La Gioconda is one of those forgotten nineteenth century masterpieces: a grand drama with six leading roles, huge choral parts and a spectacular ballet... La Monnaie brings this all too rarely performed jewel of Italian ‘grande opera’. Not to be missed!
“If a piece is long, arduous, violent, sombre and hasn’t been performed for at least one-and-a-half years, they call up Olivier Py.” The French stage director surely sees the humour in it all. Truth is, his intense, timeless productions have been a major contribution to the reappraisal of the French ‘grand opéra’. In this video portrait, Py reveals his artistic credo and looks back on his previous stagings at La Monnaie.
Sad, happy, melancholy, passionate, insane … The character of Folly occupies an essential place in baroque music. For the final recital of the 2022-23 season, Stéphanie d’Oustrac will explore the various facets of this intriguing personification in the company of Ensemble Amarillis. We sat down with the French mezzo-soprano, for an open conversation about her programme, the pleasures and perils of her profession, and the follies large and small of everyday life …
The Queen Elisabeth Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious musical competitions. It also represents a huge logistical challenge. On the occasion of this 2023 edition dedicated to the Voice, we looked into the practical issues raised by the participation of the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra in the competition …
It’s now or never
21 May is the moment: that is when mezzo soprano Lotte Verstaen and soprano Margaux de Valensart will join 53 other young singers from around the world, in the first round of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth competition. Since 2015, Belgium’s hopefuls for this edition have been connected to La Monnaie, as members of the MM Academy.
