C(h)œurs at La Monnaie

As he did with Mozart (Wolf), Monteverdi (Vsprs) and Bach (Iets op Bach and Pitié!), Alain Platel immerses us in an extraordinary musical, choreographic and human experience based on extracts for chorus by Verdi and Wagner whose bicentenaries we are celebrating this year. 80 chorus singers from the Teatro Real and 10 dancers will gather on stage to explore the power of these opera fragments which – in the 19th century – expressed people’s aspirations to liberty and national unity. How can these aspirations be interpreted today, at a time of introspection concerning identity and protests by indignados? How can the irresistible emotion which emanates from these big collective choirs be presented without losing the individual heart beat? Alain Platel and his impressive group of performers give shape and voice to these questions with a poignant commitment, in a tribute to what brings us together and sets us apart.