To celebrate the upcoming revival at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, recording group Outhere just released La Monnaie’s award-winning production of Jakob Lenz on dvd.
In 2015, Wolfgang Rihm’s unsettling opera adaptation of Georg Büchner’s novella Lenz proved an unexpected hit for the Staatsoper Stuttgart and La Monnaie, as more than 50 opera journalists from around the world elected it Production of the Year in the reference magazine Opernwelt. The fact that a chamber opera for three protagonists and barely twelve musicians, written in the late seventies by a composer then 26 years old, found unanimous praise among professional critics, was due to the synergy between three exceptional artists: stage director Andrea Breth and conductor Franck Ollu created from the psychodrama of the romantic poet Jakob Lenz, the spectre of a modernity abandoned by the gods and devoid of meaning. In the lead role, baritone Georg Nigl did not spare himself, voice and body alike, and with the total, almost disturbing commitment of his performance, earned himself the title of Opera Singer of the Year. In September he returns to Brussels for the lead role in Macbeth Underworld.
From 3 June to 22 September, La Monnaie and Muntpunt are transforming Rue Royale—the small street between their buildings—into a vibrant summer spot. A long table will serve as a welcoming meeting place where locals and passers-by can read, have lunch, play board games, or simply soak up the sun.
To mark Pride Week, La Monnaie decorates its façade in rainbow colours, to show its unwavering support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
A real feast for the eyes and ears in 2023, La Monnaie’s production of Tchaikovsky’s most intimate and celebrated opera, directed by Laurent Pelly and conducted by Alain Altinoglu, is now available on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming via Naxos.
