October 24, 2020
18:03
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Peter De Caluwe, director of the Brussels opera house La Monnaie, reacts furiously to the decision of the Brussels government to close cultural centers. “Outrageous, this has been decided without consultation, by a level that is not even competent for us.”
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For Peter de Caluwe, director of De Munt, an absolute blow. The opera house released last week yet premiere a new production, The dead City. Door additional measures by the Consultation Committee between top federal and regional ministers on Friday, the maximum audience for performances had already been reduced to 200. Now everything is completely closed.
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Labia
De Caluwé does not understand anything. ‘I already had one first comment posted on Facebook, but my second reaction remains the same, ”he says on the phone. ‘I’m even more angry. It’s an outrageous show of total incompetence, an overreaction of a policy level that has done nothing or far too little for months and is partly responsible for the situation in which we end up. This decision is a sham. So of course I criticize the total lack of vision and lack of crisis management. ‘
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He is especially concerned about the fact that no consultations were held. ‘We speak regularly with the city of Brussels and Mayor Close, and that contact is going well. Also with the federal crisis cell. But we have never spoken to the Brussels government. They also have no competence for us at all. And yet we have to undergo this. We can’t do anything. ‘
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Motivation
De Caluwe is now in close consultation with his colleagues Paul Dujardin from the Bozar arts center and Hans Waege from the Belgian National Orchestra (BNO), all three federal cultural institutions. “They are also very disgruntled,” he says. ‘And of course we will discuss compensatory measures.’
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I foresee an extension of the measures after 19 November.
Peter De Caluwe
Director of La Monnaie
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The mandatory closure is valid until November 19. “But I certainly foresee an extension,” De Caluwe estimates. That will leave its mark. ‘In income, of course. We have done everything we can to continue doing what we are for in these circumstances: offering culture. We have invested in a corona-proof production, the musicians have rehearsed, the costs have been incurred. But an equally big problem is the motivation of our employees, to whom I now have to say that they should stop coming. ‘
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La Monnaie has 450 employees, including freelancers.
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“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t minimize the gravity of the situation at all,” he adds. ‘But we have drawn up protocols with the cultural sector that apply to all codes – yellow, orange, red. We could slide easily. And then this. ‘
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‘Cold shower’ in front of Cinema Palace
Cinema Palace director Eric Franssen speaks of a ‘cold shower’. The stricter measures are all the harder hit because the cinema is in principle an important period at this time of the year. ‘We have rushed to implement the new protocols that were communicated to the Consultation Committee on Friday. Brussels will announce today that we have to close on Monday. ‘ His reaction lies between wonder and misunderstanding, he says. The general manager also calls the new federal measures ‘very restrictive’, but they still allowed to maintain 30 percent of the capacity. ‘We could live with that number and guarantee the safety of the viewers.’
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