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And the winners are (Montréal, Sunday, January 19, 2020) – The 23rd edition of the Conseil québécois de la musique’s Opus Awards Gala was held this Sunday, January 19, 2020 at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Bourgie Hall. The artistic direction of the gala was entrusted to the duo of Alexis Raynault and Hubert Tanguay-Labrosse, co-directors of BOP | Ballet-Opéra-Pantomime. Thirty Opus awards were handed out in recognition of the remarkable achievements of Québec’s music scene during the 2018-2019 season.
Onstage, actor, musician and dancer Florence Blain Mbaye capably took on the role of MC, while singer and ICI Musique host Marc Hervieux was backstage to capture the spontaneous reactions of the winners. The interviews, live-streamed on the CQM’s Facebook page, can be viewed at prixopus.qc.ca.
Spotlight on music To kick things off, under the direction of Hubert Tanguay-Labrosse, the Quatuor Molinari, Matthias Soly-Letarte and musicians from the I Musici de Montréal chamber orchestra joined a choir of students from Joseph-François-Perreault High School to perform Francis Poulenc’s Litanies à la Vierge noire. Afterwards, H. M. Górecki’s Quartet No. 2, Op. 64 was performed by the Molinari Quartet. The intensity of the musical performances was enhanced by nine dancers. The audience also heard the piece Mimeault/Morris (traditional, arrangement by Babineau/Chartrand) performed by Nicolas Babineau and Alexis Chartrand. The event closed with all the musicians onstage to perform a medley of works by William Byrd. The stage entrances and exits of the winners were paced thanks to Montreal composer Simon Chioini.
As well, the Tribute award was presented to Monique Dubé, retired executive director of Société Pro Musica, in acknowledgment of her tireless commitment to the development of chamber music in Montreal. The Conseil québécois de la musique wishes to recognize the major contribution of Ms. Dubé’s career to Québec’s music scene.
Enhanced awards Thanks to the CQM’s precious partners, eight awards at the Opus Awards Gala were accompanied by a cash prize or a project opportunity. The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec awarded $10,000 to Composer of the Year Éric Champagne; the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications gave $5,000 to the Orchestre Métropolitain, winner of the Production of the Year – Young Audiences award for its production Airs de jeunesse – La musique au cinéma : Génial! ; and the Canada Council for the Arts awarded $5,000 to Ensemble Paramirabo, chosen Performer of the Year. For its part, the Conseil des arts de Montréal gave $3,000 to the OktoÉcho ensemble, winner of the Inclusion and Diversity – Montréal award, as well as to the Orchestre Métropolitain, winner of the Concert of the Year – Montréal award for Le Château de Barbe-Bleue. Télé-Québec’s Fabrique culturelle will produce a capsule on the Orchestre symphonique de Drummondville, winner of the Concert of the Year – Regions award for its concert Prince et Tsar. The Conseil québécois du Patrimoine vivant gave $1,000 to Les Chauffeurs à pieds for its concert Déversement d’huiles, for which the group won Concert of the Year – Traditional Québec Music. Finally, CINARS awarded the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, winner of the special prize for International Achievement for its 2019 European tour, the sum of $1,000 as well as a place at the CINARS 2020 biennial (a $1,000 value).
The Conseil québécois de la musique wishes to thank its partners for supporting this 23rd edition of the Opus Awards Gala: Musicaction, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, ICI MUSIQUE, la destination musicale de Radio-Canada, La Fabrique culturelle, Le Devoir, La Scena Musicale, Ludwig Van Montréal, CINARS, the Conseil québécois du patrimoine vivant, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Bourgie Hall. This project has been made possible in part thanks to the governments of Quebec and Canada.
The Conseil québécois de la musique is a grouping of organizations and professionals working in the field of concert music. Its activities promote the cohesion, recognition and development of Québec’s music scene and help defend the latter’s interests.
* The list of winners accompanies this press release.
Information Ève-Marie Cimon, Coordinator, Opus Awards 514-524-1310 / 1-866-999-1310 ext. 1 / [email protected] / prixOpus.qc.ca
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