Les Violons du Roy presents

Bach, que ma joie demeure

On the eve of the holiday season, three of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most sublime cantatas, carefully chosen by Bernard Labadie, including the most famous chorale “Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring” from Cantata BWV 147. This concert, featuring La Chapelle de Québec and four outstanding soloists beloved by Les Violons du Roy audiences, is sure to warm hearts.

Closing concert of the Festival Bach Montréal 2022.

Artists
Bernard Labadie, conductor

Bernard Labadie, an internationally recognized specialist in 17th-, 18th-, and early 19th-century repertoire, is the founding conductor of Les Violons du Roy.

A much sought-after guest conductor in North America, he makes frequent appearances with major American and Canadian orchestras: Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Houston, New World Symphony, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. In Europe, he has conducted the orchestras of Lyon, Bordeaux-Aquitaine, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

A tireless ambassador for music in his hometown of Québec City, Bernard Labadie was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec, and Compagnon des arts et des lettres du Québec. He is also a recipient of the Medal of Honour of the National Assembly of Québec, the Banff Centre’s National Arts Award, the Samuel de Champlain Award, and honorary doctorates from Université Laval (Alma Mater) and the Manhattan School of Music.

Lydia Teuscher, soprano

Lydia Teuscher was born in Freiburg, Germany and studied at the Welsh College of Music and Drama and at the Hochschule für Musik in Mannheim.

Highlights in her 2021/22 season include Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale under Richard Egarr and his Johannes-Passion with Les Violons du Roy with Bernard Labadie, Mozart and Mendelssohn concert arias with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Giovanni Antonini, Mahler’s Symphony No.2 with the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya and Kazushi Ono and further performances Telemann’s Pastorelle en Musique at the Magdeburg Telemann Festival.

Avery Amereau, contralto

A native of Jupiter, Florida, Avery Amereau made her professional debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2016 as the Madrigal Singer in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, praised by the New York Times as “captivating…. [Amereau] stood out for the unusually rich, saturated auburn timbre of her voice.”

Recent operatic engagements have included Olga Eugene Onegin for Santa Fe Opera, Bradamante Alcina for Hannover Staatsoper, Eduige Rodelinda at Opera de Lille and Opera de Lyon, Serena Joy The Handmaid’s Tale for English National Opera, Dryad Ariadne for Glyndebourne, Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro for Grand Théâtre de Genève, Ursula Beatrice et Benedict for Seattle Opera as well as Page Salome for the Salzburg Festival.

Andrew Staples, tenor

Canadian tenor Andrew Haji is one of the most sought-after voices on both the operatic and concert stages across North America and Europe. Recent highlights include his debut at the Edinburgh International Festival as Jonathan in Handel’s Saul, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Milwaukee Symphony, and a program of Bach Cantatas with l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Boston’s prestigious Handel and Haydn Society.

Other recent engagements include Mozart’s Requiem for Orchestra St. Luke’s, Les Violons du Roy, and National Arts Centre Orchestra; Handel’s Messiah with the Houston Symphony and the National Arts Centre; La Bohème with Edmonton Opera, La traviata with Calgary Opera; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Victoria Symphony; Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Elora Festival.

Matthew Brook, bass-baritone

Matthew Brook leapt to fame with his 2007 Gramophone Award-winning recording of Handel’s Messiah with the Dunedin Consort, followed by equally critically acclaimed recordings of Acis and Galatea and St. Matthew Passion. He has appeared as a soloist throughout Europe, Australia, North and South America and the Far East, and has worked with many of the world’s leading conductors. He has developed a worldwide reputation for his interpretation of the music of J.S. Bach and Handel but his musical tastes stretch far beyond this.

Other concert repertoire he performs regularly include pieces such as Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and Missa Solemnis, Berlioz L’Enfance du Christ, Brahms’ Requiem, Elgar Dream of Gerontius, Haydn Die Schopfung and Die Jahreszeiten, Mendelssohn Elijah, Tippett A Child of Our Time and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast.

With La Chapelle de Québec

Created in 1985 by founding conductor and music director Bernard Labadie, La Chapelle de Québec is one of North America’s premiere voice ensembles. The group is made up exclusively of professional singers who are hand picked from all over Canada. This unique chamber choir specializes in the choral/orchestral repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. The choir performs regularly with its other half, chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy, and as a guest choir with some of the finest orchestras in North America. Its interpretations of the oratorios, requiems, masses, and cantatas of Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Haydn, as well as Fauré and Duruflé, are frequently hailed in the Canadian and international press.

Program
J.S. BACH
Cantate Ich glaube, lieber Herr, BWV 109
Cantate Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140
Cantate Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147

Maison symphonique
Friday, December 9, 2022 at 7:00pm

To purchase your tickets visit: www.placedesarts.com