Brussels' La Monnaie named world's best opera house

Brussels’ La Monnaie opera house, the stark white neo-classical centrepiece of Place de la Monnaie in central Brussels, has been awarded the title of best opera house in the world.

Known for offering myriad family and schools activities, the jury of the Oper! Awards notably praised the Monnaie’s “inviting openness”.

“Under general and artistic director Peter de Caluwe, La Monnaie exudes an enormous appeal and inviting openness that brings both artists and audiences together in the opera house for top creative performances,” said Ulrich Ruhnke, who chaired the Oper! Awards jury.

“The selection, level and aesthetics of the productions can be called ground-breaking on more than one occasion and also make opera accessible to younger generations.”

Welcoming the news, De Caluwe said: “The best opera house award is wonderful recognition of the teamwork present here at all levels to achieve trend-setting top quality, time and time again.

“It is satisfying to see that La Monnaie, despite its modest budget in an international context, continues to play consistently in the premier league. I am proud to lead this house through a sustained period of success.”

La Monnaie also said that it was “filled with pride” that “Christophe Coppens can take home the award for best set and costume designer for the production of Puccini’s ‘Turandot’ that he created for La Monnaie”.

The Oper! Awards are publicly awarded international opera prizes from Germany. They are awarded annually at a gala evening to the best artists worldwide, on and off stage.

A jury made up of specialised journalists awards prizes in 20 categories based on performance in the previous year, here relating to 2024.

Belgian deputy prime minister Jan Jambon (N-VA), who is in charge of federal cultural institutions, congratulated La Monnaie on the award, given “in an extremely competitive opera landscape”.