A Dialogue we still need today - Dialogue des Carmelites @ opera de montreal

Guys, I did it. I finally did it. Last Saturday, it happened.

Michele-Andree Lanoue and my brother Paul. Photo: Yves Renaud

I got my younger brother to come to the opera. I paid 2/3 of his ticket, but guys. I got the jazz-trumpet-player-and-club-tokyo-going member of my family to sit for 3 hours and attend an opera. And not just any opera, but Poulenc's Dialogue des Carmelites presented by Opera de Montreal. And you wanna know what he kept repeating after the performance? 

Opera is lit af.

I couldn't possibly be more thrilled about this. Dialogue des Carmélites is not a blockbuster opera like Carmen or La Boheme, and yet, according to my brother, it was "lit AF". Beautifully performed in Wilfrid-Pelletier Hall of Place des Arts, it took everyone on a downward spiral through fear and sickness before leaving us sobbing in our seats. Overall, this new producation of the opera was from beginning to end emotionnally charged. I feel a lump in my throat just thinking about it... #nospoilers

Photo: Yves Renaud

a message that is still relevant today

 It is certainly not because the opera was composed in the 1950's and that it is set during the French Revolution that the themes it presents are outdated or irrelevant to the world around us. I took a few minutes to chat with soprano Aidan Ferguson, who performs Mere Marie de l'Incarnation, and she brought up so many connections between the opera and our society:

Blanche is struggling with overcoming mental illness and looks to the convent as a safe place to heal. Unfortunately with the persecution of religion, her safe place is taken away from her. The solidarity of women is also a strong theme in this opera. All 5 of the lead roles are female, each character bringing their own strengths and struggles to the group. The dynamic shift that happens on stage as soon as a male enters is quite jarring. 

Rings any bells? Bell Let's Talk, Women's Marches? I'll let you connect the dots.

Our high fives

Ça prie fort au Carmel! @operademontreal @missfiset #DialoguesDesCarmelites #opera #rehearsal

Une photo publiée par Magali Galdes (@magaligaldes) le 6 Janv. 2017 à 14h28 PST

We are crushing hard on the opera's dynamic duo: Marianne Fiset et Magali Simard-Galdes, who interpreted Blanche and Soeur Constance respectively. Off stage, it is clear that the two singers enjoy each other's company; joking during rehearsals, taking pictures of their knee-pads, etc. On stage, the two characters contrasted each other perfectly; one is frightened, the other joyful. In short, they are pretty much bffs on and off stage. #squadgoals

​Plus, in an opera where the orchestra holds much of the melodic passages compared to the singers, it could not have been more appropriate to have the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal under the energetic direction of Jean-Francois Rivest. To have witnessed a rehearsal in the beginning of January, I can assure you that nothing was overlooked; every note, every vowel, every detail was carefully scrutinized to create this breathtaking ensemble.

Jean-Francois Rivest during rehearsal. Photo : Greg Mizak

NEW feature at the opera

Opera de Montreal now partners with ICI ARTV for the photobooth before the performance and during the intermission. There are props that you can use imaginatively to make memorable pictures. Not only are the pictures available online for free download, but you also get a printed one on the spot, just like a polaroid! #90sareback

Une photo publiée par Janice LaGiorgia (@janicelag) le 28 Janv. 2017 à 23h02 PST

Une photo publiée par ChatdOpera (@chatdopera) le 31 Janv. 2017 à 15h34 PST