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 …

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.

“Without dancing, there would be no eros and thanatos, and without these two, there would be no nineteenth-century opera”. Director Olivier Py has a penchant for dance, and during the interval of his new production of Henry VIII, you can even admire ballet on the Place de la Monnaie! Today, we tend to think of opera and ballet as two different art forms, but a dip into Western music history reveals that they have been sharing the stage for centuries - perhaps even from the very dawn of opera as an art form.

In June 2022 we had the pleasure of announcing the appointment of Belgian violinist and Queen Elisabeth Competition laureate, Sylvia Huang, as the concertmaster of our Symphony Orchestra. After two concerts at the beginning of the year, she is about to perform Henry VIII, her first opera in the pit of La Monnaie. The perfect time to pause and, literally, reflect.

The king’s desire. The dangers of the court. Anne Boleyn’s ambition. The distress of Catherine of Aragon. The Pope’s warnings. Incriminating letters … It's the perfect material for a French grand opéra. Read the full synopsis of Henry VIII here, along with a selection of the opera’s musical highlights.

When a bel canto nightingale spreads her wings. After the birth of her baby daughter, Olga Peretyatko discovered she was ready to broaden her musical horizons. For her first recital at La Monnaie, she presents a programme dedicated to the songs of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Dvořák, as well as two Ukrainian composers. "These Slavic melodies are just completely another world."

In preparation for Bastarda, we present the historical figures featured in this production. Learn about the Tudors and the members of their court from portraits of our cast taken at La Monnaie, accompanied by a short biography. 

From the large mirror hanging in the stairwell to the smallest make-up mirror backstage, there are many places at La Monnaie where artists can indulge in self-reflection. Today, soprano Emma Posman – currently performing Talus in Solar – is doing just that. 

Challenged by the betrayal of her political enemies as well as her 'favourites', it is not just an older but also a more dangerous Queen Elizabeth I that we get to know in part two of Bastarda. Read the summary here.

The first part of Bastarda focuses on the life of young Elizabeth: from her childhood, marked by the tragic death of her mother Anne Boleyn, through her unexpected coronation to the ultimate confrontation with her cousin and rival Mary Stuart. Read the synopsis here.

When creating an opera production, nothing is left to chance. Literally everything has to be thought through, every character, every movement, every note, every colour or detail. The dazzling costumes for Bastarda are the latest proof that such a creation process takes an enormous amount of time, care and deliberation. An interview with designer Petra Reinhardt and Regine Becker, head of the La Monnaie costume department.