The project for a new metropolitan opera, the “lyrical division” of Classica, will soon be unveiled by the general and artistic director of the festival, Marc Boucher. Its objective: to give work to local singers, as well as to present the French repertoire. Three operas and operettas are scheduled for 2023.
“From the moment we accept students in singing classes at music faculties, I think we have a responsibility to ask ourselves: ‘Are we going to make them unemployed or not?’ underlined Mr. Boucher when questioned by The duty.
25 years ago, when I was at the Atelier lyrique of the Opéra de Montréal, there were between 50 and 60 professional opera evenings in Quebec,
i.e. 50
60 opportunities for professional singers to come and practice their profession. We are now at 16, about twenty including the Opéra de Québec.
Among the driving forces behind the creation of this new company, there is a “passion for this fantastic generation of singers, who come from our educational establishments and who inspire operas, roles”. But there is also a laconic observation: “25 years ago, when I was at the Atelier lyrique of the Opéra de Montréal, there were between 50 and 60 professional opera evenings in Quebec, that’s i.e. 50 to 60 opportunities for professional singers to come and practice their profession. We are now at 16, about twenty including the Opéra de Québec. This is clearly insufficient to let artists believe that they will be able to earn a living. »
Back home
Marc Boucher seeks to “recreate the effervescence of a not so distant past, contribute to the rebirth of the sector, and even go beyond that”.
Encouraged by the experience of the 2021 edition of the Classica festival, with the presentation and success of The Mercy of Titus of Mozart in yet minimalist conditions, he is looking for a new model. “Beyond presenting this or that, the goal is to increase work for Quebec and Francophile artists. On the planet, the world of opera is in debt. The Metropolitan Opera has US$300 million in debt. The opera is not profitable, of course, but at this point, it is problematic. »
In his thoughts, Marc Boucher imagined the return of troops and long-term contracts (several months) that would allow him to hire singers for several projects.
“Sixteen singers worked on our recording project, for Atma, of Massenet melodies,” says Marc Boucher at To have to. We had in particular Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Frédéric Antoun, Michèle Losier, Julie Boulianne. Most of them, when I told them: “We’re creating a company that hires you as employees and reserves you six or eight months a year for three productions”, the answer was yes. “In the eyes of the baritone and artistic director of Classica, “there is a difficulty and a weariness in the life of a singer: it’s hard to travel to be alone in your hotel room. Everyone wants to work from home.”
Marc Boucher remains vague on the additional means necessary. “Before talking about means, can we talk about rationalizing expenses? The budget of the Opéra de Montréal is 8 million dollars. 40 years ago, when they started, there were 4 in the offices, now there are 30. When you have an artistic director and an assistant to the artistic director, a general manager and an assistant to the general manager, there are four employees and, in my opinion, three too many. What I mean by that is that there is a way to recreate works with reasonable budgets and to prioritize the good things: the voice and the experience. Our Clemency of Titus was minimalist, but you had an interesting lyrical experience with the limited resources we had, because the project was under an artistic direction. Between this “as minimalist as possible” and extravagant expenses, there is a margin, and we are able to approach this development with a reasonable approach to expenses if we base this on the spirit of the company. In any case, one thing is certain: if I had 8 million like the Opéra de Montréal, I wouldn’t do 16 evenings at the opera! »
Three operas in 2023
The first three works, presented in 2023, have already been defined. The man who Laughsa creation by Airat Ichmouratov based on the work of Victor Hugo, will feature Jean-François Lapointe, Hugo Laporte, Florence Bourget, Antonio Figueroa, Sophie Naubert and Magali Simard-Galdès in concert version.
The festival will also revive, in stage version, The adorable Belboulan operetta by Jules Massenet, lost, then rediscovered in 2017. “Massenet can be staged, because the orchestration for two pianists, trombone and clarinet frees up the stage,” says Marc Boucher.
Third work: Miguela, an opera in three acts by Théodore Dubois. This will be the world premiere of this ultimate lyrical work by Dubois, for which the festival will welcome the remarkable French conductor Benjamin Levy.
“If we still believe that Montreal is the largest French-speaking city in North America, it’s a safe bet that there is a market for works with a very clear marketing signature. We therefore aim to present French works, operas and operettas. Marc Boucher remarks that “traditionally, operetta has always worked very well here”.
“We must put the operetta back in the Quebec offer. It’s in our DNA as a people, as a city. On the other hand, we are talking about the exceptional generation of singers. But let’s add to this generation Benoît Brière, Stéphane Rousseau, Anthony Kavanagh, who are excellent singers, and we return to this tradition of union of theater and opera with an exquisite mix of actors and singers to present this repertoire. »
To put all this in place, Marc Boucher will have to solve a “small” problem. Classica will be “stateless” from June, since Saint-Lambert, on the South Shore of Montreal, did not renew its association with the festival after the recent municipal elections. “There are various options on the table. This is our fourth administration. The administrations pass, the festival will not pass, because it remains in very good financial health. In Longueuil, for example, there are immense needs that the Classica festival can meet. »
A meeting is scheduled with Catherine Fournier, Mayor of Longueuil, during the week of May 22. Saint-Lambert is part of the Longueuil agglomeration, important information when you know that a project for a new 870-seat hall allowing the presentation of staged operas (therefore with an orchestra pit) is in the pipeline. line of sight in Saint-Lambert for 2025. The location would therefore be “consistent with a contract that would come from Longueuil or the Longueuil agglomeration” for Marc Boucher and the festival.
A creation for Marie-Nicole Lemieux
The director of Classica and the New Metropolitan Opera has long-term plans. The number of productions with stagings as well as the number of performances, which will favor the hiring of artists, creators and musicians from Quebec, “will increase over the seasons”, in particular through the development of partnerships here and abroad. the international.
For example, on the horizon of 2024 we find, in collaboration with Sylvie Bouissou, director of Éditions Rameau, a project of unpublished music by Jean-Philippe Rameau in a concert version with ballets. This program is intended to then be exported to France.
This same edition will juxtapose a creation by Jaap Nico Hamburger on the life of Sarah Bernhardt written for Marie-Nicole Lemieux and The Kaiser von Atlantisthe masterful opera composed by Viktor Ullmann in 1943 in the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
“In the background will be addressed the rise of totalitarian regimes, wars, restrictions on freedoms, equality between men and women, speech, declamation as a political force and the fragility of the human species. […] The material is vast and there are many parallels,” sums up Marc Boucher.