Rare peep behind those deep-red drapes!
Our Sunday
morning chic guide takes
A select
group on this May day
To see what
ticks at La Monnaie*.
Huge edifice
- Rue Leopold
Where Belgium
‘s history will unfold!
Intriguing
workshops on all floors
Up giant
lift, down corridors…
Haute Couture
has pride of place
Elaborate costume
storage space,
Shoes, custom-made,
stacked neat on racks;
Outlandish wigs, wild stylish hats!
Fake regalia
- flashy feel
Workshop craftsmen
– the real deal!
Polystyrene
statues for next set
Fake marble
backdrops, paint looks wet…
Though each
production is sublime
Décor
assembly can take time!
On the first
balcony we sit
With
chandeliers brightly lit
And learn an Opera set us free**
« La
Muette de Portici »;
People
spilled out in the street;
Soon the
Dutch were in retreat!
Destroyed
by fire, site soon rebuilt;
Baroque interiors
in gilt,
Smart foyer
where tall mirrors gleam…
A brief
encounter - but a dream!
(c) Poet in the woods 2025
* La Monnaie/De Munt is the Brussels Opera House
** in September, 1830
This opera in 5 acts was created by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber
on 29th February, 1828.
The costume workshop
The Opera stage
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