Oh how we looked forward to her role debut as Countess in our production of Pikovaya Dama! A couple of months after she was forced to cease rehearsals in Brussels, Anne Sofie von Otter found a way to sing for the La Monnaie audience after all. Enjoy this performance of the folk tune “Vindarna sucka uti skogarna” from her own backyard, and let the Swedish opera royalty drift you into the summer holidays.
From the scene with the seductive flower girls in the garden of the sorcerer Klingsor to the heavenly voices in the mighty finale: Parsifal offers the ladies of our Chorus music that is as beautiful as it is difficult to sing. We followed soprano Annelies Kerstens and guest chorus master Johannes Knecht during the preparations.
“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.