversation with the three creators, in between the folds of a never-ending creative process.

In his composition Don Quixot, Strauss assigns the roles of the dreamy knight and his cranky but faithful servant Sancho Panza tot the cello and the viola. Wondering how that works? We sat down with Georgi Anichenko and Yves Cortvrint, the two soloists who take on the roles during our concert on the 20^th of November.

Call it magnetism, call it hypnotic powers, but when Audrey Bonnet enters a space, something happens. That goes for both the empty opera stage in Romeo Castellucci’s production of Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher, and the small rehearsal studio where we meet the French actress to discuss her internationally lauded 'tour the force'. Have a look for yourself.

It takes the power of a heroine, the sensitivity of a virgin and the perseverance of a martyr: the title role in Giovanna d’Arco demands for a soprano out of the ordinary. Enter Salome Jicia! In between two rehearsals, we talked to our lead singer about Verdi, his music and the challenges of singing Giovanna.

Shaping Silence. Get the bigger picture of the creative process behind a brand-new opera, as we follow the artistic team of Le Silence des ombres during their rehearsals.

Part 3: We leave our Workshops and move to the KVS. In the last stretch of the production process, composer Benjamin Attahir dots the i's and crosses the t's during the stage-orchestra rehearsals, while sopranos Julia Szproch and Raquel Camarinha tell us how they experienced the last few weeks.