Chants Libres presents Prélude à l’opéra

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Tuesday, October 27 – In response to the context of the current health crisis, Chants Libres was obliged to postpone the creation of L’Orangeraie by Zad Moultaka and Larry Tremblay, which would have taken place this month at the Monument-National. Never failing to uphold its reputation for vocal innovation, the company is making a gamble and using this big, deserted hall to film Prélude à l’opéra. Inspired by several excerpts from L’orangeraie and guided by constraints put in place for the performing arts due to COVID 19, this digital event will be aired on the web in January 2021.

The staging of an empty space: a prelude to covid lyricism

Conceived and staged by Pauline Vaillancourt and co-produced with Manuel A. Codina, this prelude is a staged exploration of emptiness in all of its dimensions. From an empty hall with no set or scenery and prohibited props along with imposed rehearsals constraints… when they can take place at all! Thus, a feeling that something is missing serves as the creative trigger to bring creation alive for the public in spite of it all, be it through reinvention, searching, or of course, imagining.

Play and unplay the missing pages of the score

To this end, Mikaël, an author and the key character in Larry Tremblay’s work, accompanies us in this prelude with a minimal set. Performed by the actor Sébastien Ricard who is armed with the words of Larry Tremblay and the music of Zad Moultaka, he incarnates doubt, both of artists and of this time, reciting existing text and unplaying the missing pages.

At his side on the great stage of the Monument-National, will be the musicians of the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and artists of the original cast, directed by Lorraine Vaillancourt, who will perform excerpts of the opera L’orangeraie with their own challenges of interpretation, offering a collective exploration of the upcoming opera that leaves space for imagination… and for hope.

“With this prelude, Chants Libre offers the public to discover the essence of an operatic creation,” says Pauline Vaillancourt, artistic director of the company. “This unique digital event truly writes itself into our DNA, as much at the level of creation as that of research. We hope that the listeners will be able to sense how it feels for the vocal milieu to be deprived of its voice, while also giving them a foretaste of our next opera.”

Remember also that Chants Libres continues to celebrate 30 years this season. There are regular opportunities for the public to revisit works that have given rhythm to the journey of this company, whether it be by opera broadcasts online or through interviews on its blog.