De Munt / La Monnaie (Brussel)

The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (French: Théâtre royal de la Monnaie, pronounced [teɑtʁ ʁwajal də la mɔnɛ]; Dutch: Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, pronounced [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈmʏntsxʌuˌbʏr(ə)x]; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is housed—La Monnaie in French or De Munt in Dutch—referring to the building as well as the opera company. As Belgium's leading opera house, it is one of the few cultural institutions to receive financial support from the Federal Government of Belgium. Other opera houses in Belgium, such as the Vlaamse Opera and the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, are funded by regional governments. La Monnaie is located on the Place de la Monnaie/Muntplein, not far from the Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat and the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein. The current edifice is the third theatre on the site. The façade dates from 1818 with major alterations made in 1856 and 1986. The foyer and auditorium date from 1856, but almost every other element of the present building was extensively renovated in the 1980s.read more on Wikipedia...