http://www.vlaamseopera.be

The Flemish Opera is the only Flemish institution for opera. The company has two venues, in Antwerp and Ghent, and it has its own choir and orchestra.

The company considers opera a complete art form, an artistic discipline in which visual and aural components are equally important. The programme includes both household repertoire, in contemporary presentations, and less well-known or unknown works, allowing the public to enjoy a wide range of musical expressions, from 17th Century music theatre to the latest opera creations.

With world creations of commissioned work by talented young artists, performance of unknown baroque repertoire or by working with internationally renowned Flemish directors (Jan Fabre, Guy Joosten, Ivo Van Hove...), the Flemish Opera cautiously avoids to tread well-trodden paths. Apart from opera, the Flemish Opera schedules symphonic concerts (with a strong vocal component) and lunch concertos. In 2000, the Flemish Opera also created the Opera Studio, a postgraduate training for young singers.

From 1989 to June 2008, the Flemish Opera was headed by Marc Clémeur. At the beginning of the season 2008-2009, he was succeeded by the young Swiss Aviel Cahn.