Orchestre symphonique de la Monnaie / Symfonieorkest Van de Munt

The La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra forms the beating heart of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. One of the most famous opera orchestras in Europe, it performs both in La Monnaie’s opera productions and in symphonic concerts.

The orchestra comprises outstanding musicians and is characterized by its versatility and its ability to dedicate itself to an exceptionally wide repertory, stretching from classical works to contemporary music. This reflects La Monnaie’s ambition to combine the preservation of musical heritage with openness to artistic innovation.

Over the decades the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra has worked with numerous prestigious conductors, directors, singers and composers. In the 19th and 20th centuries it featured in the world premieres of several operatic masterpieces including Massenet’s Hérodiade, Chabrier’s Gwendoline, Chausson’s Le Roi Arthus, Honegger’s Antigone and Prokofiev’s The Gambler. More recently it has participated in the world premieres of works including John Adams’s The Death of Klinghoffer, Philippe Boesmans’s Wintermärchen, Kris Defoort’s The Time of Our Singing, Pascal Dusapin’s Penthesilea, Toshio Hosokawa’s Matsukaze, Bernard Foccroulle’s Cassandra and — in May 2026 — Iain Bell’s Medusa.

Since Gerard Mortier’s time as the general director of La Monnaie the following conductors have been the orchestra’s music directors: Sylvain Cambreling (1981—91), Antonio Pappano (1992—2002), Kazushi Ono (2002—8), Ludovic Morlot (2012—14) and, since January 2016, Alain Altinoglu.

Under Alain Altinoglu the orchestra’s work has been distinguished by bold programming and continued commitment to excellence, with performances including the complete symphonies of Beethoven and Mahler and Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. These performances have been a great success with press and public, and have contributed to Belgium’s cultural prominence on the international music scene. In 2022 the orchestra celebrated its 250th anniversary with a series of concerts conducted by former music directors.

In summer 2026 the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra — conducted by Alain Altinoglu — will appear at the Festival de Colmar, before making its Salzburg Festival debut with concert performances of Werther.