La Monnaie / de Munt has announced the cancelation of its 12 performances of “Carmen.”

The company noted that the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 forced the company to only be able to perform for 200 people. Unfortunately, as per an official statement, that would result in the loss of 900,000€.

“Add to this the fact that we would only be able to sell 2,400 tickets instead of the planned 13,800, and it becomes clear that such a scenario would not meet everyone’s expectations,” the company noted.

The opera was set to be directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov with Stéphanie D’Oustrac and Ève-Maud Hubeaux in the title role. Other cast members included Michael Fabiano, Andrea Carè, Elsa Dreisig, Anne-Catherine Gillet, Jean-Sébastien Bou, Jean-Fernand Setti, and Pierre Doyen, among others.

Fabiano took to social media to call on Brussels’ minister Sven Gatz to reopen the theater.

“I call on you to fix this problem now. Your workers need you. Be a hero to us. Rise above,” Fabiano wrote on his Instagram story noting that he did not support the decision to cancel the production and questioned the continued decisions to shut down despite everyone in the company being vaccinated.

He also called on Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to “champion” the arts and “show the world we can beat the virus and live a life filled with vibrant arts.”

The company noted that it hopes to return to the stage with its March production of “Il Trittico.”