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Montreal, Monday, February 25, 2019 — The Opéra de Montréal is proud to announce a 2019-2020 season that promises to be truly extraordinary: the world’s greatest voices in four major productions in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, an intimate program at Espace Go, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s highly anticipated return to the Opéra de Montréal!
Opera fans in the city and from surrounding areas will also be able to take advantage of an all-new option at the Opéra de Montréal: all shows in the season will have a matinee performance on Sunday afternoon, thereby making it easier for many patrons from all walks of life to attend! This is in addition to the very popular series of free Let’s Talk Opera! discussions, which will continue to grow throughout Montreal and in nearby suburbs.
The 2019/2020 season in brief
Eugene Onegin: Tchaikovsky’s most famous opera, performed by opera’s most highly acclaimed operatic duo, Etienne Dupuis and Nicole Car!
Lucia di Lammermoor: opera superstar Albina Shagimuratova and Quebec tenor Frédéric Antoun in an absolutely unforgettable evening of bel canto!
Written on Skin: a must-see cutting-edge work, combining classical, medieval and modern elements, led by renowned conductor Nicole Paiement!
The Magic Flute: this unique and celebrated production has toured the world! Combining the magic of the golden age of silent film, with the thrill of live performance, it’s Flute like you’ve never seen it before!
Opera à la carte
Fidelio: Yannick Nézet-Séguin returns to the Opéra de Montréal for a concert version of Beethoven’s only opera, in two performances only at the Maison symphonique. On stage, for this concert in partnership with Orchestre Métropolitain, several of today’s finest singers.
La voix humaine + L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi: an intimate evening at Espace Go, with a focus on female artists! To start, a Quebec ‘‘road opera’’, L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi, will be given its world premiere. Then, soprano France Bellemare, fresh off her Met debut, will take on the role of the distressed and broken woman in Francis Poulenc’s La voix humaine.
Eugene Onegin
EUGENE ONEGIN by Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovsky
The big kick-off to a new season filled with emotion! With Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky’s sublime music whisks us away to the romantic Russia of Pushkin. The ultimate opera of lost love and bitter regret— brilliantly performed by acclaimed artists Étienne Dupuis and Nicole Car.
Synopsis: St. Petersburg, at the end of the 18th century. Olga and Tatyana are Madame Larina’s two daughters: the first is cheerful and in love with the poet Lensky, while the second is more of a melancholy dreamer. Tatyana falls for Eugene Onegin, a cold man who responds to her passion with disdain, even going so far as to court Olga. A terribly jealous Lensky challenges his friend Onegin to a duel, but it is Lensky who perishes. Years later, Onegin finally realizes that he loved Tatyana, but it is too late: she is now married to Prince Gremin, rejecting Onegin and turning away as he once did. Both enraged and in pain, Onegin is left alone, cursing the heavens.
Cast
Onegin Étienne Dupuis
Tatiana Nicole Car
Olga Carolyn Sproule
Lenski Owen McCausland
Filipievna Stefania Toczyska
Conductor Guillaume Tourniaire
Stage Director Tomer Zvulun
Production Lyric Opera Kansas City / Seattle Opera
Opéra de Montréal’s Chorus / Orchestre Métropolitain
September 14.17.19 2019, 7:30PM / September 22 2019, 2:00 PM
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR by Gaetano Donizetti
This is bel canto at its best! International superstar Albina Shagimuratova creates the tour de force title role alongside celebrated Quebec tenor Frédéric Antoun in the role of Edgardo. A tragic betrayal and a deadly forced marriage are brought to life with spectacular voices and vocal fireworks — everything you want in an opera!
Synopsis: Scotland, in the late 17th century, a castle on the foggy moors. Enrico wants to give his sister Lucia in marriage to Arturo, a union that could restore his family’s precarious financial situation. But Lucia is in love with her brother’s sworn enemy, Edgardo, with whom she has exchanged an oath of eternal love. Enrico pressures his sister, who ends up giving in. But in the middle of the wedding celebration, Edgardo suddenly appears, accusing Lucia of having betrayed him. Having gone mad, Lucia kills Arturo on their wedding night before dying in despair. Edgardo cannot live without her and, in anguish, stabs himself on his ancestors’ tomb.
Cast
Lucia Albina Shagimuratova
Edgardo Frédéric Antoun
Enrico Lucas Meachem
Raimondo Oleg Tsibulko
Conductor Fabrizio Ventura
Stage director Michael Cavanagh
Production Utah Opera
Opéra de Montréal’s Chorus / Orchestre Métropolitain
November 9.12.14 2019, 7:30PM / November 17 2019, 2:00PM
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
WRITTEN ON SKIN by George Benjamin & Martin Crimp CANADIAN PREMIERE
George Benjamin’s Written on Skin is a captivating, must-see work, created jointly by five of the world’s most prestigious opera companies and hailed by the New York Times as “a triumph”. Our new production, the Canadian premiere of the work, combines classical, medieval, and modern elements, under the baton of renowned conductor Nicole Paiement.
Synopsis: A rich landowner invites an artist to his home, asking him to create a book of illuminations. The work’s images are to immortalize his merciless political power and the quiet enjoyment he derives from domestic order, as embodied by the humility and childish obedience of his wife Agnes. But the creation of the book becomes a catalyst for the wife’s rebellion. After a successful first attempt at seduction, she exploits her new-found intimacy with the illuminator in order to influence the very contents of the book, forcing her husband to see her as she really is—and thereby opening the door to an ultimate and extraordinary act of provocation.
Cast
Agnès Magali Simard-Galdès
Protector Daniel Okulitch
Angel I Luigi Schifano
Angel 2 Florence Bourget
Angel 3 Jean-Michel Richer
Conductor Nicole Paiement
Stage Director Alain Gauthier
New production Opéra de Montréal
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
January 25.28.30 janvier 2020, 7:30PM / February 2 2020, 2:00PM
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
LA Opera Magic Flute Final Dress Rehearsal
Photo by Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging
THE MAGIC FLUTE by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Yes, stage director Barrie Kosky’s Flute finally makes its way to Montreal! Having enchanted audiences around the world, this thrilling production, reminiscent of the silent film era, offers us a treat for the eyes and ears. Energetic stage direction, colourful set design, and magnificent voices – it’s Flute like you’ve never seen it before! More magical than ever and a pure delight for young and old alike!
Synopsis: The Queen of the Night has instructed Prince Tamino to go rescue her daughter Pamina, imprisoned by the sorcerer Sarastro, who is described as a tyrant. The Prince is accompanied on his quest by Papageno, a colourful bird-catcher, whose cowardice contrasts with Tamino’s nobility and courage. To help them in their fight against the evil forces, one is given a magic flute and the other receives some magic bells. Tamino must undergo several trials of initiation before joining the sacred cult and finding Pamina. As for Papageno, he will fail along the path to wisdom but will nevertheless find his Papagena.
Cast
Tamino Aaron Blake
Pamina Rachel Sterrenberg
Papageno Dominic Köninger
Queen of the Night Olga Pudova
Sarastro Christian Zaremba
Conductor Christopher Allen
Stage Director Barrie Kosky
Production Komische Oper Berlin, in coproduction with Los Angeles Opera et Minnesota Opera
Opéra de Montréal’s Chorus / Orchestre Métropolitain
May 16.19.21 2020, 7:30PM / May 24 2020, 2:00PM / May 26 2020, 7:00PM
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
FIDELIO by Ludwig van Beethoven
The celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday starts with a bang, in collaboration with the distinguished conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and his Orchestre Métropolitain. This concert version of the composer’s only opera will bring together several of today’s finest singers — including Michael Shade, Luca Pisaroni and Lise Davidsen—on the stage at the Maison symphonique, for two performances only!
Synopsis: Leonore has disguised herself as a man and introduced herself as Fidelio in order to obtain employment as an assistant jailer in the prison where her husband Florestan has been unjustly incarcerated by order of the cruel Don Pizzaro. While engaged in this perilous undertaking, Fidelio has aroused the love of Marzelline, the jailer’s daughter, who has now rejected her fiancé. The courageous and persistent wife manages to save her husband from death ordered by Pizarro, his political enemy, whose treachery will be brought to light.
Cast
Leonora Lise Davidsen
Florestan Michael Schade
Rocco Raymond Aceto
Pizarro Luca Pisaroni
Fernando Alan Held
Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Coproduction Orchestre Métropolitain
Opéra de Montréal’s Chorus / Orchestre Métropolitain
October 25 2019, 7:30 PM / October 27 2019, 3:00PM
Maison symphonique
LA VOIX HUMAINE by Francis Poulenc
L’HIVER ATTEND BEAUCOUP DE MOI by Laurence Jobidon & Pascale St-Onge
An intimate evening with a focus on female artists awaits you at Théâtre ESPACE GO. To start, a Quebec ‘‘road opera’’, L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi, will be given its world premiere. Then, soprano France Bellemare, fresh off her Met debut, will take on the role of the distressed and broken woman in Francis Poulenc’s La voix humaine. After the popular and critical success of Svadba last season, this double bill is a must see highlight of our new season!
Synopsis – La voix humaine: A bedroom in disarray… an elegant young woman answers a telephone call from her lover, who is planning to leave her. Over the course of this final conversation, she tries to win him back, going from tender to passionate, from threats of suicide to calm, from regret to outbursts of violence.
Cast
La femme France Bellemare
Pianiste Marie-Ève Scarfone
Synopsis – L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi: Léa seeks refuge in the cold and hostile climate of northern Quebec to protect both her life and that of her unborn child. She meets Madeleine, a tormented woman who promises to take her to the end of this road where no one goes. This journey brings up painful and fragile memories in the two women, jeopardizing their dangerous quest.
Cast
Léa Vanessa Croome
Madeleine Florence Bourget
Pianiste Jennifer Szeto
Stage Director Solène Paré
Production Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal
March 19.21.24.26.28 2020, 7:30PM / March 22, 2:00PM
ESPACE GO
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