Bourgie Hall presents

Ensemble Caprice – Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse

This comic opera by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, based on Cervantes’ famous novel, depicts the sordid hospitality extended to Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza by the Duke and Duchess, keen to have a laugh at their expense. While Don Quixote thinks only of his sweet Dulcinea, the most unlikely scenarios ensue, with mad hilarity that will inevitably draw a smile.

Intrigue and comic chivalrous plot twists await!

Artists
Ensemble Caprice
Matthias Maute, conductor
Catherine Saint-Arnaud, soprano

Effervescent and luminous, soprano Catherine St-Arnaud is a “simply stunning” artist (Revue L’Opéra), a “first-rate performer” (Opera Canada) who excels in a vast repertoire. Recently, she performed with the National Kaohsiung Arts Center in Taiwan (Adina in L’elisir d’amore) and the Oregon Symphony (Soprano solo, Carmina Burana), in addition to originating the role of Albertine à 30 ans at the Théâtre du Rideau Vert (Albertine en cinq temps – l’opéra).

On stage, she has performed as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Lucia (Lucia di Lamermoor), Duchesse Altisidore (Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse), and Thérèse (Les mamelles de Tirésias). She has also performed in concert with the Brott Festival, l’Ensemble Caprice, the Festival Bach de Montréal, the Grands Ballets Canadiens, Les idées heureuses, l’Opéra de Québec, the Orchestre Métropolitain, and the Státna filharmónia Kosice, working with renowned conductors such as Luc Beauséjour, Nicolas Ellis, ean-Michel Malouf, Matthias Maute, Hervé Niquet, and Alain Trudel. The diversity of women’s voices is at the core of recitals she has presented at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur and the Société de l’art vocal de Montréal, among several others

Dorothéa Ventura, soprano

A versatile artist, Dorothéa Ventura is very active in the Quebec artistic scene. Singer, harpsichordist, vocal coach, choral conductor, dancer and actor, she has performed with the most prestigious ensembles in Quebec, Canada and Europe, in some 500 productions, concerts and recordings, many of which have won Prix Opus, Juno Awards and ADISQ nominations. She co-founded Ensemble ALKEMIA, an a cappella vocal ensemble that was a finalist at the Early Music America Competition in New York and nominated for the 2014 and 2015 Prix Opus (Best Concert of the Year). With violinist Olivier Brault, she collaborated on the creation of the ensemble Sonate 1704, aimed at discovering the repertoire of violin sonatas in 18th-century France. She is artistic director of the ensemble Les Idées heureuses, sits on the artistic committee of La Nef, directs the Opus Novum Choir, teaches harpsichord at the Cégep de Trois-Rivières and is a regular teacher at CAMMAC. A private vocal coach for professional singers, notably at McGill University and the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, she has been assistant to conductors Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Hervé Niquet, and Andrew Parrott on several opera productions. Following solid training in classical, modern and baroque dance, she joined Les Jardins chorégraphiques in 2009. As an actress, Dorothéa has appeared in several short films and plays, including the 150 performances of La mélodie du bonheur, directed by Denise Filiatrault.

Claudine Ledoux, mezzo-soprano

A performer with a warm voice, mezzo-soprano Claudine Ledoux has been praised by critics and the public for her stage presence and musical sensitivity. Her repertoire is sophisticated; it ranges from the Baroque to contemporary and includes opera and mélodie. A graduate of McGill University, she has had the pleasure of working with numerous celebrated musicians and conductors, and of exploring a great variety of repertoires. She has performed as a soloist with I Musici de Montréal, Opéra de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Chapelle de Montréal directed by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the NEM, Les Idées heureuses, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, the Nouvele Sinfonie (Hervé Niquet), Ensemble Caprice, Chants Libres, etc. Recently, alongside soprano Karina Gauvin, she performed Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Orchestre symphonique des jeunes de Montréal. She has made a diverse range of recordings: cantatas by C. Graupner (Les Idées heureuses, Analekta); mélodies and lieder (Après le jour, Jardin de givre, Storkclassic); and works by Québécois composers (Auguste Descarries, XXI), etc. On the opera stage she has happily sung such roles as Rossini’s heroines in La Cenerentola and The Barber of Seville. She has had the opportunity of participating in the premiers of numerous works, several of which have won Opus prizes, by Québécois composers, including Michel Gonneville (L’hypothèse Caïn), José Evangelista (Manuscrit trouvé à Saragosse), Gabriel Thibaudeau (Cantate pour un fleuve), Pierre Labbé (Chante Edmond), and Gilles Tremblay (l’Opéra-féérie). She was a guest soloist for the premiere, at Carnegie Hall in New York, of a work by Montréal composer Éric Champagne.

Arthur Tanguay-Labrosse, haute-contre

Arthur Tanguay-Labrosse is a tenor from Quebec equally at home in early and contemporary music. Particularly involved in modern opera, he has collaborated with Chants Libres (Aziz in L’orangeraie by Zad Moultaka, 2021), and the Ballet-Opéra-Pantomime company (Orphée in Orpheus on Sappho’s Shore, an opératorio by Canadian composer Luna Pearl Woolf). He has also sung the roles of Kaherdin in Le vin herbé by Frank Martin, and First Trader in the Canadian premiere of Nero and The Fall of Lehman Brothers by Jonathan Dawe. He has performed as a soloist with several Baroque ensembles, notably with Ensemble Caprice (Vêpres de la Vierge by Monteverdi, as Don Quixote in Don Quichotte chez la duchesse by Boismortier, and in Bach’s Easter Oratorio), and Les Idées heureuses (Cantatas by Bach and Graupner). He regularly sings in the best professional choirs in Quebec, including La Chapelle de Québec, the OSM Chorus, Voces Boreales, the Ensemble ArtChoral, and the Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul.

Dominique Côté, baritone

Québec baritone Dominique Côté maintains a flourishing career in North America and in France. Praised for his warm tone, stage presence and skill as an actor, he has won several first prizes including the Concours International de chant de Canari and for operetta at the Concours International de chant de Marmande. He also received the first prize and the grand prize from the Voice Festival of McGill University. Trained as an actor at L’école de théâtre de St-Hyacinthe, he completed his vocal training at Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal.

Dominique’s 2023-2024 season includes Eisenstein in Opéra de Québec’s Le chauve souris, Carmina Burana with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with Orchestre symphonique de Laval, the opera-ballet Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse with Ensemble Caprice and a return to Festival d’opéra de Québec.

Dion Mazerolle, baritone

Acadian baritone Dion Mazerolle has forged a solid reputation in Canada and Europe as an artist of the highest calibre. A former member of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, he is acclaimed for his musical finesse and strong stage presence, both in opera and in concert.

Dion recently made his debut as Golaud in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, created by the Barbe & Doucet design team at the Teatri di Piacenza in Italy, and debuted as le Roi de Trèfle in Prokofiev’s surreal opera L’Amour des trois oranges with Opera National de Lorraine in Nancy, France. A frequent performer with Toronto’s Voicebox: Opera in Concert, Dion sang Ophemon in Bologne’s L’Amant Anonyme.

In 2024, Dion joins the cast as Osman in Rameau’s Les Indes Galante, with Nouvel Opéra Métropolitain/Festival Classica.

Program
BODIN DE BOISMORTIER, Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse

Sunday, January 28, 2024 at 2:30pm
To purchase your tickets visit: www.mbam.qc.ca/en/bourgie-hall/