In December 2022, La Monnaie presented the world premiere of On purge bébé!, Philippe Boesmans' final opera. The recording of this mischievous one-acter, conducted by Bassem Akiki, is now out on the Fuga Libera label.
Inspired by Georges Feydeau’s vaudeville, On purge bébé ! tells the story of the all-too-common troubles in the Follavoine family. Just as Monsieur is about to close a deal with the French army for his ‘unbreakable’ chamber pots, Madame launches into a spiel about their tyrannical son Toto’s constipation. It is the beginning of a madcap day in which both chamber pots and petit bourgeois façade meet their end.
The release has already received praise from the music press for "the perfect rendering of the richness of the score" and the "great theatrical commitment" of the cast, led by Jean-Sébastien Bou, Jodie Devos and Denzil Delaere.
Discover the recording on CD, or via download and stream.
As part of the worldwide Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the façade of La Monnaie was lit up in pink on Sunday, 19 October. Through this symbolic gesture, our house aims to highlight what is still insufficiently known about the disease.
During a literary encounter with J. M. Coetzee on the stage of La Monnaie, Christina Scheppelmann announced that the 2003 Nobel Prize winner in Literature is writing a libretto for a new La Monnaie opera, to be premiered in the 2027–2028 season: Elizabeth Costello in limbo.
Christina Scheppelmann, who became the first female General and Artistic Director of La Monnaie this season, has been nominated for the ELLE Woman of the Year 2025 award.
