La Monnaie / De Munt La Monnaie
De Munt
Behind the scenes
In the wings of the opera
Hugo Segers

Rehearsal spaces

Malibran

Workshops

The Malibran Room is used for stage rehearsals. It's here that stagingStaging - All the elements that contribute to a production, including actors, sets, lighting, and rhythm, and shape the aesthetic and vision of the work. that has been months in the making finally comes to life!

About six weeks before the opera's premierePremiere - The first public performance of an opera , the solo singers arrive at La Monnaie, already having memorised the entire scoreScore - Document containing a number of symbols (including notes) enabling music to be read and played. .

Constance Proux
Trilogia rehearsals (2020)

Temporary sets are used for the initial rehearsals, as the first scenes start to materialise and take shape.

Pieter Claes
Cassandra rehearsals (2023)

This is where the real acting begins. Performers work on movements, positioning, and crucially, the conveyance of emotions, attitudes, expressions, and the detailed gestures of their characters, as well as their interactions.

Hugo Segers
The Tale of Tsar Saltan rehearsals (2023)

Opera can be a real workout! Performers might find themselves singing and dancing at the same time, lying down, suspended from the ceiling, or even in a flaming car… And that’s just the beginning.

Hugo Segers
The Time of Our Singing rehearsals (2021)

The director leads the rehearsals with the conductor standing by. These rehearsals are accompanied by a piano, while the orchestra rehearses in another room.

Simon Van Rompay

Lulu (2021)

Soprano Barbara Hannigan rehearses Lulu with director Krzysztof Warlikowski and conductor Alain Altinoglu.

Why the name « Malibran »?

The name "Malibran" for the large rehearsal hall, spanning 555 m2, honours the famous singer Maria Malibran, who lived in Brussels in the late 1820s. It is said of “La Malibran” that she could sing while crying!