The young chef Francis Choinière is thinking bigger and bigger. After the Requiem of Verdi, on Friday evening he conducted his first opera in concert version at the Maison symphonique at the head of his Philharmonic Orchestra and choir of music lovers. That Bohemia by Puccini was also a good test, concluding in the end on the public’s appetite for opera in concert.
Francis Choinière, 25, it must be remembered, is definitely the man of upheavals. The opera in concert version at the Maison symphonique, the niche had been obvious since 2011 and the opening of the hall. It had even been whispered, in vain, in the ear of the music director of the OSM at the time… From the moment Montreal has a room with such acoustics, this tool makes it possible to “reinvent listening of opera” in the metropolis and to create a new artistic niche. It was all crystal clear.
Opportunities
But, since 2011, we have hardly had any operas in concert. In eleven years at the OSM, we’ve had L’Aiglon and Pelleas (a four car served at the opening of the season in the middle of the week to VIPs who fell asleep) then the memorable Trouble in Tahiti de Bernstein where the spectators took to their heels. We could have had Strauss, Janacek or Mozart, or even, at the “worst case”, concerts of arias, duets and ensembles. OM gave us Bluebeard’s Castle and Fideliotwo huge successes each time.
Doing opera in concert for a symphonic ensemble has no consequences, other than budgetary. Montreal, in relation to its population, is not overflowing with lyrical offerings: four operas in a season at the Opéra de Montréal is very little. Moreover, it is nowhere written that a concert must be frozen as being the succession of an overture to a concerto and a symphony. But for the rigidity of mentalities in the field of live performance, we read Stéphane Baillargeon wondering “Should we review the calendar of the cultural offer? in our Friday edition.
Finally, hearing an opera in concert version at the Maison symphonique with singers concentrating on their singing is an experience that differs greatly from seeing the lyrical fish drowned in a staging by Wilfrid Pelletier. All this to say that we hope that this Bohemia will be able to give birth to a discipline thanks to the energy of this less moneyed leader but more enterprising than the caciques.
From idea to action
Regarding the realization of the project, Francis Choinière had associated in the main roles two very solid young singers who are now well known here: Myriam Leblanc and Andrew Haji. From the others we had already heard the baritone Justin Welsh (Schaunard), for whom we had generally glowing words (voice placement, vocal aura), and Vartan Gabrielian (Colline), a bass with a big voice who during the recent Requiem by Verdi had taken some liberties with the intonation.
Let’s say that the exercise requires seasoned voices especially if, as Choinière does, we put everyone behind the orchestra. On this account, the vocal projection of Christian Wagner (Marcello) is very insufficient, which bodes very badly for the next Sea Symphony of Vaughan Williams of which he is the baritone soloist.
Justin Welsh disappoints in Schaunard. The voice, with a more present tone than Wagner, is effective, but in a certain register and a comfortable dynamic. When he has to give voice fortissimo in sets, it plateaus. As for Gabrielian, the balance sheet is again half fig half grape. The means are there, but everything happens as if the technique was not completely mastered for vocal deployment and total confidence. The air of the coat in Act IV was pretty bland. Nothing to say about Tom Goerz.
Sydney Baedke was the revelation of the evening, in terms of aura and vocal control and dynamics. As for us, we would have even seen it in Mimi, because she has those zests of roundness and vocal warmth that Myriam Leblanc lacks. The latter is a really thorny vocal case when one approaches such a repertoire. A singer of impeccable confidence and musicality, she gave her all, especially in a splendid Third Act. But there is something dry in the tone (eg end of Act III “I wanted this winter to last forever”) and “straight” in the vocal output, as if the voice did not resonate enough. However, we do not want to confine this remarkable singer to the Baroque and the 20th century… But the results are mixed. Because in terms of vocal color, it lacks “flesh around the bone”. Of course, in this role, we can always say that it reinforces the injured bird side.
Andrew Haji, as always, was splendid, impeccable. It will not be necessary for the moment that it goes much further than this type of roles, because the voice is all the same not enormous, but what elegance and intelligence.
We obviously have to finish with the big winner of the evening: Francis Choinière. In addition to the programmatic nerve, he mastered the score very well, going straight with rigor and without outpourings, giving priority to clarity over voluptuous roundness. Hats off also to the choirs and, above all, to the orchestra, a group formed in 2016 and which, although not called OM or OSM, showed from start to finish, with cohesion, accuracy and quality of individual interventions, the extent of the talents we have in Quebec.
Final point: the goal of this orchestra was at its creation and still today “to inspire a new generation of music lovers”. In fact, yesterday, 1700 of the 1850 seats in the hall were occupied and by spectators who a priori we meet very little elsewhere. Francis Choinière does not give lessons in musical democratization; with his orchestra conducting diploma in his pocket and a sense of values, he implements it with talent and a high awareness of artistic integrity.