L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

Luc Plamondon, lyricist

Luc Plamondon has collaborated as a songwriter with artists such as Diane Dufresne, Julien Clerc, Catherine Lara, Robert Charlebois, Nanette Workman, Johnny Hallyday, Ginette Reno, Nicole Croisille and Petula Clark. His career reached a peak in 1992 with a tribute album that Céline Dion dedicated to him entitled Dion Sings Plamondon. He has written the famous musicals Starmania and Notre-Dame de Paris, as well as Lili Passion, La Légende de Jimmy, Sand et les Romantiques and Cindy.

Luc Plamondon was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Québec, an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Knight of the French Legion of Honour. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Laval University and the Governor General’s Life Achievement Award. The first Quebecer inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in Toronto, Plamondon has also been awarded the Monaco World Music Award for the world-wide success of Notre Dame de Paris and the MIDEM Award in Cannes for his career as a songwriter, for which he has also won several Felix and Victoires de la musique (France) awards.

Michel Berger, Composer

Son of a renowned pianist, Michel Berger grew up at the keyboard. His meeting in the U.S. with George Gershwin’s brother, Ira, would have a decisive effect on his career. Of the things he admired about America he retained the power of rock’n roll and the swing of soul music tunes. He wrote for actor/singer Bourvil, and then worked for six years with Véronique Sanson and Françoise Hardy before relaunching the career of France Gall. The year 1973 saw the start of a career as a singer-songwriter that would produce various albums.

Michel Berger is the composer of two musicals. Starmania was premiered at Paris’s Palais des Sports in 1979 with a handful of youngish talents: Daniel Belavoine, Diane Dufresne, Nanette Workman, Fabienne Thibeault and France Gall. When it was restaged in a new version in 1988/1989 (at the Théâtre de Paris and later Théâtre Marigny), he assumed directorial duties along with Luc Plamondon. La Légende de Jimmy opened in 1990 and ran for six months at Théâtre Mogador, and in 1991 in Montréal and Québec City.

Struck down by a heart attack, Michel Berger died in early August 1992. He would have turned 45 the following November 28th.

Richard Cocciante, composer

Richard Cocciante began his career as a singer in Rome in the early 1970s. He had his first success with “Bella senz’anima,” covered in France by Johnny Hallyday. French audiences really discovered Cocciante in 1978 with “Marguerite,” from an album arranged by Vangelis, and he later had hits with songs like “Coup de soleil.”

Among his numerous collaborations may be mentioned the album Sincérité, recorded in 1983 with the group Toto, the duo Question de feeling with Fabienne Thibeault in 1985 (lyrics by Luc Plamondon) and the album L’homme qui vole produced by Paul Buckmaster. In 1988 he recorded “Il mio rifugio,” the song from the Patrice Leconte film Tandem. In 1991 his song “Se stiamo insieme” took the Grand Prize at the San Remo Festival.

At the request of Catherine Lara and Luc Plamondon, in 1992 he took the role of Chopin on the album Sand et les Romantiques and on stage at the FrancoFolies in both La Rochelle and Montreal. Luc Plamondon then suggested he do an opera. In 1993 the album Empreinte appeared; and in 1994 the compilation of Cocciante’s greatest French hits, which has sold 500,000 copies, took him to the Olympia and the Zénith in Paris. In 1995 the Cocciante-Plamondon tandem was strengthened by their collaboration on the album L’instant présent, a harbinger of their future work together on the celebrated musical Notre-Dame de Paris. 

Daniel Roussel, stage director

Daniel Roussel - actor, stage director, film director, translator and, over the course of many years, teacher at the National Theatre School and of special option programs at the Cégeps at Saint-Hyacinthe and Lionel-Groulx and at Montreal’s Conservatoire d’art dramatique – has more than ninety stage productions under his belt both here in Quebec and in France.

He staged in various theatres in Paris Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's Le Visiteur and Hôtel des deux mondes, Mrs. Doubtfire, Noël Coward’s General Delivery, Alain Teulié’s Virage and René-Daniel Dubois’s Being at Home with Claude. In Montreal he has staged works by Marguerite Duras, Jean-Claude Brisville, René de Obaldia and Paul Claudel at the Café de la Place. At the Rideau Vert he has done Feydeau, Gabriel Arout, Ionesco and Paul Claudel; at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde Labiche, Molière, Shakespeare and Eric- Emmanuel Schmitt; at the Quat’Sous Mishima, Ionesco and René-Daniel Dubois; at the Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui René Gingras’ Le Facteur réalité; at the Centaur PIAF and The Visitor, and at the Leanor and Alvin Segal Theatre My Old Lady.

At the Duceppe he contributed some of his most outstanding work including P’pa, The Gin Game, Ciel de lit, ‘Night Mother, En première page, The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Le Printemps, Monsieur Deslauriers, A Delicate Balance, C’est ma vie, Très chère Mathilde, Equus and The Lion in Winter. 

Simon Leclerc, arrangements and conducting

Simon Leclerc has worked as an arranger for a stellar lineup of Quebec singers: Jean-Pierre Ferland, Michel Rivard, Daniel Bélanger, Bruno Pelletier, Richard Séguin, Ginette Reno, Dan Bigras, Sylvain Cossette, Gilles Vigneault, and Claude Dubois, to name a few. He won the 2001 Félix award for Arranger of the Year as producer of Marie-Michèle Desrosiers’ album C’est ici que je veux vivre, and has composed soundtracks for numerous films, television series and documentary films. He directed for six years the Paramount Pictures orchestra for the acclaimed TV series “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Star Trek: Enterprise”.

He was the musical director for Les Misérables (in English and French), directed Charles Aznavour's series of symphonic concert performances in Canada, and composed the score for the musical drama Dracula. He also collaborated with Diane Dufresne and Yannick Nézet-Séguin on an album paying a tribute to the music of Kurt Weill, and was instrumental in the creation of the opera version of Starmania, staged several times in Paris, Québec and Montréal.

Simon Leclerc has composed a number of scores for the OSM, which he has also directed in various concerts. He recently fulfilled a commission from the OSM and Kent Nagano, delivering the Concerto pour Animateur de radio et orchestre. Radio-Canada and the OSM have also commissioned him to write a piece commemorating the 35 year anniversary of Studio 42.

Acknowledged as one of the leading composer-arrangers of his generation and of the past decade, Simon Leclerc is about to put all that aside in order to devote himself full-time to composing and conducting. 

Marc Hervieux, tenor

Since being personally chosen by Valery Gergiev for a production of La Traviata in St. Petersburg, tenor Marc Hervieux’s career has reached a new level. His 2009-2010 season began with the title role in Pagliacci with the Opéra de Montréal, and will continue with Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Opéra de Québec, a reprise of Starmania with the OSM and an Opera Gala with the Kingston Symphony. Mr. Hervieux has sung many times with the OSM under Charles Dutoit.

This Quebec native has received several awards, including scholarships from the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation, the Diana-Soviero prize for promising young artists, and he was the first recipient of the Gautier-Létourneau scholarship. He was a finalist for the Youth and Music Canada Joseph-Rouleau scholarship and has also been awarded scholarships by the Charles-Émile Gadbois Foundation.

Mr. Hervieux was soloist in a royal command performance before his Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and has also appeared in musicals. He can be heard on the soundtrack of the films Matroni et moi, Hugo et le dragon and the American production Space Travels 2001. His Christmas CD released in the fall of 2009 went straight to the top of the charts.

Marie-Josée Lord, Soprano

Marie-Josée Lord made her professional debut in 2003, singing Liù in Puccini’s Turandot at Opéra de Québec. In 2004, Montreal she sang Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème at Opéra de Montréal, where she also sang Laoula in l'Étoile by Chabrier in 2005. Marie-Josée sang the title role in Suor Angelica (Puccini) in Opéra de Montréal's season opening production in 2006. Recently she has been heard as Marie-Jeanne in the world premiere of the operatic version of the celebrated musical Starmania (Plamondon/ Berger) at Opéra de Québec in 2008 and Opéra de Montréal in 2009. That same year, Ms. Lord brilliantly held the role of Nedda (I Paggliacci) at Opéra de Montréal. She has also been featured on several shows broadcast by CBC Radio.

In 2005, Marie-Josée Lord was the recipient of the Prix d’Excellence de la Culture, awarded by the Fondation de l'Opéra de Québec, and was selected to represent Canada at the Cardiff Singer of World competition. She won the Public Prize at the Canadian Lyric Fund competition, she came in sixth position at the Verviers International Singing Competition in 2001 and received the Raoul Jobin prize in 1998. 

Lyne Fortin, Soprano

Lyne Fortin is one of Canada's leading sopranos, with appearances with the Montréal, Vancouver, Saskatchewan, Calgary, Edmonton, Québec, Hamilton and Edmonton operas.

In Europe, she has appeared with the Flanders and the Scottish operas. In the United States, she has appeared with the Baltimore, Seattle, Connecticut, Kentucky, Pacific, Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey and Portland operas, and with the San Antonio and Akron symphonies.

A notable concert artist, Ms. Fortin has appeared as a featured soloist with the orchestras of Montréal, Québec, Calgary, Edmonton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Vancouver, Fort Myers and Pacific symphonies, among others. In Europe, she has appeared at the Prague Spring Festival, on tour with Les Violons du Roy, and in Paris (and Montréal) in Starmania.

On radio and television, she appeared in the Canadian premiere of McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio on CBC Television, and in numerous concerts for CBC Radio. She has recorded an album for CBC Records and three albums for Analekta.

Lyne Fortin was a winner of the Pavarotti International Vocal Competition, and she received the Pauline Donalda and Jean Lallemand awards, a Special Prize for Interpretation by the OSM, and the Raoul Jobin Award from Opéra the Québec, among others. She is also the recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec.

Étienne Dupuis, baritone

Mr. Dupuis launched his career in the role of Mandarino in Puccini’s Turandot for the Vancouver Opera, after his training with l’Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal. He followed with Lescaut in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut for the New Israeli Opera, Bob in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief with I Musici de Montréal and the Dancaïre in Carmen for l’Opéra de Québec. He also sang Marcello with l’Opéra de Québec, Papageno for Vancouver Opera and l’Opéra de Tours, Mercutio for l’Opéra de Québec and Hawaii Opera Theatre, Silvio in I Pagliacci for Vancouver Opera, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia for l’Opéra de Marseille and a servant in Strauss’s Capriccio and Silvano in Un ballo in maschera for l’Opéra de Paris. Luc Plamondon offered him the part of Johnny Rockfort in the operatic version of Starmania, first performed in Quebec city in 2008 and reprised in Montreal in 2009. Mr. Dupuis was selected as the 2009 Canadian representative of the « BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition ». Recently, he was Silvio with l’Opéra de Montréal and Lescaut in Massenet’s Manon with Calgary Opera. After this concert with the OSM, Mr. Dupuis will be Marcello in Hawaii, Schaunard in Monte-Carlo and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor for l’Opéra de Québec.

Dominique Côté, baritone

Dominique Côté, who boasts a varied repertoire, was a first prize winner at the McGill Voice Festival. He has also won the first prize in operetta and the public prize in opera at the Marmande International Singing Competition. He has noticeably sung the parts of Danilo in Lehar's The Merry Widow, Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Gustave de Pottenstein in Lehar's The Land of Smiles, Bobinet in La Vie Parisienne and Bénélas in Offenbach's La Belle Hélène for the Jeunesses Musicales du Canada, as well as for Opéra de Québec and Opéra-Théâtre de Rimouski. In concert, he has appeared with the symphonic orchestras of Montréal, Québec, Paris, Ottawa, Longueuil and Sherbrooke, in works such as Bernstein's West Side Story and Orff's Carmina Burana. He has worked with conductors such as Jacques Lacombe, Stéphane Laforest, Simon Leclerc, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, Marc David and Jean-François Lapointe. As an artist in residence at the Atelier Lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal, he will sing in March the title role of Nelligan, an opera by André Gagnon and Michel Tremblay, of which Normand Chouinard is the stage director.

Raphaëlle Paquette, Soprano

Raphaëlle has sung the role of Cristal in the symphonic version of Starmania (Plamondon-Berger) with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the National Arts Center Orchestra, the Seoul Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre symphonique de Paris.

She has been a guest soloist with several orchestras and has played a variety of roles at the opera, such as Adele in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Oscar in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, Nella in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen and the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Her performances in the following sacred works were also noticed: Faure's Pie Jesu, Mozart's Coronation Mass and Exultate Jubilate and Orff's Carmina Burana.

She has been a winner of the Concours d’expression musicale, the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation Scholarship, Scholarship from the Jeunesses Musicales du Canada, the Concours des Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques, the Concours National des Jeunesses musicales du Canada and the Grand concours de Musique Française du Canada. She was also one of the few Canadian singers to be selected by Music and Youth Canada to attend a master class with the legendary mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza.