LOpéra de Montréal is an

opera company Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Canada. It performs at the

Place des Arts Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

theatre complex in downtown Montreal, in the borough of Ville-Marie. It was founded in 1980 as a company focused on productions in French.

History

Before the Opéra de Montréal was established in 1980 there had been a number of previous attempts to establish an opera company in the city. L'Opéra français de Montréal operated from 1893 to 1896, and gave almost 600 performances, principally of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

. The Montreal Opera Company was started in 1910 by

Albert Clerk-Jeannotte Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

with financing from Frank S. Meighen, and ran for three years. The was started by in 1921, and gave some 300 performances in the following ten years. Another

light opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

company, the Variétés Lyriques, was established in 1936, and between then and 1955 gave more than 1000 performances; 13 of the 83 works presented were serious operas. From 1942 until 1950 the Opera Guild of Montreal gave two performances of each of two productions per year, and then until 1959 mounted only one annual production; the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

was

Pauline Donalda Pauline Donalda , born Pauline Lightstone, (March 5, 1882 – October 22, 1970) was a Canadian operatic soprano. Early life and education Donalda was born Pauline Lightstone in Montreal, Quebec, the daughter of Jewish parents who changed their ...

. Another professional opera company, the Opéra du Québec (i.e. the province), operated in Montreal from 1971 to 1975. A different company

Opéra de Québec Opéra de Québec or Opera of Quebec City is a Canadian opera company founded in 1983; it is related to Opéra de Montréal, founded in 1980. The company does not have its own venue but performs in the Grand Théâtre de Québec on 269 Boulevard R ...

(i.e. the city) was founded in

Québec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is the ...

in 1983. The company was established in 1980 by the

Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec The Ministry of Culture and Communications (french: Ministère de la Culture et des Communications ) is responsible for promoting and protecting the culture in the Canadian province of Quebec. The current Minister is Nathalie Roy.Jean-Paul Jeannotte Jean-Paul Jeannotte (9 March 1926 – 9 September 2021Huss, ChristopheDécès de Jean-Paul Jeannotte, cofondateur de l’Opéra de Montréal/ref>) was a Canadian operatic tenor, academic teacher, and opera administrator. He founded the Opéra de ...

was director until 1989,Potvin, Gilles
Jean-Paul Jeannotte
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''Huss, Christophe
Décès de Jean-Paul Jeannotte, cofondateur de l'Opéra de Montréal
/ref> when took over. In 1984, ''l'Atelier lyrique'' was founded in order to promote the development of a national outreach, led by Yvonne Goudreau. In 1988 bilingual supertitles were introduced. In 1989 the Opéra's finances stabilized. Jacqueline Desmarais founded the Montréal Opera Guild to support the Opéra through fundraising and special events like the Gala and the Signature Event. The Opéra also received the

Félix Award The Félix Award (french: Trophée Félix or Prix Félix) is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' (ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian p ...

for the most popular show of the season, ''Nelligan'', a romantic opera by

André Gagnon André Gagnon (2 August 1936 – 3 December 2020) was a Canadian pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, and actor, known for his fusion of classical and pop styles,Jean-Pierre Thiollet, ''88 notes pour piano solo'', Neva Editions, 2015, p.16 ...

based on a book by

Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a French-Canadian novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood wit ...

. In 1990 Chantal Lambert was nominated the director of ''l'Atelier lyrique''. In 1997-1998, two Opus Awards were given for the production of Janáček's ''

Jenůfa ''Její pastorkyňa'' (''Her Stepdaughter''; commonly known as ''Jenůfa'' ) is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the play ''Její pastorkyňa'' by Gabriela Preissová. It was first performed ...

''. In 2004, two Opus Awards were again given to the company for Bartók's ''

Bluebeard's Castle ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' ( hu, A kékszakállú herceg vára, link=no, or ''The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle'') is a one-act expressionism, expressionist opera by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. The libretto was written by Béla Balázs, a poet ...

''. In 2007, the company cooperated with

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

by presenting ''

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart in P ...

'' by Delibes, and was rated as one of the 15 largest opera companies in North America. In 2008, an outdoor presentation of Puccini's

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

attracted 33,000 listeners. In 2010 it received a Opus Award for a double bill of Leoncavallo's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'' and Puccini's ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Puccin ...

'' directed by Alain Gauthier, and again in 2013 for Jake Heggie's '' Dead Man Walking''. Performances are held at the

theatre complex in downtown Montreal, in the borough of Ville-Marie.

Artistic directors

Jean-Paul Jeannotte Jean-Paul Jeannotte (9 March 1926 – 9 September 2021Huss, ChristopheDécès de Jean-Paul Jeannotte, cofondateur de l’Opéra de Montréal/ref>) was a Canadian operatic tenor, academic teacher, and opera administrator. He founded the Opéra de ...

(1980–1989) * (1989–2001) *

Bernard Labadie Bernard Labadie (born March 27, 1963) is a conductor of classical and baroque music, artistic director, and musical director. He was born in Quebec City, Canada and graduated from the School of Music at Laval University. During Labadie's education ...

(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)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Opera De Montreal Canadian opera companies Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups from Montreal Tourist attractions in Montreal 1980 establishments in Quebec