Opéra de Montréal facts for kids
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| Industry | Opera |
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| Predecessor | Opéra de Québec |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Jean-Paul Jeannotte |
| Headquarters | Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Montréal, Canada |
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Key people
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The Opéra de Montréal is an opera company located in Montreal, Canada. It performs its shows at the Place des Arts theatre complex in downtown Montreal. This company was started in 1980. At first, it focused on performing operas in French.
Contents
History of Opera in Montreal
Before the Opéra de Montréal began in 1980, there were many attempts to create an opera company in the city. Several earlier groups tried to bring opera to Montreal. These included L'Opéra français de Montréal (1893-1896) and the Montreal Opera Company (1910-1913). Another group, the Société Canadienne d'Opérette, performed for about ten years starting in 1921.
Later, the Variétés Lyriques, a light opera company, put on over 1000 shows between 1936 and 1955. The Opera Guild of Montreal also performed from 1942 to 1959. From 1971 to 1975, the Opéra du Québec (a provincial company) operated in Montreal.
Founding the Opéra de Montréal
The Opéra de Montréal was officially started in 1980. This happened five years after the Opéra du Québec closed. The company was founded by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec, which is Quebec's Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
Jean-Paul Jeannotte was the first director of the Opéra de Montréal, serving until 1989. In 1988, a helpful new feature was added: bilingual supertitles. These are like subtitles that appear above the stage, helping the audience understand the words being sung in two languages.
In 1989, the Opéra's money situation became stable. Jacqueline Desmarais created the Montréal Opera Guild to help the Opéra. This guild raised money and organized special events.
Awards and Big Shows
The Opéra de Montréal has won many awards and put on popular shows.
- It received the Félix Award for its show Nelligan. This was a romantic opera based on a book by Michel Tremblay.
- In 1997-1998, the company won two Opus Awards for its production of Jenůfa.
- They won two more Opus Awards in 2004 for Bluebeard's Castle.
- In 2007, the company worked with Opera Australia to present Lakmé. At this time, the Opéra de Montréal was one of the 15 largest opera companies in North America.
- In 2008, an outdoor performance of Puccini's Madame Butterfly drew a huge crowd of 33,000 people!
- In 2010, they won another Opus Award for a double show of Pagliacci and Gianni Schicchi.
- In 2013, they won an Opus Award again for Dead Man Walking.
All these performances are held at the Place des Arts theatre complex in downtown Montreal.
l'Atelier lyrique
In 1984, a special program called l'Atelier lyrique was created. Its goal is to help young opera singers and artists develop their skills. Yvonne Goudreau was the first director. Chantal Lambert took over in 1990. In March 2023, Jennifer Szeto became the new director of the Atelier. She had previously worked with the company as an artist in residence.
Artistic Directors
- Jean-Paul Jeannotte (1980–1989)
- Bernard Uzan (1989–2001)
- Bernard Labadie (2002–2006)
- Michel Beaulac (2006–present)
General Directors
- Jacques Langevin (1983–1986)
- Bernard S. Creighton (1986–1988)
- Bernard Uzan (1988–2000)
- Kimberly J. Gaynor (2001–2002)
- David Moss (2003–2006)
- Pierre Dufour (2006–2016)
- Patrick Corrigan (2016–present)
Atelier Lyrique Directors
- Yvonne Goudreau (1984-1990)
- Chantal Lambert (1990-2023)
- Jennifer Szeto (2023-present)
See also
In Spanish: Ópera de Montreal para niños
