La Dispute at La Monnaie

The inconsistencies of love, do they stem from man or woman? This is the question underlying Marivaux’s La Dispute, one of his most disconcerting and incisive plays, which constitutes the core of the libretto of Benoît Mernier’s second opera. To finally resolve this burning philosophical issue, a diabolical experiment brings together four youngsters raised in isolation from the world and, before our eyes, discover love and their first betrayals. For this work, the Belgian composer collaborated closely with the librettists Ursel Herrmann and Joël Lauwers. This gives him the opportunity to again grapple with the awakening of desire following on from his Frühlings Erwachen in 2007. Conducted by Patrick Davin, this Dispute is directed by the Herrmanns, taking on a contemporary work for the first time.