The duty wanted, a little less than five months before the deadlines, to survey the directors of four classic festivals in order to find out how, and with what constraints, their summer of 2022 was preparing. The word “predictability” was on the lips of many directors of festivals, brandished as the solution to all their ills. If, for some actors, the current constraint on the gauge prevents them from hiring artists or launching show projects, it is very different in classical music.
“We imagine that things will return to normal. But we’ve been doing this for two years, then we undo and redo. But everything is falling into place: we continue to move forward,” says Renaud Loranger, artistic director of the Festival de Lanaudière.
In North America, the 2021-2022 seasons had been programmed everywhere on the following bet: a still fairly cautious autumn 2021 and an increasingly open year 2022. No closing concert (June 2022) of a North American orchestra, as announced in mid-2021, is not constrained. The OSM will thus play the 9and Symphony by Beethoven conducted by Rafael Payare. Who could make us believe that the summer of 2022, which is scheduled well in advance, was not designed in this vein?
Open bet
When we spoke to them, prior to Tuesday’s government announcements, neither Renaud Loranger, from Lanaudière, nor Wonny Song, general and artistic director of Orford Musique, nor Jean-François Lapointe, general and artistic director of the Opera and the Festival of the Opéra de Québec, nor Paul Fortin, artistic director of the Domaine Forget, therefore had the term “predictability” in his mouth or adopted any posture of pressure with regard to the provincial government.
Admittedly, the unexpected Omicron wave came to seriously disrupt the game plan of the symphonic seasons along the way, but the experts agree on a transition from the pandemic to an endemic and the epidemiological forecasts give reason to Paul Fortin when he announces: “We expect at Domaine Forget a return to almost normal. The only difference will be that we may have a few fewer concerts than usual. But if everything goes as we wish, we should still present more than 25 concerts throughout the summer. »
The artistic director of the Estate tells us that he will bet on meetings and conviviality: “Nearly 70% of the concerts will be for several artists […] The result will therefore be an atmosphere of celebration and celebration,” which Paul Fortin wants to make the leitmotif of the summer.
Border issue
“The crucial question, which is rarely talked about, is that of the border when artists come to Canada, worries Renaud Loranger. This is a real problem and, as things stand, Canada remains very isolated. I see daily artists scheduled for 2020, rescheduled for 2021, whom I want to bring in 2022 and who tell us: “It’s complicated, long and uncertain to go to Canada. With what will be required, we prefer not to go there”. »
At present, a vaccinated traveler must present a PCR test carried out before the trip and can be drawn by lot to take another one on arrival, the result of which he will have to wait for the result (48 to 72 hours) by placing himself in quarantine. . It is not for a question of room gauges that the Bourgie hall has canceled the concerts of international artists until further notice. Last week, to bring in Zubin Mehta, the OSM had to plan a “neutralized” buffer period of 72 hours between his arrival and his first rehearsal, just “in case”. This randomness is difficult to manage. And it is not a provincial jurisdiction…
“In 2020 or 2021, to a certain extent, the availability and flexibility of artists was much greater,” notes Renaud Loranger. This is no longer the case. “So we can’t ask artists to arrive a little early, take a test in advance and stay on arrival, isolate themselves while waiting for the results and risk a 10-day quarantine. sums up the artistic director of Lanaudière. A reluctance that Wonny Song also felt, surprised: “There is more reluctance from international artists vis-à-vis Canada. »
Renaud Loranger, who estimates that 20 to 30% of projects will not take place as he had imagined them, plans another “transition festival” before an “artistic redeployment” between 2023 and 2025. Beyond “proven real contingencies and regulations”, he feels the weight of “more subtle contingencies”. “The 18 months of closure leave traces. Canada is fragile, because the recovery elsewhere in the world is incredibly faster, and that has an impact on our work. Can we work as before? No. We are in an international ecosystem and work with partners who operate in markets where the recovery is more advanced, solid, more reliable and more stable. »
“Faithful to her reputation for great resourcefulness, Isolde Lagacé, director of the Bourgie hall, thought, at the start of the week, that she had found a solution that would resolve the torments of some and promises to welcome foreign soloists again. “There is an independent laboratory at the airport which carries out tests by reservation and appointment. They are certainly charged $299, but give the result within the hour. If the artist is drawn for a government test, we do this test right away. The first result that comes in is validated. »
Isolde Lagacé thought she had found a way to avoid the random buffer period. “If the artist is not drawn, we will have paid $299 for nothing. “But, Friday afternoon, the laboratory that Isolde Lagacé had found informed her that it would no longer be able to provide her with these tests. The concerns therefore remain full and complete.
Fragility
Much more than predictability, it is a more structural uncertainty expressed by Wonny Song for Orford Musique: “We feel that the public is fragile. So, the 2022 Festival will not have the magnitude of the 2019 one. We will present fewer concerts just to test things. The public that is not there, I see that in Montreal. »
Jean-François Lapointe adds: “I did not know how much the spectators would be afraid to return to the rooms. Having closed again risks cutting our legs. The director of the Opéra de Québec fears for his Don Giovanni in May, he who continued to produce against all odds. Its 2022 Opera Festival will reflect this activism, out of loyalty to its principles: “I take the risk of a normal festival. I produced a lot during the pandemic: four unsubsidized digital productions — while others were subsidized not to produce — and one theatrical show in October. I am taking these risks to perpetuate the Opéra de Québec and its festival, to perpetuate lyrical art, but also for the artists — lyrical artists, but also artisans — who have been the great forgotten of this pandemic. »
Jean-François Lapointe, who prides himself on having set up a festival in 2021 with “more than 120 lyrical performances”, is aiming for “a French opera festival in this order” in 2022.
Not having made up a kitty with the subsidies, the director of the Opéra de Québec fears for his cash flow: “We will have to see where the financial support will be. The pandemic is expensive in many ways. We continue to be supported, but we played and took risks. »
As for Wonny Song, he would like to finalize his programming, but he cannot. “It’s very difficult to confirm the presence of the artists, because the artists I hire come for concerts in two or three events, moreover, and have to wait for confirmation from the others. We are therefore nervous for certain dates, because the other festivals wait until the last minute before confirming. »
Tuesday’s opening announcements were therefore largely integrated into the scenarios. The only problems with predictability are the randomness of the pandemic. As for the real puzzles, they continue.
This text has been updated to reflect the latest developments.