The furero Àlex Ollé premiered Dmitri Shostakovich‘s opera The Nose last year in Copenhagen. This June he brings it to La Monnaie de Munt in Brussels.

The Nose from Nikolai Gogol‘s short story published in 1835-36, tells the story of a nose that detaches itself from its owner’s face and comes to surpass him on the social ladder. “What the devil is a man without a nose?” – Nikolai Gogol. To the classic tale, however, is added the point of view of Shostakovich, who composes his opera in 1927-1930, in the tumultuous interwar period in the Soviet Union. Shostakovich‘s music in The Nose opera is conceived as a fierce, mercilessly sarcastic caricature of the hierarchical and class-ridden society in the time of tsarism.

The opera will open next Tuesday, June 20th, but there will be a total of 8 performances until July 2nd. Tickets can already be purchased through the official website of La Monnaie.