A CANADIAN PREMIERE

A Canadian Premiere
Lotus Lives : a Multimedia Chamber Opera by Su Lian Tan

A Magnitude6 Production

Montréal, March 7th, 2018 – Magnitude6 and Groupe le Vivier present the Canadian premiere of Lotus Lives, a multimedia chamber opera by Su Lian Tan, Friday, April 6th and Saturday, April 7th, 8.00 pm at the Gesù. This will be the first time that this work will be presented outside of the United States, where it premiered in 2011. Under conductor Dina Gilbert and stage director Claudio Medeiros, Lotus Lives features Canadian mezzo-soprano Stéphanie Pothier, American soprano Deborah Lifton, as well as the six members of Magnitude6 (2 trumpets, 1 French horn, 1 trombone, 1 tuba, 1 percussionist)

Lotus Lives, music by Su Lian Tan (2011, libretto by Anne Babson)

Video projections by Tim Bartlett, stage direction by Claudio Medeiros

Friday, April 6th and Saturday, April 7th 2018, 8pm, Amphithéâtre le Gesù

1200 Rue de Bleury, Montréal, QC H3B 3J3
Métro Place-des-Arts

Friday, April 7th, 7pm, Espace Custeau, Le Gesù
Pre-concert talk: « La femme dans l’expression musicale » (in French)
Réjean Beaucage, presenter

Regular: 25,00$ / Senior: 15,00$ / Student: 15,00$ /Member Le Vivier: 15,00$
service fees not included

www.legesu.com (514) 861-4036
www.magnitude6.ca/lotus-lives

This opera explores the journey of Lily, grand-daughter of Chinese immigrants, imprisoned in the straitjacket of a strict and alienating education, trying to discover her identity through the groundbreaking feminist aspirations of her grand-mother. The story unfolds like the lotus flower after which the opera is named, simultaneously on-screen and on-stage, in a shifting panorama of singers, instrumentalists, video projections and puppet theater. Musically, the opera acts as a laboratory where numerous styles meet, incorporating among others slam poetry, traditional Chinese music and pop music, each treated in a lyrical and operatic style. A colorful, rhythmic and feminist work, Lotus Lives is an ode to generations of rebel women.

The Singers :

·       Stéphanie Pothier, mezzo-soprano (Lily and Grand-Mother)

·       Deborah Lifton, soprano (Madam and Kwan-Yin)

The Musicians :

·       Magnitude6 : Thierry Champs et Frédéric Demers, trumpets; Laurence Latreille-Gagné, French horn; Simon Jolicoeur-Côté, trombone; Samuel Lalande-Markon, tuba; Frédéric Lapointe, percussions;

·       Dina Gilbert, conductor

Artistic team :

·       Claudio Medeiros, stage director

·       Andréa Marsolais-Roy, lighting design

·       Julien-Robert, video director

Stéphanie Pothier : With her voice both dark and radiant, mezzo-soprano Stéphanie Pothier is at home in a widely varied repertoire. She appears as guest soloist with numerous companies and ensembles such as Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Métropolitain, Opéra de Québec and I Musici. In March 2017, she was Vera Lynn in the world premiere of Julien Bilodeau’s Another Brick in The Wall, at Opéra de Montréal.

Dina Gilbert : Well-known for her energy, precision and versatility, Dina Gilbert conducts the great symphonic repertoire with passion while according an important place to musical creation. She is musical director of Orchestre Symphonique de l’Estuaire (Quebec) and of Kamloops Symphony (British Columbia). From 2013 to 2016, she was Kent Nagano’s assistant conductor at Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.

Su Lian Tan : A flutist and composer, Su Lian Tan's music has been described as "the stunner of the evening," (Washington Post) and "...refined, cultured compositions... Rewarding for everyone..." She wrote commissioned works for many ensembles, among other the Takacs String Quartett and the Vermont Symphony. Ms. Tan is Professor of Music at Middlebury College. She holds degrees from The Juilliard School (M.M.) and Princeton University (Ph.D.)  

Claudio Medeiros : A professor of Theatre at Middlebury College, Vermont, Claudio Medeiros’ recent productions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, In the Next Room: Or the Vibrator Play and Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening, which was recognized by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival with an award for creative direction of a classic work of the European avant-garde. His next project is Michel Marc Bouchard’s The Orphan Muses. Medeiros holds a PhD in Theatre from the University of California, Berkeley, and lives in Montreal.

Magnitude6 : Since its foundation in 2007, brass quintet with percussion Magnitude6 has proved as a virtuosic and audacious ensemble, opening refreshing perspectives to interpretations of today’s music. Under artistic direction of tubist Samuel Lalande-Markon, this ensemble has premiered about thirty new works and gave more than a hundred concerts. Presenting a large spectrum of contemporary and avant-garde works, the group advocates for energy and conviviality in unusual concert settings, bringing together musical performances and multimedia technologies.

Thanks to our partners:

Medias : Samuel Lalande-Markon, samuel@magnitude6.ca 514 632-0390