Domestic violence against women and femicide are increasingly in the news. A revival of the opera L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi by composer Laurence Jobidon and librettist Pascale St-Onge brings the topic to the forefront in an emotionally charged story.
What you missed
L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi was developed as a voice-piano production for the Atelier lyrique of the Opéra de Montréal years ago, but due to the COVID pandemic, the production was only filmed and webcasted in November 2020.
Since then, Opéra Magnolia (formerly Musique 3 femmes) has commissioned a new version for six instruments and produced the work in Berlin in 2022. It is this version that was premiered for the first time to a live Quebec audience on June 14 at Festival Classica, with Mélanie Léonard conducting Ensemble Paramaribo, and under the staging of Nathalie Deschamps. Soprano Marianne Lambert plays the character of Léa and mezzo-soprano Kristin Hoff assumes the role of Madeleine.
A car breaks down in the middle of winter wilderness in northern Quebec and a visibly pregnant Léa is despondent as she searches for shelter. Madeleine, the driver, tries to reassure her that a safe house is nearby. St-Onge’s ensuing poignant dialogue between the two women is ably set to music by Laurence Jobidon. Musically, there were no memorable melodies, but the duets were charged with emotion and drama.
Soprano Marianne Lambert as Léa and mezzo-soprano Kristin Hoff as Madeleine. Photo: Kevin Calixte
Soprano Marianne Lambert was a tour–de-force as Léa. She was able to sing the heights of the score with ease and boldness. As the mysterious Madeleine, the older of the two women, mezzo-soprano Kristin Hoff was an effective musical foil to Lambert singing with a grounded, calm and warm tone. Sharing her own torment about her lost pregnancy makes Madeleine’s character a sympathetic one.
The set was spare but was a suitably harsh backdrop to the story. Deschamps’ staging provided intimacy between the performers, and conductor Melanie Leonard led Ensemble Paramirabo in a good tempo.
Mélanie Léonard conducting Ensemble Paramibo. Photo: Kevin Calixte
Before the 45-minute opera, the Ensemble Paramirabo did a credible job of the world premiere of Jobidon’s Rien n’est dit – tout est engagé, a 10-minute work for six instruments and serves as a companion to the opera. This piece effectively gave a haunting and intimate introduction to the opera by creating a sense of melancholy before the story unfolds.
After the opera performance, a cultural mediation discussion among the creators and singers gave further insight to the story, its conception and production. Allowing questions from the audience further explored this contemporary topic.
L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi was produced by Opéra Magnolia in collaboration with Festival Classica, Le Vivier, Les Productions du 10 avril, and Paramirabo at the Studio-Théâtre in the Wilder Building. It will also be presented at the Festival d’opera de Quebec on July 24 and 26.
