I admit that I went there backwards. Just think: Impressionist paintings projected in 3D in a performance hall. First of all, I reached a level of saturation a long time ago with Degas’ ballerina flats and Monet’s pink haystacks.
And then, I am wary of this trend of “immersive experiences” that we are served up in all sauces.
I had so little desire to see The Magic of the Impressionists – The Unique 3D Immersive Experience that I canceled my presence at the opening party on Wednesday night. But Thursday, when the city center was a distressing gray, I showed up at the Studio-Cabaret.
A word first about this place inaugurated last fall which is part of the new Espace St-Denis. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful halls in the city. This cabaret formula, installed in an environment that has cutting-edge technologies, suggests very beautiful evenings for the artists and the public.
When I entered this theater around 4 p.m., I had quite a surprise: the place was packed. I met there mostly young retirees who never stop savoring their new freedom while drinking a glass of wine and sharing a cheese platter with friends.
In a minute and a quarter, I went from harsh winter reality to la dolce vita!
In the first part, we are presented with a montage (which is not in 3D) which teaches us more about the Impressionists. We took care not to forget the women of this select group: Berthe Morisot, Eva Gonzalès and Marie Bracquemond.
Then, after a short intermission (which makes it possible to order more wine and ignore Health Canada recommendations), everyone puts on their mustard yellow 3D glasses and the presentation begins.
Very quickly, the charm operates. Seeing these “deconstructed” paintings scroll before our eyes to the (impeccable) sound of music by Debussy, Ravel or Fauré has a literally medical effect.
At some point, I observed people looking at these frescoes and understood what they were drawing from this experience: beauty. For more than an hour, that’s what we’re shoved in the face, beauty.
And God knows if after the years of pandemic, the horrific images of conflict we face on a daily basis, the loss of faith in the human race caused by power-hungry leaders and businessmen, we need beauty.
How good it feels to know that no matter what we go through in our lifetime, Renoir and Satie will always be there.
Next to me, a woman kept repeating every 30 seconds: “No, but are you pretty enough! » After 10 minutes, I hesitated between two approaches: tell him to shut up or break his pair of 3D glasses in half! Instead, I let her express the beauty overdose she was getting.
Some purists would say it’s a sacrilege to deconstruct masterpieces and give them a semblance of life by rippling sea water or ladies’ dresses.
To that I reply that it is a false debate. First of all, it’s an incredible opportunity to see these paintings in giant format. Of course this is an unreal representation of the works. But after having repeatedly seen Impressionist paintings in overcrowded rooms, I admit that my pleasure was different, but just as strong.
And then, if it can give the taste to a certain public to go and see the real paintings…
As for the transposition of these works into a technological framework, it should be remembered that the history of art is also made up of that. What do you do when you insert an excerpt from a well-known tune into a hip-hop song?
Art feeds on art, it is well known.
There is the beauty, but also the nostalgia whose strings are plucked during the screening. And to do it, we are made to hear Charles Aznavour, Édith Piaf, Cole Porter and Nana Mouskouri (a magnificent song that I did not know: It will be me).
This nostalgia is not that of an era that we lived, but that of a world that we know will never exist again.
Here is another good reason to gorge on beauty!
Gas Bar Blues
Something important is happening right now at Duceppe. The theatrical adaptation of the film Gas Bar Blues sumptuously marks the return to winter. Two hours of pure happiness, laughter, blues and misty eyes!
I’m not going to repeat what my colleague Luc Boulanger said in his review, but the text passes the ramp admirably well, the actors are breathtaking and the staging by Édith Patenaude is the one that should go to meet this work.
This production firmly establishes this theater founded by Jean Duceppe in 1973 where it should be in 2023. This is a great way to underline its 50e birthday.
Get your hands on tickets fast!