During a literary encounter with J. M. Coetzee on the stage of La Monnaie, General and Artistic Director Christina Scheppelmann announced that the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate is writing the libretto for a new opera to be premiered in the 2027–28 season. The work, titled Elizabeth Costello in limbo, will feature music by Nicholas Lens.
The announcement took place on 13 October, during a ceremony in which Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) awarded Coetzee an honorary doctorate. The opera will revisit the character of Elizabeth Costello, one of Coetzee’s most emblematic creations, who appears in Elizabeth Costello, The Lives of Animals, and Slow Man.
According to Scheppelmann, “this is a very exciting commission. Presenting a new opera is always a beautiful challenge and we look forward to working on this project with the creators.” Elizabeth Costello in limbo will be staged by Barbora Horáková Joly and feature mezzo-soprano Allison Cook in the title role.
Composer Nicholas Lens, known for his collaborations with writers such as Nick Cave (Shell Shock, 2014) and Coetzee himself (Slow Man, 2012; Is this the gate?, 2024), returns to La Monnaie for this new creation, planned for spring 2028.
With Coetzee’s participation, La Monnaie continues its tradition of engaging leading literary voices—following Annie Ernaux and Abdulrazak Gurnah, both presented in recent seasons.
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