Fall Into the Classical Arts

After letting the festivals take over the spotlight of summer entertainment, Montreal’s more classical culture institutions are revving up their programming for the new season. Expect operatic heights, symphonic grandeur and balletic prowess…

[Opera] Opéra de Montréal launches its season with a grandiose production of Verdi’s Nabucco, presented in association with the Washington National Opera, Minnesota Opera and Opera Philadelphia. Catch the political romance until September 27, and then ready yourselves for the next treat they’ve got in store: the famous Barber of Seville by Rossini. Presented at Place des Arts on November 8, 11, 13 and 15, the jovial Italian opera features a love triangle and, in the lead role, the one and only Figaro, among the genre’s most famous characters. He will be played by homegrown baritone Étienne Dupuis, back in Montreal after an acclaimed run of the European stages.

[Symphony] The Montreal Symphony Orchestra has a chock-a-block fall with a wide variety of musical events. This week, don’t miss Russian Passion on September 26 at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Salle Bourgie, a special program that brings together a pair of key works in the Russian repertory: one by Arensky written in memory of the cellist Karl Davidov, and one by Rachmaninoff, in homage to Tchaikovsky. The next day, on September 27, it’s Symphonic Crossing, a special musical event themed around the solo voyage across the Atlantic, from Canada to France, by rower Mylène Paquette, featuring musical works chosen by Kent Nagano.

October is jam-packed for the OSM, with highlights including the Canadian International Organ Competition Gala Concert on October 19, celebrating in style the recent addition of the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique in the beautiful Maison symphonique. On October 31 and November 1, get your Halloween on with the OSM’s presentation of 1925 film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera by Rupert Julian, accompanied on organ by William O’Meara, improvising on the spot. Among the goodies played in November, two are not to be missed: The Voice of Romanticism, on November 19 and 20, featuring soprano Miah Persson singing pieces by Wagner, Schoenberg, Schubert and Strauss, as well as the Saint-Saëns’ Third Violin Concerto, featuring violinist Andrew Wan interpreting pieces by Mozart and Saint-Saëns, on November 26, 27, 29.

[Ballet] The Grand Ballets de Montréal kicked off its season with the Vaudevillian romp Léonce Lena, a comical, high-colour production that you can still see until September 27.  Afterwards comes Paquita, presented with the Paris Opera Ballet from October 16 to 19 at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts. Directed by Pierre Lacotte, who first brought this forgotten piece back to the stage in 2001, the work features intrigue, abduction and family secrets – a suspenseful and exciting dramatic context for character dances and pantomime. Expect sumptuous sets and complex costumes to round out this colourful production set in 19^th century Spain.

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