Belgian composer Philippe Boesmans died at the age of 85 on the night of Sunday to Monday April 11, his assistant confirmed to AFP. Born May 17, 1936 in Tongres, in the Flemish region, he studied piano at the Liège Conservatory then turned to composition as an autodidact, before founding a musical language of his own.
Composer in residence at the La Monnaie theater in Brussels from 1985 to 2007, he created operas inspired by plays and repeated in several houses: winter markets according to Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale (1999) or even Julie (2005), according to Miss Julie by Strindberg, with librettos co-signed by Luc Bondy and Marie-Louise Bischofberger. He also created with Luc Bondy Reigenopera in ten scenes from the play Round by Arthur Schnitzler.
“He was one of the essential pillars of our house. His artistic contribution to La Monnaie and to the world of contemporary opera is invaluable.“, reacted Peter de Caluwe, general manager of the Belgian scene, among the most famous in Europe in the lyrical art.
For the Paris Opera, he participated in the creation ofYvonne, Princess of Burgundy in 2019, based on the play by Witold Gombrowicz. In 2017, at the prestigious Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, his opera creation Pinocchiobased on the famous tale by Collodi and on the libretto by Frenchman Joël Pommerat, is a hit for young and old.
“I came out of the very difficult music of the 60s, post-serial, where we were going in circles“, he then confided to AFP. “I opened the windows wide to all forms of music. There could be rap or baroque, that would suit me very well!“.
In December 2022, a posthumous opera will be created at La Monnaie, We’re purging baby based on the homonymous play by Georges Feydeau. “In the company of director and librettist Richard Brunel, Philippe finalized the score“of this last work, noted the Belgian institution.
It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Philippe Boesmans, a figure in international music. The Paris Opera commissioned him #YvonnePrincessedeBourgognedirected by Luc Bondy, prize of the Syndicat de la critique française for the best creation in 2009. pic.twitter.com/7kJmWPDsrS
— Paris Opera (@operadeparis) April 11, 2022
French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot hailed the composer for his “immense talent, his deep taste for transmission and his works that have enchanted us for decades“. The Paris Opera hailed a “figure in international music“.