Orchestre classique de Montréal presents

Handel’s Messiah

Enjoy this beloved OCM annual holiday tradition as the crypt of Saint Joseph’s Oratory is filled with the comfort and joy of Handel’s most well known and richly expressive oratorio.

Conductor Simon Rivard will lead a stellar quartet of renowned soloists and the Montreal choirs Les filles de l’île under the direction of Jacqueline Woodley, and Les chantres musiciens, under the direction of Julien Patenaude.

This concert is dedicated to the memory of maestro Gilbert Patenaude.

Artists
Hélène Brunet, Soprano

Canadian soprano Hélène Brunet is hailed by the critics as “a singer of tremendous quality” with “a voice of perfect beauty” and “sincere expression”. Recognized for her interpretations of the works of Bach, Handel, and Mozart, her repertoire extends from Baroque to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Rose Naggar-Tremblay, Contralto

Contralto Rose Naggar-Tremblay began her musical training with the piano and choral singing, then began classical singing at the age of 12 at the preparatory music school at UQAM and then at the Cegep de St-Laurent. She continued her studies at McGill University where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance, with a minor in European literature and culture. She joined the Atelier lyrique of the Opéra de Montréal from 2017 to 2020, where she stood out for her dark and velvety voice.

Zachary Rioux, Tenor

Now entering his fourth-year as a Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Zachary is a young Canadian tenor praised as a “show-stopping tenor” (Ludwig van Toronto). His 2022-23 season includes a summer in Germany to compete at Neue Stimmen, participating at the International Meistersinger Akademie (IMA), and returning to North America to perform as Spoletta (Cavaradossi cover) in Tosca at Edmonton Opera, as Cavaradossi in Tosca with Toronto City Opera, and as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah with L’orchestre classique de Montréal.

Phillip Addis, Baritone

Mr. Addis, known for his “nimble and expressive” sound and “athletic command of the stage” (Twin Cities Arts Reader), is established as one of Canada’s leading performers of opera, concert, and recital repertoire. He is acclaimed internationally for his interpretation of Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, where he sings “an impeccable antagonist”, and is recognized as “the ideal Pelléas of his generation” for his “eroticly charged” performances of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande in Hamburg, Paris, Luxembourg, Cincinnati, Dresden, as well as at the Ruhrtriennale and the BBC Proms. Mr. Addis has performed on the world’s major stages, including l’Opéra national de Paris, LA Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, Semperoper Dresden, and the Hamburgischen Staatsoper, under the distinguished batons of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, James Conlon, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Seiji Ozawa, Kent Nagano, Carlo Rizzi, and more.

Simon Rivard, Conductor

Simon Rivard is one of the most sought-after conductors on the Canadian music scene. Since 2018, he has been the conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 2022-23, he will make his debut with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre classique de Montréal. In addition, he will conduct the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke, and the Edmonton Opera in Puccini’s Tosca.

Les Filles de l’île, choir

Les Chantres musiciens, choir

To purchase your tickets visit: https://en.orchestre.ca/22-23-season/https://en.orchestre.ca

Crypt of Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal
3800 Queen Mary Rd.
Montreal, H3V 1H6