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.
On Thursday, December 11, 2025, the annual ELLE Woman of the Year Awards will be presented at BOZAR. During this prestigious event, ELLE magazine celebrates women who embody progress through their talent, creativity, and courage, and whose inspiring work has a meaningful impact on society. The evening brings together pioneers, leaders, and changemakers from a wide range of fields — including science, sports, entrepreneurship, technology, social engagement, and the arts.
As General and Artistic Director of La Monnaie, Christina Scheppelmann is among this year’s nominees — a recognition of her lifelong commitment to bringing art and opera closer to the public. “I feel both honored and surprised by this nomination,” said Christina Scheppelmann in an official statement. “Being nominated for ELLE Woman of the Year is something I never dared to dream of, but I’m deeply grateful for this recognition. It makes me truly happy to be able to shine a light on the cultural world in this way.”
After a lecture on the stage of La Monnaie where renowned author J. M. Coetzee was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Christina Scheppelmann announced that the 2003 Nobel Prize winner in Literature will write an opera inspired by his own works for our 2027–2028 season.
On 29 September 2025, the façade of La Monnaie will turn red for World Heart Day. With this symbolic gesture, our opera house joins a global movement raising awareness about cardiovascular diseases.
Want to watch an opera from your living room? Now you can, thanks to VRT MAX! La Monnaie and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen are each offering three operas to watch for free for six months, with classics by Mozart and Verdi, and Kris Defoort’s The Time of Our Singing.
