Tineke van Ingelgem

If in ‘Das Rheingold’ the curtain fell with the hegemony of the gods in Valhalla, the second part of ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ opens with a mortal who, alone on Earth, faces a raging storm. Siegmund is called the hunted warrior, and when he briefly finds peace in a concealed hut, he meets the beautiful but equally hapless Sieglinde. An ardent and natural passion blossoms, but at the same time a hidden past surfaces that will seal their fate.

Le prince Tamino est chargé par la Reine de la nuit de libérer sa fille, Pamina, que le grand prêtre Sarastro retient captive. Accompagné par Papageno, un oiseleur farceur, Tamino entreprend un long périple semé d’épreuves pour délivrer la belle et conquérir son cœur. Au fil de sa quête, il découvre que la Reine de la nuit cherche en réalité à se venger de Sarastro… Dans cette production-événement, coup d'envoi de la saison 2018-2019 du Théâtre royal de la Monnaie, le plasticien et metteur en scène italien Romeo Castellucci s'empare du chef-d'œuvre lyrique de Mozart. Dans une mise en scène à l'esthétisme épuré, où le noir et le blanc se télescopent, où d'énigmatiques décontamineurs côtoient de délicats marquis et marquises, il en livre une version d'une surprenante audace. Une Flûte enchantée toute personnelle et férocement contemporaine.

Finding the right librettos was not easy, but one month after the end of the First World War, his triptych – the grim tragedy Il tabarro, the lyrical and sensitive Suor Angelica, and the comedy Gianni Schicchi – premiered in New York. Three different eras, three different settings, three different ‘colours’; though for Puccini, it is through the contrasts between them that the unity of the work is revealed. For his second time directing at La Monnaie, Tobias Kratzer preserves the original order of the pieces, while weaving them together to form a narrative whole, like a circle with no end. With a cast of artists from the extended La Monnaie family, Alain Altinoglu is the ideal conductor to meet the daunting challenges posed by this triptych.

Singing talent alone doesn't always get you to the top. In the brand new, grand VTM show 'Lift You Up', four Flemish top artists give unknown singing talent an unprecedented opportunity. They jeopardize their career to launch a new career. Metejoor, Laura Tesoro, Jasper Steverlinck and Bart Peeters each look for that one special singing talent with whom they click.