Opéra de Montréal presents

Riders to the Sea – Le Flambeau de la nuit

Ballet-Opéra-Pantomime (BOP) and I Musici de Montréal chamber orchestra are joining forces with the Opéra de Montréal for a double bill in which the sea has a starring role. The sea that feeds us… but that also robs us of life. Mirroring the opera Riders to the Sea, the new work Le flambeau de la nuit echoes the same themes, weaving together a unified dramatic structure that looks both to the present and back to the past.

Riders to the Sea – Vaughan Williams & Synge
A house on a weather-beaten island, off the coast of Ireland. One by one, Maurya loses her sons to the sea. While sisters Cathleen and Nora try to hide their brother Michael’s spoils from their mother, Bartley—Maurya’s one remaining son—announces that he is off to the market in Connemara, despite the rough seas. To survive here, you must sometimes put your life on the line and leave the island behind. When his startled horse throws him into the water, Bartley drowns. With the news of his death, Maurya’s view of the landscape is transformed… Now that the sea can take nothing more from her, she can again be at one with her surroundings, finally at rest amid the display of the ever-changing elements.

Le Flambeau de la nuit – Tanguay-Labrosse & Kemeid
On another shore, a crowd has gathered, escaping the flames engulfing the city. A mother convinces the ferrywoman to take her and her child aboard her boat; the future of the world no longer simply involves negotiating with nature, but with men and women as well. Like a talisman, gifted with the power of sight, the child guides the passengers through the darkness of night and over the waves. There is no way off the boat now as it makes its way across the water, with the passengers resting on the hope that solid ground will appear within sight and within reach. A storm rises, one the child does not survive… Alone, the mother sets foot on the promised shore, a shore that does not yet offer the promise of a better life.

Vaccine passport required and sanitary measures in effect.
Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 7:30pm
Sunday, September 26, 2021 at 2:00pm
Théâtre Maisonneuve
To purchase your tickets visit: www.placedesarts.com