OPEN OPERA!
European Opera Days
Come and celebrate the European year of creativity and innovation during the third edition of the European Opera Days on 9 May! Opera houses will be open to all, from London to Brno and Barcelona to Tallinn.
On this occasion, the projectors will ignite the world premiere of Kris Defoort’s House of the Sleeping Beauties at La Monnaie. This new opera is based on the novella by the same name by Japanese author and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate Yasunari Kawabata. The doors of our theatre will be wide open, offering you a range of interesting activities free of charge, so that you may discover a surprising dialogue between the universe of Japan and opera. Voice, dance and writing workshops, original guided tours, encounters, readings of excerpts from Kawabata’s story, tea ceremonies, workshops for children: an exciting programme for everyone!
House of the Sleeping Beauties on stage
For the most part, the stage is where everything unfolds, yet we rarely have access to it. This is a unique chance to discover what is really behind the scenery.
11am & 11.30am in French and Dutch
Duration: 1 hour
160 professions
La Monnaie is an opera house gathering nearly 160 professions which are all essential to the creation of a performance on stage. Come and discover unexpected and even unknown professions, by visiting the various workshops at the theatre.
11am, 12.15pm, 1pm & 1.30pm in French
12pm, 12.45pm, 1.45pm & 2.30pm in Dutch
12.30pm, 1.15pm & 2.15pm in English
Duration: 1 hour
The making of House of the Sleeping Beauties
How is a new opera created? Discover the process from the very beginnings to the performance on stage.
2.45pm, 3.30pm & 4.15pm in Dutch
3pm, 3.45pm & 4.30pm in French
3.15pm & 4pm in English
Duration: 1 hour
Musical composition
Enter the universe of the opera House of the Sleeping Beauties through a reading of an excerpt from the score. The page turns blank and a reading of the libretto takes over. It is up to you to imagine how the music will unfold.
Knowledge of music required
11am & 2pm bilingual workshops (French-Dutch) led by composer Peter Swinnen
Duration: 2 hours
Writing
Create a short dramaturgical text inspired by haiku and based on minimalist scenery, two characters and the dazzling possibilities of your imagination.
12pm & 3pm workshops in French led by author Xavier Deutsch
Duration: 2 hours
Voice
Come and discover the unexpected potential of your voice! And where there is a voice there is space. A workshop during which body, voice and space join forces.
1pm & 3.15pm bilingual workshops (French-Dutch) led by the Cultural development collaborators
Duration: 2 hours
Dance
Participate in this active presentation and experience the encounter between the worlds of dance and opera!
1pm & 3pm workshops in English led by Kaori Ito, dancer from the Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui company
Duration: 1 hour
Workshop for children: What is an opera?
One and a half hours to discover the universe of opera and to delve into the Asian imagination. For this original journey, the children will become the heroes in a story they invent themselves.
11am workshops in French and Dutch for children aged 7 to 9
1pm workshop in French for children aged 10 to 12
3pm workshop in Dutch for children aged 10 to 12
Workshops led by Cultural development collaborators
Duration: 1 hour 30 min
Encounter with Peter de Caluwe, general director of La Monnaie
Peter de Caluwe will share his ideas about innovation and creativity as regards opera today.
4.45pm bilingual (French-Dutch)
Duration: 45 min
Opera professions mount the podium
Ironworkers, stage managers, props managers, assistants, etc. There are many surprising and unknown professions which are necessary in an opera house. Specialists and artisans from all horizons reveal the 1001 facets of their professions using a key object!
11am-5pm non-stop
Encounter with dramatist Marianne Van Kerkhoven
Marianne Van Kerkhoven will present her work as dramatist for the production of House of the Sleeping Beauties, with video excerpts from The Woman Who Walked into Doors, the first opera by duo Kris Defoort and Guy Cassiers.
3pm in Dutch
Duration: 45 min
Readings of texts by Kawabata in Japanese, tea ceremony and musical interlude
Dive into Kawabata’s universe with the musicality of a reading of excerpts in Japanese from the House of the Sleeping Beauties. And make the moment last to the sound of the koto – a traditional Japanese stringed instrument – before the tea ceremony and some tea sampling.
11.15am, 1.15pm & 3.15pm
Duration: 1 hour 15 min
Introduction to the opera House of the Sleeping Beauties
Interview with Marianne Van Kerkhoven, dramatist for the production.
5.30pm bilingual (French-Dutch)
House of the Sleeping Beauties by Kris Defoort
The new opera by Kris Defoort and Guy Cassiers. A sensory experience not to be missed!
6pm
Encounter with Kris Defoort
A unique chance to meet Kris Defoort after the performance and to exchange ideas and points of view with a contemporary composer.
8pm bilingual (French-Dutch)
Kris Defoort concert
A man, a piano and a unique concert for everyone, in the entrance hall of La Monnaie.
9pm
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