This morning we received the deeply tragic news that composer Philippe Boesmans passed away yesterday evening following a brief illness. We are naturally devastated by the loss of this artist and extend our sincere condolences to Philippe's family and friends.
"We want to remember Philippe for his humanism, his humor, and his generosity," says Peter de Caluwe, director of De Munt. "He was a most welcome guest at our Theater and an essential pillar of support for our institution. His artistic contributions to De Munt and to contemporary opera are invaluable. He served as a sounding board for three successive directors of De Munt, was never reluctant to offer constructive criticism of our programming, and frequently made original suggestions. His opinion mattered, both as a friend and as a professional, and he will be greatly missed."
As house composer of De Munt under successive directors Gerard Mortier, Bernard Foccroulle, and Peter de Caluwe, he received numerous commissions from the theater. This close collaboration began with The Passion of Gilles, his first opera, which premiered in 1983. This was followed by Round Dance (1993) based on a play by Arthur Schnitzler, A Winter's Tale (1999) based on Shakespeare, and Julie (2004) based on the play Miss Julie by August Strindberg. All these works were directed by Luc Bondy, who also wrote the libretti. Later we created, in co-production with leading theaters in Paris and Aix-en-Provence, Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy (2009), , Au Monde (2014), and most recently Pinocchio (2017), both latter works in collaboration with Joël Pommerat. Just a few weeks ago, we announced a new opera by Philippe Boesmans. Together with director-librettist Richard Brunel, Philippe has been putting the finishing touches on On purge bébé
Besides his scenic work, Philippe was also very active as a composer of chamber music and symphonic works. His song cycle Trakl Songs was still performed in February by the Munt Orchestra. This took place under the direction of his good friend and conductor Sylvain Cambreling, who created many of his pieces.
Philippe was a monument to Belgian and European music. His works were performed all over the world. New productions of his operas continue to appear regularly on stage, recently in Stuttgart and Paris (Round Dance) or Nancy (Julie). He was a reference point for many composers, including Benoît Mernier and Kris Defoort, whom he mentored while working on commissioned works for the Munt.
We wish everyone who knew Philippe closely or from afar all the strength they need. The Munt will honor him in complete serenity with music.
