Ballet Opera Pantomime
Opus Discovery Prize
by An-Laurence Higgins
Unique in its kind, the small Montreal company Ballet-Opera-Pantomime received last February the Opus Discovery of the Year award. As the name suggests, BOP creates ambitious and multidisciplinary productions using different art forms and different artists. Founded in 2013 by graduates of the Conservatoire de Montréal, the company’s mission is to promote and disseminate classical and contemporary music.
From its beginnings, the company turned to works of composers of the 20th century, beginning with the chamber opera Curlew River by British composer Benjamin Britten. Its members were then able to work on projects with organizations such as ECM+ and the Arte Musica Foundation. With ECM +, BOP co-produced its first production including dance with five dancers and a choreography created by Emmanuelle Lussier-Martinez. With the Arte Musica Foundation, the company followed up on its success by presenting Britten’s The Burning Fiery Furnace at Bourgie Hall in 2015.
Another major production of Ballet-Opera-Pantomime is the creation of Herbal Wine. This show, given to contemporary art by Arsenal, brings together sixty artists (actors, singers and instrumentalists), was conceived and directed by Philippe Boutin and included paraphrases of the oratorio Le Vin herbé by composer Frank Martin.
More recently, the company BOP has performed composer Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the end of the time as part of the framework of the live arts festival OFFTA. True to her habits, she has integrated a form of art other than music, this time, dance. Dancers Karina Champoux, Dave St-Pierre, Frédéric Taverni and Anne Thériault joined the production to give a new dimension to the work.
Ballet-Opéra-Pantomime also turned to a younger audience by creating Mes aventures du sorcier Gougounes. The show, conceived for the family to stimulate curiosity and to arouse the wonder of the smallest, presents a world imbued with imagination and aims to introduce children to the world of music. The actors Maxime Genois and Alice Moreault will be the protagonists.
The main team of Ballet-Opera-Pantomime is composed of the musicians Hubert Tanguay-Labrosse, Alexis Raynault, Nataq Huault, Felix Poirier and Céleste Morrisset.
www.bopbop.ca
