Between February and April 2027, Quebec’s regional lyric company L’Opéra du Royaume will execute a seven-event calendar across Saguenay. Bolstered by increased public subsidies from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), artistic director John La Bouchardiere and general manager Marie-Eve Munger are rolling out unconventional performances—including a blindfolded concert at the CEM and an opera pub at La Voie Maltée—as a feasibility test to sustain a multi-event season ahead of a major 2028 production.
Proving Seasonal Feasibility with Increased CALQ Subsidies
Following the spring presentation of Cendrillon, the Saguenay-based lyric institution is leveraging recently revised public funding to build a broader schedule. According to artistic director John La Bouchardiere, the initial program presented to the CALQ was even more expansive, though venue constraints shaped the final timeline.
“For us, this year, it’s a peu de faire une preuve de faisabilité,” La Bouchardiere noted regarding the company’s operational goals. The core question for the administration is whether L’Opéra du Royaume can successfully sustain a diverse programmatic calendar rather than relying on a single annual spectacle. If successful, future funding increases could allow the company to run multiple large-scale events concurrently, alongside a major production already locked into the cartons for 2028.
Challenging Sensory Norms with Opéra dans le Noir
Running from April 14 to 18, 2027, at the CEM, the production titled Opéra dans le noir stands as the company’s highest financial investment for the year. Inspired by a New York creation by Lera Auerbach, the first Canadian performance requires audience members to wear blindfolds.
“Si on enlève la possibilité de voir, il faut remplir toutes les autres cases,” explained La Bouchardiere, detailing how the absence of visual stimuli is countered by environmental elements like wind, distinct odors, and physical textures to fill the void left by visual deprivation. General manager Marie-Eve Munger experienced the original iteration in New York, describing it as an extraordinary and dizzying encounter designed to draw in audiences unfamiliar with traditional lyric art.
Diversifying Audiences via Non-Traditional Venues
Beyond the blindfolded showcase, the 2027 calendar targets specific demographic segments through alternative staging locations. Maurice Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges will run on March 5 and 6 at Salle Pierrette-Gaudreault for younger crowds. Meanwhile, an “Opéra Pub” is slated for March 7 at La Voie Maltée to engage non-initiates.
“Je le vois souvent, comme chanteuse: des gens qui n’aucune idée de ce qu’est l’opéra,” Munger stated, emphasizing the visceral, physical impact of hearing live vocals up close in unconventional spaces. This outreach extends to professional development through the Tremplin pour la relève on March 18 and the Atelier populaire on February 7.
Munger highlighted a structural gap in the provincial arts ecosystem between academic institutions like conservatories and universities, and major organizations like the Opéra de Montréal. By functioning as a professional stepping stone, L’Opéra du Royaume aims to build performance confidence for emerging local talent.
Roots and Archives: The Carnaval Connection
The 2027 season rounds out with a comedic codiffusion alongside Théâtre La Rubrique on April 3 featuring Opéra 101 de Rigoletta, and a historical nod on Valentine’s Day (February 14) celebrating Chicoutimi’s 350th anniversary. Titled Souvenir de l’Opérette du Carnaval, the concert features vocalists Jean-François Lapointe, Julie Boulianne, and Marie-Eve Munger.
Tracing its lineage back to 1971, the company’s origins trace to grassroots, amateur efforts where local community members constructed costumes and sets inside domestic garages to mount early operettas. By reviewing company archives and gathering local oral histories, the organization aims to revisit those foundational successes while establishing its operational footing for the future.
