Lunalia

Lunalia, Festival of Flanders Mechelen’s spring festival, is entirely devoted to this year’s theme in Mechelen: Blazing Silence. Its motto is the rest is silence, Hamlet’s famous last words in William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Once the world-famous Prince of Denmark has spoken his last words, his friend Horatio begins a eulogy, but instead of falling silent, things suddenly get very loud. Horatio asks where the sound of drums is coming from, at which point Fortinbras, the English ambassadors and others come onto the stage in an uproarious din. That tension between silence and noise also defines the 2022 edition of the festival.

Lunalia will present more than 25 concerts, two music theatre productions, various workshops and moon rituals in the centre of Mechelen. Together with arts center nona, a festival is organised in the festival: NOISENOISENOISE. There are two ensembles-in-residence in 2022: the Canadian ensemble Constantinople and Les Passions de l’Ame from Switzerland.