La Monnaie OperaHigh Notes

Harmonizing opera with contemporary culture

Brussels’ La Monnaie (De Munt) views the historic art form of opera through a present-day lens, so its communications should equally reflect our society today. For over a decade, Base has collaborated with artists to create provocative and visually arresting campaigns that are unique and unexpected each year – firmly positioning the opera house as a leader in its cultural field.
Most opera houses have a tried and tested formula for their communications, typically involving imagery of singers and sets, “baroquesque” typography, and name-dropping Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and the like.

But under the direction of Peter de Caluwe, La Monnaie (a.k.a. De Munt) in Brussels has approached opera as a contemporary genre that bridges the past and present. His intention is to align the historic art form with modern society, addressing prominent issues and current affairs that affect people of all backgrounds. Based on this vision, we created a new visual identity for La Monnaie in 2007, and have since helped the director to communicate his ideas through annual campaigns.

From the outset, we challenged the art direction by avoiding the classical and cliché opera imagery. Instead, we decided to collaborate with a different visual artist on each seasonal campaign, to gain access to beautiful and unexpected imagery. The new visual voice of La Monnaie became metaphorical, radical, cinematographic – the language of fashion and beauty – and brought a fresh and surprising perspective year after year.

For the 2019-20 season, in line with a new seasonal structure that shifted from thematics to an “architecture” centered on creativity, illustrator Charlotte Chauvin “remixed” the La Monnaie identity with emotion-driven, Cocteau-style drawings connected to the pieces of the program.

In 2020-21, de Caluwe felt it critical to explore the decline of democracy and society’s trust in politics. These themes were embodied in actual, grotesquely dramatic media snapshots of white male parliamentarians physically fighting in their respective country’s chambers of democracy – images so arresting that they appear to be staged. In capturing today’s unnerving political turbulence, the campaign aligned the institution directly with contemporary culture.

Outside the expected channels like billboards and brochures, La Monnaie’s communications have also involved a freely distributed magazine that brought the opera world to life. We chose the name MMM, or Monnaie Munt Magazine, to address Belgium’s bilingualism and reach a larger potential audience.

For more than a decade, we’ve channeled the intrinsic creativity of La Monnaie through artistic collaborations, divisive visuals and an evolving contemporary identity – helping the opera house become and remain a landmark in the field of culture. We’re still hitting the high notes in harmony.

Brussels’ La Monnaie (De Munt) views the historic art form of opera through a present-day lens, so its communications should equally reflect our society today. For over a decade, Base has collaborated with artists to create provocative and visually arresting campaigns that are unique and unexpected each year – firmly positioning the opera house as a leader in its cultural field.

Most opera houses have a tried and tested formula for their communications, typically involving imagery of singers and sets, “baroquesque” typography, and name-dropping Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and the like.

But under the direction of Peter de Caluwe, La Monnaie (a.k.a. De Munt) in Brussels has approached opera as a contemporary genre that bridges the past and present. His intention is to align the historic art form with modern society, addressing prominent issues and current affairs that affect people of all backgrounds. Based on this vision, we created a new visual identity for La Monnaie in 2007, and have since helped the director to communicate his ideas through annual campaigns.

From the outset, we challenged the art direction by avoiding the classical and cliché opera imagery. Instead, we decided to collaborate with a different visual artist on each seasonal campaign, to gain access to beautiful and unexpected imagery. The new visual voice of La Monnaie became metaphorical, radical, cinematographic – the language of fashion and beauty – and brought a fresh and surprising perspective year after year.

For the 2019-20 season, in line with a new seasonal structure that shifted from thematics to an “architecture” centered on creativity, illustrator Charlotte Chauvin “remixed” the La Monnaie identity with emotion-driven, Cocteau-style drawings connected to the pieces of the program.

In 2020-21, de Caluwe felt it critical to explore the decline of democracy and society’s trust in politics. These themes were embodied in actual, grotesquely dramatic media snapshots of white male parliamentarians physically fighting in their respective country’s chambers of democracy – images so arresting that they appear to be staged. In capturing today’s unnerving political turbulence, the campaign aligned the institution directly with contemporary culture.

Outside the expected channels like billboards and brochures, La Monnaie’s communications have also involved a freely distributed magazine that brought the opera world to life. We chose the name MMM, or Monnaie Munt Magazine, to address Belgium’s bilingualism and reach a larger potential audience.

For more than a decade, we’ve channeled the intrinsic creativity of La Monnaie through artistic collaborations, divisive visuals and an evolving contemporary identity – helping the opera house become and remain a landmark in the field of culture. We’re still hitting the high notes in harmony.