Royal Theatre of La Monnaie, Opera house in Pentagon district, Brussels, Belgium
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie is an opera house on Place de la Monnaie in central Brussels. Its 1818 neoclassical facade by Louis Damesme has eight Ionic columns and a pediment carved by Eugène Simonis. The frieze reads "THEATRE ROYAL DE LA MONNAIE" and "KONINKLIJKE MUNTSCHOUWBURG"; the wall is inscribed MDCCCLV. The auditorium and foyer, rebuilt by Joseph Poelaert after the 1855 fire, are eclectic in style.
The first theatre was built in 1700 by Venetian architects Paolo and Pietro Bezzi on the site of a former mint, which gave the theatre its name. It was replaced in 1819 by Louis Damesme's neoclassical building, which burnt down in January 1855. Joseph Poelaert rebuilt it within fourteen months, and the auditorium and foyer date from 1856.
The name comes from the mint that once stood on the site: La Monnaie in French, De Munt in Dutch, both meaning "The Mint". The house is one of three cultural institutions funded by Belgium's federal government, alongside the Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Belgian National Orchestra. Bernard Foccroulle's fifteen-year directorship opened it to contemporary dance, with choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker in residence.
The theatre stands in the middle of the Place de la Monnaie, set back from the surrounding streets, so it can be approached from several sides; the De Brouckère metro and premetro station is a short walk away. The 1,200-seat auditorium and foyer date from the 1856 rebuilding, while most other parts were reworked in the 1980s. Look for the date MDCCCLV (1855) inscribed on the right-hand wall.
On 25 August 1830, a performance of Auber's La Muette de Portici at La Monnaie, banned earlier by King William I for its inciting content, sparked the riot that became the signal for the Belgian Revolution. The theatre had been placed in the middle of a new square by architect Louis Damesme chiefly so firemen could reach it and fires would not spread to neighbouring buildings.
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