Sunday 7th of February 2026
Benvenuto Cellini is a comic opera by Hector Berlioz, based loosely on the life of the Renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini. Set in 16th-century Rome during Carnival, the story follows the impulsive and passionate artist Cellini as he tries to win the love of Teresa, the daughter of the papal treasurer Balducci, while also struggling to complete a bronze statue commissioned by the Pope.
I went to see it on the 7th of February 2026 at La Monnaie. The most striking thing about the production was the complexity and intricacy of the set and costumes (maximalism is quite rare to see in opera – especially at la monnaie – nowadays), as well as the choice to interrupt the festival scene with added dialogue by two relatively well known Belgian drag queens. I really enjoyed how they worked the “drag show” in, it felt very at home within the staging and the opera itself in kind. The cast carried the music and story extremely well, and i cold tell that every choir member was completely in character all throughout.
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