More than 450 years ago, Count Egmont was beheaded on the Grand Place in Brussels. The murderous and repressive reign of Philip II in the second half of the 16th century shook the very foundations of the Low Countries. The execution of the popular Count Egmont unleashed a wave of unrest among the population and heralded the bloody Eighty Years’ War.

After his death, Egmont came to symbolise moderation and tolerance in turbulent, polarising times. His life story inspired many generations to come (Goethe and Beethoven wrote their own Egmont) and still resonates today.

This production turns a fierce spotlight on history, but it also shows our own time in a critical light. In that sense it is just like Beethoven and Goethe’s play more than 200 years ago, in the turbulent age they lived in. Beethoven wrote his Third Symphony in honour of Napoleon, but immediately scrapped Bonaparte from his score when the general pronounced himself Emperor and limited the freedoms gained in the French Revolution once again. Egmont is Beethoven’s celebration of the free individual.