Don’t try to guess who these people are on the posters for the next season of the Opéra de Montréal. They are neither stars nor artists – even if some of them will leave you with a little air of deja-vu… Because behind this new advertising campaign, there is a clear desire to convey the message that everyone can discover a passion for opera.
“People who have never set foot in the opera don’t know they like it. But set foot in the opera and we’re betting you’ll like it, because it’s so emotional, it’s so captivating, it’s so lavish; it’s passion beyond measure,” says Daniella Johnson-Meneghini, communications manager for the Opéra de Montréal.
To pull off this stunt carried out in concert with Studio GRDN (pronounced “garden”), the Opéra de Montréal wanted to find people whose life course or experience resonated with the character of the opera in question.
“Our Figaro who is on the poster, he has been a bartender, waiter, bouncer, DJ… He lives somewhat on the vagaries of his interests and his passions. And when we told him the story of Figaro, of his triumph over oppression and the established order, he identified with him,” illustrates Marie-Pier Perron, acting director of marketing at the Opéra de Montréal. .
There are people who will find it a bit odd to see a Figaro with tattoos on his neck. But it’s not shocking for the sake of shocking. What we want is to arouse emotions, reflections, provoke a dialogue… that the person who is going to see the poster in the metro, even if they will not come to the room, say to themselves: “That, that’s coming looking for me, it speaks to my experience.” It’ll plant a little spark.
Daniella Johnson-Meneghini, communications manager for the Opéra de Montréal.
If the Opéra de Montréal has already called on models to design its promotional posters in recent years, the choice to include the artists themselves of the productions was excluded from the outset, specifies the manager. “The artists arrive only three weeks before the premiere for rehearsals, they are not available before that. We also have a lot of international artists who perform elsewhere, so it would be very difficult to get them to come during the winter. »
Posters for the 2023-2024 season of the Opéra de Montréal
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY OPERA DE MONTREAL
poster for The Marriage of Figaro
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY OPERA DE MONTREAL
poster for La Traviata
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY OPERA DE MONTREAL
poster for The queen-boy.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY OPERA DE MONTREAL
poster for Enigma
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The idea of the concept, she adds, was to show that behind the story that the opera tells, there are values, emotions and themes that are very contemporary and that can reach everyone. .
Classics and new creations
The 2023-2024 season of the Opéra de Montréal will above all include great classics from the repertoire starting next fall – The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart), La Traviata (Verdy) and The Coronation of Poppea (Monteverdi).
It will also be an opportunity to discover a first co-production of the Opera with a European company, Enigmaa strange love triangle inspired by the play by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt Enigmatic variations. Quebec tenors Antoine Bélanger and Jean-Michel Richer will be accompanied by I Musici de Montréal.
A new Quebec creation will also be presented next winter – The queen-boy –, the result of a collaboration between playwright Michel Marc Bouchard and composer Julien Bilodeau, who had previously worked together on The beauty of the world (presented last November). The opera is an adaptation of the play Christine, the queen-boyby Michel-Marc Bouchard.
“We can’t wait to present this opera,” says Marie-Pier Perron. It’s a duo that has a very nice bond. And when we presented Julien Bilodeau with our poster for The queen-boy, he was greatly inspired by the photo. He is working on the music and that has fueled his creation. »