Opéra Royal of Wallonie-Liège Announces Capacity Restrictions

It is with astonishment and disbelief that the Opéra Royal of Wallonie-Liège learned, on Friday December 3, of the decisions of the Concertation Committee concerning the cultural sector, limitating the capacity of the gauge to 200 people applicable from Monday December 6.

the Opéra Royal of Wallonie-Liège has scrupulously put in place and adapted, following the successive announcements since the beginning of the pandemic, the measures required to ensure the safety of its public, guest artists and staff: ventilation of the hall, use of the CST, regular testing of guest artists and staff, generalized wearing of masks by staff including on stage, strict internal procedures, closing of bars, ... This in order to ensure at all costs its mission of cultural service to all audiences, audiences whose compliance with these sometimes restrictive measures has always been exemplary.

Therefore, these decisions, taken in spite of the numerous studies carried out in Europe these last months which show that theaters are not places of transmission of the virus, are for us extremely harmful to the cultural professions practice, but also to the educational mission of the cultural institutions.

Nevertheless, wishing to ensure as much as possible its role as a cultural actor but also to support the invited artists, the Royal Opera of Wallonia-Liège has taken the following decisions:

As school outings are forbidden, the 13 school performances of Figaro, the Barber of Bois-Joli must unfortunately be cancelled. The number of performances for the general public will be increased, in order to allow families to attend this show performed in a hall with 140 seats. The adapted schedule will be communicated shortly.

The performances of Otello, Ossia Il Moro di Venezia, by Gioachino Rossini, will be maintained on the dates originally scheduled, with a limited capacity of 200 seats. For each performance, the first 200 ticket holders who confirm their presence will be able to attend. All other ticket holders will be refunded. The box office will personally contact the ticket holders concerned to clarify the procedure.