Additional Information
She had dazzled us before, but the program featuring her as both soprano and maestra with the performance of La Voix humaine in 2024 blew us all away. Phenomenal! Two years later, the great Canadian artist (based in France) Barbara Hannigan returns to captivate us with a completely different program, more precisely a pair of programs highlighting works conducive to dance, imbued with the popular music of the different eras in which they were composed: Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 90, Hob. I: 90, Aaron Copland’s Dance Symphony, Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars and Yukali, and Jacques Offenbach’s Gaîté parisienne.
Wednesday’s program will be performed according to established norms, while Thursday’s program promises to be more eclectic, with the same works interspersed with dance and popular songs from the European repertoire and the Great American Songbook. Under the direction of Barbara Hannigan, the OSM will also welcome contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, whose role will be expanded on the second evening, taking center stage in front of the dance floor!
Reached in Paris before crossing the Atlantic, Barbara Hannigan grants PAN M 360 this generous interview.
PAN M 360: You’re here for two different events with a relatively similar program: the first is a concert and the second is a dance event. Interesting!
Barbara Hannigan : Yes, two different events. The first program is indeed a bit more serious, the second program is a bit more fun, presented in a different context, because there will be dance. So on the first evening, I’m performing Aaron Copland’s Dance Symphony, which is an extraordinary piece that the composer wrote while studying in Paris. He had seen Fritz Lang’s film Nosferatu at the cinema. And he was so inspired by this film that he composed ballet music conceived around zombie characters. We also have Haydn’s Symphony No. 90, which is super fun, brilliant, very spectacular, very virtuosic for the performers. Finally, we’re presenting Jacques Offenbach’s Gaîté Parisienne and two works by Kurt Weill, Yukali and Lost in the Stars. And on the second evening, we have my special selection of Gaîté Parisienne again, very joyful but also very soulful. There will also be champagne! It’s a wonderful program and I’m very excited that Marie-Nicole Lemieux is participating.
PAN M 360: What will she sing?
Brbara Hannigan: She won’t be singing much in the first evening’s program. For the second program, which is more focused on dance (Lambada, Moonlight Serenade, I Could Have Danced Last Night, etc.), she’ll be doing more than just accompanying me on the songs from Gaîté Parisienne. I’ve always wanted to sing with her; I’m just being a bit of a fangirl!
PAN M 360: Parisian gaiety and the Great American Songbook, a kind of mashup between Paris and New York!
Barbara Hannigan : Yes, super fun! There will even be dance classes at the Maison symphonique! The world will be able to dance and drink champagne; it will be a wonderful evening. It’s so cool that the OSM put all this together.
PAN M 360: This is very promising, and you are the ideal person to embody both classical and popular, French and American traditions! You have lived in Europe for several years (currently in Paris) and you are a perfectly bilingual Canadian. So tell us a little about Parisian gaiety.
Barbara Hannigan : Actually, I started doing the Gaîté té four years ago. It’s great music, really virtuosic for the orchestra. But it’s also joyful. I like serious music, I like singing in operas where I die—it’s really fun to die on stage. But it’s also fun to express joy on stage! And then you really feel like you’re in Paris in the 1920s.
PAN M 360: In short, it looks very different from your fabulous performance of La voix humaine (Poulenc/Cocteau) where you sang and conducted the OSM simultaneously!
Barbara Hannigan : Yes, it was a fantastic stay in Montreal two years ago. After the first night, social media exploded, and we had a full house the next day. I restaged this piece a few months ago at La Scala in Milan, and it was another smash hit! Many people there came two nights in a row; I’m really proud of that performance! It was a lot of work to achieve, but the result is thrilling. However, I didn’t want to come back with a similar offering; I wanted another special, spectacular event. I have to maintain my reputation, haha!
PAN M 360: And this time, you achieve a balance between “serious” music and pop music that has become a classic in its genre. French and American songs come from popular culture, but… the world
Barbara Hannigan : Exactly. I would add that even Haydn, in his time, aimed for this balance, as he was very involved in popular music.
PAN M 360: Indeed, he also did vaudeville and operetta.
Barbara Hannigan : Yes, he did theatre and opera. Yes, yes. And in Aaron Copland’s play, I would point out that there are also many jazz influences in the work on the program.
PAN M 360: Aaron Copland and Kurt Weill (who was also influenced by jazz) can indeed work very well in the same program. Did you bring these concert pieces together with the OSM’s artistic direction?
Barbara Hannigan : I designed the first program myself. For the second program, the people at the OSM told me they wanted to present a very dynamic concert, so we had many conversations to define its direction. And we chose new material for this Thursday’s program, material I had never used before in this original program. We also have new arrangements; it’s a collaborative effort. We’re going to have a lot of fun. Some of the musicians might even sing! I don’t think I’ll ask them to dance, though (laughs). This orchestra is versatile and open-minded; it’s going to be fantastic!
PAN M 360: Regarding the evolution of your brilliant career, I would like to ask how you achieve a balance between operatic singing, conducting, and artistic direction? Isn’t artistic direction also very important in your approach?
Barbara Hannigan : Indeed, I’m not just a conductor and singer; it’s more than that. I create my own programs, I have my own seasons, and I participate in numerous festivals. Last week, I was in Gothenburg, Sweden, for two weeks. I had three different programs in those two weeks, including a recital with pianist Bertrand Chamayou. I sang, I conducted, and I even gave a solo recital. It was like a mini-festival. I prefer to take this approach rather than coming to Montreal for just one program and then leaving. I prefer to create an event around my visit.
PAN M 360: In 2025, you won the prestigious Polar Prize in Scandinavia, a huge international recognition for your artistic excellence. Another important milestone in your brilliant career!
Barbara Hannigan : For me, it was incredible to be alongside jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, and also Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, who also won this award. We were together for three days of events surrounding the prize! It was very special, a very important milestone in my life, a kind of Nobel Prize for music. This great honor gave me even more confidence in my abilities. I thought to myself, after all, I deserve it, haha!
PAN M 360: What’s so cool is that you, a great artist of the classical world, have rubbed shoulders with icons of rock and jazz, three musical cultures that coexist better than we think.
Barbra Hannigan : Yes, it’s incredible, I’m so happy!
PAN M 360: We wish you many more years of continued masterful work, and PAN M 360 will be in the audience this week! I’m coming on the second night!
Barbara Hannigan : You’re going to love it! We can then dance in the lobby!
PAN M 360 : Absolutely!
WEDNESDAY PROGRAM
Artists
Barbara Hannigan, conductor and soprano
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto
Works
Joseph Haydn, Symphonie no 90, Hob. I : 90 (24 min)
Aaron Copland, Dance Symphony (20 min)
Intermission (20 min)
Jacques Offenbach, Gaîté parisienne (arr. M. Rosenthal), excerpts (25 min)
Opening
I. Allegro brillante
II. Polka
XIII. Valse lente
IX. Tempo di marcia
X. Valse moderato
XI : Vivo
Barcarolle
XV. Allegro
XVI. Cancan
XX. Allegro
XXI. Allegro
XXII. Vivo
Kurt Weill, Youkali (6 min)
Kurt Weill, Lost in the Stars (4 min)
Thursday Program: Dance with Barbara Hannigan!
What awaits you:
– 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Free dance class at the Antonia-Nantel Community Center with professional dancers (tango, waltz and foxtrot).
– 8:30 p.m.: Concert.
– 9:45 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Performances and dance floor open to all with music and entertainment for a most festive evening!
