An evening of Chamber Opera

The McGill Chamber Orchestra with the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal

The McGill Chamber Orchestra and the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal are joining forces to present two gems of the chamber opera repertoire that shine the spotlight on love, desire and miscommunication: La Voix humaine by Francis Poulenc (sung in French) and Trouble in Tahiti by Leonard Bernstein (sung in English). These celebrated masterpieces will be brought to life in a brand new, semi-staged production on February 3 at the Théâtre Outremont.

The role of the anonymous “Elle” will be sung by
soprano France Bellemare, who captivated
Montreal audiences last March as
Gertrude in Hansel and Gretel

The first opera on the program, La Voix Humaine, is a riveting one-act tragedy composed by Poulenc in 1958, based on a monodrama by Jean Cocteau. The role of the anonymous woman “Elle” will be sung by soprano France Bellemare, who captivated Montreal audiences last March as Gertrude in Hansel and Gretel at the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal. This French masterwork will be directed by Martine Beaulne, the renowned theatre director and professor at UQAM’s École supérieure de théâtre.

The evening’s second one-act opera, Trouble in Tahiti, will be staged by Oriol Tomas, a talented young director with a string of successes to his name. Bernstein’s jazzy score tells the story of Dinah and Sam, an American suburban couple dealing with a marriage in crisis. Mezzo-soprano Alexandra Beley and baritone Josh Whelan will portray the husband and wife. Rounding out the cast will be soprano Magali Simard-Galdès, tenor Pasquale D’Alessio and baritone Christopher Dunham as the scat singing trio.

“It goes without saying that La Voix humaine is one of the great works of the twentieth century,” says MCO Artistic Director, Maestro Boris Brott, “and having worked with Leonard Bernstein myself, I am particularly excited to present his one-act opera, Trouble in Tahiti. You’ll walk out of the theatre with a smile on your face and a spring in your step after seeing these couples hash out their problems. Audiences are in for a great evening at the majestic Théâtre Outremont.”

The performance will take place on February 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the Théâtre Outremont (pre-concert talk begins at 6:30 p.m.). Tickets can be purchased from the Théâtre Outremont box office by calling 514 495-9944, extension 1, or at www.theatreoutremont.ca. To learn more about the McGill Chamber Orchestra’s 2014-2015 programming and activities, please visit www.ocm-mco.org.