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.

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.

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.

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.

Part 2 of our video series on the rehearsals of Le Silence des ombres, starring composer Benjamin Attahir himself and with a cameo for an uncommon musical instrument.

Thomas Jolly takes us backstage during the rehearsals for La Monnaie’s brand new opera Macbeth Underworld. France’s latest Shakespeare-sensation talked to us at length about his latest project, the collaboration with Pascal Dusapin and the atmosphere at our opera house.

Shaping Silence. Get the bigger picture of the creative process behind a brand-new opera, as we follow composer Benjamin Attahir,  stage director Olivier Lexa and a cast of young singers during their rehearsals for Le Silence des ombres.

From Shakespeare to Judi Dench, from the inspiration he found in films to the opera singers he chose for the leading roles: the French composer Pascal Dusapin discusses the genesis of his new opera commissioned by La Monnaie, Macbeth Underworld.

A quick introduction to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Tale of Tsar Saltan? Time for a knock on the door of our dramaturge Marie Mergeay. In less than four minutes, she guides you through the final opera production of this season. Major stops: the city of Tmutarakan, the isle of Buyan and the creative brain of stage director Dmitri Tcherniakov.