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 October 13th, the VUB awarded J. M. Coetzee an honorary doctorate during a ceremony held at La Monnaie. The evening was rounded off with a lecture by the author, followed by musical highlights from operas inspired by his work.
Our General and Artistic Director Christina Scheppelmann also had the immense pleasure to announce that J. M. Coetzee would be writing the libretto of a brand-new opera, centred on one of his most iconic characters, Elisabeth Costello. This creation, with music by Belgian composer Nicholas Lens, will premiere on the stage of La Monnaie during the 2027-28 season.
According to Christina Scheppelmann, ‘This is a very exciting new commission of an opera! Nicholas Lens is writing the music to J.M. Coetzee’s libretto based on his own book. Presenting a new opera is a beautiful challenge and we look forward to working on this project with the creators. Nicholas already appeared at La Monnaie in 2014 with Shell Shock – with a libretto by Nick Cave – and now this next opera with a libretto by a, Nobel-prize winner J.M. Coetzee in the spring of 2028. Elizabeth Costello in limbo will be staged by the excellent Barbora Horáková and with Allison Cook, a fabulous singer-artist, in the title role.’
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 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.
