La Monnaie / De Munt LA MONNAIE / DE MUNT
© Antonin Waterkeyn / Midjourney
Opera

The Time of Our Singing
Kris Defoort
Kwamé Ryan, Ted Huffman

Presentation
Opera

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

 – 

Location

La Monnaie

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 (including 1 interval)

Part I: 1h30
Interval: 30’
Part II: 1h

Presentation

Introductory talks 45' before the start of the performance: in Dutch by Pieter Mannaerts (Bonbonnière) and in French by Delphine Clarinval (Grand Foyer)

More info

After the performance of 25.10: Aftertalk with Claron McFadden and other members of the cast in the Main Auditorium

OUT NOW: THE TIME OF OUR SINGING

On the occasion of this revival, the label Fuga Libera (Outhere Music) is releasing The Time of Our Singing on double CD. Download and stream the recording via this link, or purchase your copy before and after each performance in La Monnaie’s Entrance Hall. You can also get your CD personally autographed by composer Kris Defoort during the intermission.
 

MORE INFO
Gallery

Gallery

© Bernd Uhlig
© Hugo Segers
© Bernd Uhlig
© Bernd Uhlig
© Hugo Segers
© Bernd Uhlig
© Bernd Uhlig
© Hugo Segers
© Bernd Uhlig
© Bernd Uhlig
© Bernd Uhlig
© Bernd Uhlig
© Bernd Uhlig
© Simon Van Rompay
Dates & tickets

Dates

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 ÉclairagesBERND PURKRABEK VideoPIERRE MARTIN
ChoreographyALAN BARNES DramaturgyPETER VAN KRAAIJ & ANTONIO CUENCA RUIZ SoundVINCENT DE BAST

Delia DaleyCLARON MCFADDEN William DaleyMARK S. DOSS David StromSIMON BAILEY JonahLEVY SEKGAPANE JoeyPETER BRATHWAITE RuthABIGAIL ABRAHAM Lisette SoerLILLY JØRSTADRobert Rider HERVÉ LOKA SOMBO (silent role)

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

  • Time for Your Singing!

    La Monnaie invites all Belgian amateur choirs to perform a key scene from Kris Defoort’s opera The Time Of Our Singing!

    Read more
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