With the world premiere of ‘Frankenstein’, the first opera of Mark Grey is finally coming to life. We sat down with the American composer and sound engineer, discussing his interpretation of Mary Shelley's famous science fiction novel. How did he and director Àlex Ollé (La Fura dels Baus) manage to transport the centuries-old creature to the present day (and even the distant future)?
On 8 March, the very first opera of the US composer Mark Grey will be created at La Monnaie : Frankenstein. The original novel by Mary Shelley is brought to the stage by La Fura dels Baus in an impressive sci-fi setting. The Catalan collective has previous been invited to La Monnaie for Le Grand Macabre, Œdipe and Un ballo in maschera.
“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.
For the first time in human history, we are contemplating the end of our species. How does that affect our experience of a requiem, of beauty? In this video, director Romeo Castellucci and conductor Raphaël Pichon reflect on the questions raised by Mozart's last, unfinished score.
Belgian composer Philippe Boesmans (born in Tongeren, May 17, 1936), died in Brussels on Sunday evening after a short illness. We are deeply saddened by the passing of this artist who was so dear to our house and we offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
