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Rufus Wainwright on Prima Donna

Rufus Wainwright: Prima Donna

By Caroline Rodgers on 1 June 2016 Contemporary, Interviews, Opera, Popular Music, Quebec Music

Better late than never: Rufus Wainwright’s first opera, which premiered in 2009, will at last be performed in Montreal this summer in a concert version as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Born into a family of musicians, Rufus Wainwright was surely destined to follow in the footsteps of his parents, folk singer Kate McGarrigle and singer Loudon Wainwright III. At the age of 13 he was already touring alongside his mother, aunt Anna McGarrigle, and sister Martha, as part of The McGarrigle Sisters and Family, an expanded version of the famous Kate and Anna duo. Nothing in this…

Jean-Michel Richer (Comte Vallier de Tilly) et Etienne Dupuis (Simon Doucet) Photo: Yves Renaud

Review: Les Feluettes by Opéra de Montréal and Pacific Opera Victoria

By Kiersten van Vliet on 23 May 2016 Concert Reviews, Opera

Saturday night’s world premiere of Les Feluettes was an accomplishment long in the making. A co-commission by Opéra de Montréal and Pacific Opera Victoria, the opera was conceived by Australian composer Kevin March, who saw the English movie adaptation, Lilies, over a decade ago. Set in a men’s prison in the 1950s and 1910s, the story is popular in Quebec through the play by Michel Marc Bouchard. Bishop Jean Bilodeau (tenor Gordon Gietz) visits the prison to hear the last confession of his boyhood friend Simon Doucet, played by baritone Gino Quilico. In a Man of La Mancha-style construction, the all-Canadian, all-male cast of inmates stage…

Etienne Dupuis (Simon Doucet) Photo: Yves Renaud

This Week in Montreal (May 23–29)

By Kiersten van Vliet on 23 May 2016 Choral, Contemporary, Opera, Orchestral, This Week in Montreal

War Requiem at the Maison Symphonique Kent Nagano and the OSM with the OSM chorus present Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem May 25 and 28 at 8:00 pm and 29 at 2:30 pm at Maison Symphonique. Soloists include soprano Catherine Naglestad, tenor Ian Bostridge, and baritone Russell Braun, who is replacing Thomas Hampson for health reasons.http://www.osm.ca/en/concert/war-requiem Concours Musical International de Montréal The CMIM kicks off this week with Quarter-final rounds May 23–25, and Semi-final rounds May 27 and 28 at Bourgie Hall. Catch masterclasses with judges Ida Kavafian and Pierre Amoyal on Thursday May 26 at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm, respectively at the Chapelle Historique…

Rebecca Woodmass, coloratura soprano (young Patricia). Photo: Mathieu Dupuis

Review: Chants Libres – The Trials of Patricia Isasa

By Kiersten van Vliet on 20 May 2016 Concert Reviews, Opera

Last night’s world premiere of Kristin Norderval’s The Trials of Patricia Isasa at the Monument-National was a resounding success, to say the least. The opera, libretto by Naomi Wallace and dramaturg Bibbi Moslet, is based on the true story of Patricia Isasa, who was only 16 when she was abducted in her hometown of Santa Fe, Argentina by the military Junta without trial. Daringly cerebral, The Trials of Patricia Isasa depicts not the events of her imprisonment itself but Isasa’s reckoning with the past decades later as she tries to find justice for herself as well as the 30,000 other “disappeared.” Presented as part of…

Audience members circulate among the singers. Photo R. K. Basdeo

Polyphonic Extravagance Wows Audiences at the Gesù

By Rebecca Anne Clark on 19 April 2016 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, Contemporary

Musica Orbium, under the direction of Patrick Wedd, treated audiences to some stunning vocal performances at two performances of their concert “Extravagance Polyphonique” at the Église du Gesù last Sunday, April 17. The program, based around the illustrious motets Spem in alium by Tallis and Ecce beatam lucem by Striggio, also contained lesser-known gems, including works that predate the aforementioned motets such as Johannes Ockeghem’s Deo gratia à 36 and Josquin des Prez’s Qui habitat in adiutorio altissimi for 24 voices, as well as contemporary works including Patrick Wedd’s Nines₂, composed for Musica Orbium’s tenth anniversary, and Gregg Smith’s Sound…

Benjamin Britten

Britten’s War Requiem

By Kiersten van Vliet on 1 April 2016 Choral, Contemporary, Orchestral

This May, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is closing its season with Benjamin Britten’s choral masterpiece War Requiem, conducted by Kent Nagano with soloists Catherine Naglestad, Ian Bostridge, and Thomas Hampson. Commissioned for the 1962 consecration of Coventry Cathedral, which was bombed in the Second World War, the War Requiem has transcended its origins, becoming a staple in memorial ceremonies for major tragedies and war. Given the current instability around the globe, War Requiem is quite timely. In 1939, with increasing tension in Europe, Britten and Sir Peter Pears sailed to North America, where they spent several years. The consequences of this decision were far-reaching.…

Emily d'Angelo au COC

Industry News: April 2016

By Shira Gilbert on 1 April 2016 Arts Industry, Choral, Circus, Contemporary, Opera, Orchestral, Quebec Music

Big Wins Toronto-based mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo has been named the winner of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The 21-year-old D’Angelo, one of five winners from a pool of nine finalists, performed two arias with the Met Orchestra under the baton of Antony Walker at the Grand Finals Concert on the Met stage. Previous winners of the Met Auditions include many of the world’s great opera stars, such as Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, and Frederica von Stade. In 2015, D’Angelo won both First Prize and the Audience Choice Award at the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Competition. Soprano Chelsea…

Gilbert Patenaude

Gilbert Patenaude: The Maestro Retires

By Julie Vovan on 1 April 2016 Choral

After 38 years as artistic director of the Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal, Maestro Gilbert Patenaude is ready to retire. What kind of musical and pedagogical legacy is he leaving? In 1978, Patenaude became the first lay musical director of the Petits Chanteurs. In the 60 years since its founding, the choir’s primary mission has been to offer musical accompaniment for the religious services at Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Patenaude’s arrival was a change of pace for the young singers. He took on the artistic direction and musical training, and still had time to compose his own pieces, including three operas. Just…

Jacqueline Desmarais at the Prix Opus Gala. Photo Anis Hammoud-CQM

Prix Opus: Honouring Homegrown Talent

By Caroline Rodgers on 1 April 2016 Classical Music, Opera

The 19th Prix Opus gala, hosted by the Conseil québécois de la musique, took place on February 7 at Bourgie Hall. In all, 27 laureates received prizes for their concerts, CDs, or the whole of their work. Here’s a look at the big winners. The Molinari Quartet were particularly recognized at the event, bringing home three awards, including concert of the year (contemporary/modern music) for their concert, Le Quatuor selon Chostakovitch, a concert of the Russian composer’s complete quartets presented over two days in May 2015; concert of the year in Montreal (for the same concert); and CD of the…

Lebrecht Weekly – FolksLied: Beethoven, Britten, Haydn (BR Klassik)

By Norman Lebrecht on 25 March 2016 Art Song, Classical, Contemporary, Lebrecht Weekly

Viennese masters, always short of cash, picked up commissions from rich British tourists for composing drawing-room settings of national heritage. Haydn and Beethoven filled their boots with Scottish and Welsh ballads for two ducats a song. Haydn wrote about 200, dressed up with piano, violin and cello accompaniments. Easy money. The first surprise in this absorbing recital by Christian Gerhaher is that he sings the Haydn ditties in German, in a 1920s translation. It’s disconcerting at first but gradually deepens with hints of the nearness of these simple sentiments to the core topics of German Lieder: springtime, love and loss.…

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