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Francais (French)
In early May, La Scena Musicale presented its Mother’s Day celebration, an event that turned into an entire weekend of festivity. We decided this year to present our concert before the delivery of the serenades. This made it possible to show off the singers, to promote their talent and to encourage public interest in ordering serenades.
“As announced on paper, the serenades remain a little two-dimensional,” explains Vivianne Delorme, director and stage manager of the Mother’s Day concert. “To have the concert as a glimpse of what we offer helps the imagination.”
The Mother’s Day celebration began on Friday, May 7 with a very touching concert that brought together some of the best singers of the Canadian music scene. These artists not only sang a song dedicated to their mothers but also told the story behind the choice and the special relationships they shared. The intention of the concert was to recreate the warm atmosphere of the in-person encounters that we miss so much. “It was the challenge we gave ourselves all this year,” says Delorme. “We realized that online shows were lacking the community aspect, the warmth of communicating and being together.
“That is why, for our Mother’s Day concert, we tried to talk more with the singers by including interviews and discussions with the audience by creating a post-concert Zoom party.”
The post-concert party, which was meant to be a moment of sharing, took place in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The quiz that tested connoisseurs of classical music, opera and rock was very entertaining and informative. On Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9, the same singers delivered our famous serenades to moms across the country (as well as in the United States and Europe). As always, the delivery days are off to a flying start.
As a “dispatcher” – coordinator of the serenades – my job must be like that of a person in charge of a post office during the holiday season. I am not lying when I say that the mistakes and setbacks are what I love the most about this job. For unexplained reasons, it seems to me that it is these mistakes and setbacks that end up creating the most beautiful moments. Here are two examples.
A serenade ordered for a mother in Germany was to be sung live at… 7 a.m. Quebec time. It was not possible, but by playing a little with the time zones, we arrived at a compromise, connecting Quebec to Germany via Erica Lee Martin, who lives in London.
An error having crept into our web page, it was Chantal Dionne who, even if she was not supposed to participate in the serenades, received the first order. Chantal nevertheless accepted the order, which came from Amsterdam. “It was a real marathon,” says Dino Spaziani, master of ceremonies for the Zoom serenades and moderator of the concert. “Chantal was finishing a mass, we had to reschedule the serenade twice.
“Joined by her regular accompanist, Louise-Andrée Baril, and unsatisfied with her first version of ‘Sì, mi chiamano Mimi’ from Puccini’s La Bohème, Chantal wanted to do it again. But in the middle of her second take, Zoom flinched and Chantal disappeared before reappearing with her best smile and, with determination, starting from the beginning to give a most exquisite interpretation.”
If serenades are a pleasure to give and to receive, they are also a pleasure to deliver. For more than a year, artists of all levels and genres have been living a separation and estrangement from their audience, no longer able to share their passion and their profession as they used to. For many, our Mother’s Day celebration, which gave them the opportunity to practice their art, was greatly appreciated. “The pleasure of singing again with a specific purpose and, in this case, for Mother’s Day, was actually a gift to me,” says baritone Simon Chaussé. “Thanks to this event created by La Scena Musicale, I had the feeling of finally restoring this link with colleagues and the public. The opportunity to serenade all weekend long and speak directly with recipients was all the more unique and rewarding!”
With our celebration of Mother’s Day, we have further broadened our horizons by offering not only tunes from the lyrical and opera repertoire, but also pop, rock, jazz and more.
La Scena Musicale is proud of the results of the event. “The artistic quality and the quality of production have greatly increased, and that is thanks to generous donors such as Sharon Azrieli and Canimex, and because we took charge,” comments Adrian Rodriguez, organizer and presenter of the concert. “We rented better recording equipment, we started working with professional software, etc. Not only did the event get a lot of visibility, but it also brought us a lot of new fans.”
With our celebration of Mother’s Day, we have further broadened our horizons by offering not only tunes from the lyrical and opera repertoire, but also pop, rock, jazz and more. We also bet on the elsewhere by inviting the soprano Kripa Nageshwar to join our roster. With her, we opened the door to the Indian community, who responded and kept the singer busy all weekend. The song “Amma Amma Endhan Aaruyirae” was the most requested, ahead of “Ma mère chantait toujours.”
Rewatch our Mother’s Day concert at mySCENA.org.
Our personalized serenades are available at any time of the year and on any occasion (birthday, father’s day, graduation, etc.). www.valentineserenades.com
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
