Archives of La Monnaie

Collection description

Postal address:: Archives de la Monnaie, Rue Léopold 23 / Leopoldstraat 23, 1000 Bruxelles

Creator/accumulator:: Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie; Koninklijke Muntschouwburg

Scope and content:: This fonds contains material related to artists, composers, performances and productions (mainly after 1945) organised by the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussel. We note a variety of documents such as programmes, photographs of artists and scenes, press photographs (published in specialised newspapers in which the performances were presented), press clippings, posters, biographical notes, drawings, records, compact disks, letters, books, librettos, models of costumes, scale models of sets, sheet music (for songs and orchestras), photographs of the buildings, individual and group portraits, photographs of rehearsals, plans, poetry, sculptures, paintings, stamps, videos etc. The fonds contains documents related to Jewish artists and Jewish employees of La Monnaie.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, the opera house of Brussels located on the Place de la Monnaie, was created in 1700. This theatre at the heart of the city was particularly put in the spotlight by Charles-Alexander of Lorraine, governor of the Austrian Netherlands. Under the French regime, La Monnaie only enjoyed the status of a provincial opera. In the early 19th century, the theatre came under the auspices of the city of Brussels. La Monnaie attracted great artists and its theatre troupe grew. From 1870 to 1914, La Monnaie was the French capital of Wagnerism. Notably as a result of the success of the ballets by Maurice Béjart and the creation of the Ballet du XXe siècle, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie became the National Opera in the 1960s. It has since gained international renown. (M. Couvreur (ed.), La Monnaie wagnérienne, Bruxelles, GRAM-ULB, 1998; C. Gantelme & F. Michielsen, Théâtre royal de la Monnaie, Opéra national, Ballet du XXe siècle, de 1959 à nos jours, Bruxelles, Paul Legrain, 1981; R. van der Hoeven, La Monnaie au XIXe siècle, Bruxelles, GRAM-ULB, 2000.)

Subject terms:: Architectural drawings; Art; Art--Artists; Drawings; Film; Music; Music--Composers; Music--Musicians; Newspaper clippings; Photographs; Posters; Sheet music; Theatre

Access, restrictions:: Consultation requires the authorisation of the archivist of La Monnaie.

Finding aids:: The fonds is described in the CARMEN database. This database however is not complete for programmes prior to 1945.