6 historic key moments
in ‘The Time of Our Singing’
LA MONNAIE / DE MUNT
Opera
The Time of Our Singing
Kris Defoort Kwamé Ryan, Ted Huffman
Kris Defoort
Presentation
1939. African-American contralto Marian Anderson delivers her legendary performance before a huge crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. This is where David Strom and Delia Daley meet. He is an immigrant German-Jewish physicist. She is a young, Philadelphia-born African-American woman with a sublime voice. Out of their shared passion for music grows a love story and, ultimately also, a warm family with three children: Jonah, who will become a talented tenor, Joey a pianist, and Ruth, an activist who will fight segregation. Theirs is the chronicle of a mixed family both united and divided by music in the turbulence of post-war America.
Crowned ‘Best World Premiere’ at the International Opera Awards after its premiere in 2021, The Time of Our Singing returns to La Monnaie. In collaboration with librettist Peter van Kraaij, conductor Kwamé Ryan and director Ted Huffman, Kris Defoort conjures an imaginary space where History with a capital H and history with a small h intertwine, where people come together to weave a story, and where jazz and classical music enrich one another. Rarely has a contemporary opera been so profoundly rooted in the now while raising so many universal themes.
Are you under 30? Then attend this opera on the Young Opera Night (25.10.2024) and we treat you to a personal welcome, a free drink, a free programme book and an after-event.
Dates & tickets
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Location
Prices
Dynamic ticket prices
Starting from € 12 to € 170
-30 years: € 10 / 25 / 50
-15 years: € 10 / 25 (only via MM Tickets)
Language
Sung in English
Surtitles in Dutch and French
Running time
3:00 (1 intermission)
Presentation
Introductory talks 45' before the start of the performance: in Dutch by Pieter Mannaerts (Bonbonnière) and in French by Delphine Clarinval (Grand Foyer)
Raising Voices Festival
The power of music, diversity and togetherness: from 17 to 22 October, La Monnaie celebrates The Time of Our Singing with a long weekend full of concerts, performances, lectures, workshops, tours and events in the heart of Brussels.
DISCOVER THE PROGRAMME
Gallery
Magazine
Dates & Tickets
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Thu 24 Oct 2024
Time19:30
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Fri 25 Oct 2024
Time19:30
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Sun 27 Oct 2024
Time15:00
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Tue 29 Oct 2024
Time19:30
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Thu 31 Oct 2024
Time19:30
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Sat 02 Nov 2024
Time19:30
VenueLast tickets
Cast
Cast
An opera by Kris Defoort
Libretto by Peter van Kraaij
Based on the novel by Richard Powers
Premiere La Monnaie 14.9.2021
ConductorKWAMÉ RYAN
DirectorTED HUFFMAN
Set designJOHANNES SCHÜTZ CostumesASTRID KLEIN LightingBERND PURKRABEK VideoPIERRE MARTIN ChoreographyALAN BARNES DramaturgyPETER VAN KRAAIJ & ANTONIO CUENCA RUIZSoundVINCENT DE BAST
Delia DaleyCLARON MCFADDEN William DaleyMARK S. DOSS David StromSIMON BAILEY JonahLEVY SEKGAPANE JoeyPETER BRATHWAITE RuthABIGAIL ABRAHAM Lisette SoerLILLY JØRSTAD
La Monnaie Chamber orchestra
Jazz quartet (Robin Verheyen, Lander Gyselinck, Nicolas Thys, Hendrik Lasure)
Equinox children's chorus led by Zeno Popescu
Production DE MUNT / LA MONNAIECo-production LOD MUZIEKTHEATER
THEATER ST.GALLEN
News
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Time for Your Singing!
Read moreLa Monnaie invites all Belgian amateur choirs to perform a key scene from Kris Defoort’s opera The Time Of Our Singing!
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