Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor An unfinished masterpiece by the master of Salzburg, Orchestre Métropolitain the Great Mass in C minor is a veritable pillar of the Since his appointment as artistic director and principal sacred music repertoire. Written in Vienna in 1782, conductor in 2000, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has developed it was profoundly inspired by the contrapuntal and maintained an exceptional relationship with the art of Johann Sebastian Bach. With the Orchestre musicians, undoubtedly contributing to the Orchestre’s Métropolitain, its chorus, and soloists Anna-Sophie success, longevity and growing fame. Neher, Sophie Naubert, Antoine Bélanger and Hugo For 20 years now, the OM has grown alongside its artistic Laporte, under the direction of Maestro Yannick director and principal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Nézet-Séguin. whose career continues to reach new heights. Their ex- ceptional collaborative relationship has given rise to many Artists ambitious musical projects, some of them quite daring, The Orchestre Métropolitain and chorus under the under the leadership of the Montreal conductor. direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin Building on this special relationship and on the momentum Anna-Sophie Neher Antoine Bélanger of its concerts and recordings, the OM has enjoyed growing Soprano Tenor success and earned an enviable international reputation. Sophie Naubert Hugo Laporte Each year, the Orchestre Métropolitain performs some Soprano Baritone 50 concerts that fill the Maison symphonique de Montréal We would like to thank Hugo Laporte for replacing baritone with sound and, through its collaboration with the Conseil Marc Boucher at short notice. des arts de Montréal on Tour, resonate far beyond the Quartier des spectacles and into a dozen of the city’s bor- Program oughs. Sharing its passion for classical music with people from all walks of life, the Orchestre stands out through its Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) vibrant The OM for Schools and The OM for Young Talent Great Mass in C minor for soloists, chorus programs and their many educational initiatives. and orchestra (K. 427/417a) Proud of working with musicians and singers from every I. Kyrie III. Credo background, the Orchestre was a key player in the 2017 1. Kyrie eleison 10. Credo in unum Deum festivities marking the 375th anniversary of the founding II. Gloria 11. Et incarnatus est of Montreal. It also works closely with other companies, in 2. Gloria in excelsis Deo IV. Sanctus particular the Opéra de Montréal. 3. Laudamus te 12. Sanctus Dominus The recipient of numerous national awards, the Orchestre 4. Gracias agimus tibi Osanna in excelsis Métropolitain owes its international reputation to, among 5. Domine Deus V. Benedictus other things, its some 20 recordings, several of them for the Canadian ATMA Classique label. Its Bruckner sym- 6. Qui tollis 13. Benedictus qui venit phony cycle, published as a boxed set in the spring of 2018, 7. Quoniam tu solus Osanna in excelsis provides ample evidence of the Orchestre’s boldness and 8. Jesu Christe excellence. In 2016 and 2018, the Orchestre recorded its 9. Cum Sancto Spiritu first two discs for the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label with singers Rolando Villazón and Ildar Abdrazakov. The year 2019 will go down as a turning point in the history of the OM, which recently announced that Yannick Nézet- Séguin’s contract has been renewed for life. This rare commitment only strengthens the extraordinary human relationship and deep bond that the conductor maintains with his Montreal orchestra and audiences. PRESENTED BY Still glowing from the success of its 2017 European tour, the OM embarked on a United States tour in November 2019, visiting Chicago, Ann Arbor, New York City and Philadelphia with its conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Yannick Nézet-Séguin including from the Sylva Gelber Foundation (2018) and Artistic Director and Principal Conductor the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation (2016-2018). In 2017, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre she won First Prize in the Orchestre symphonique de Métropolitain (OM) since 2000, in September 2018, Montréal’s Manulife Competition and McGill University’s Yannick Nézet-Séguin became the third Music Director prestigious Wirth Vocal Prize. She also participated in of the Metropolitan Opera (Met), New York, adding this the Concours musical international de Montréal and the to his Music Directorship of the Philadelphia Orchestra, International Mozart Competition in Salzburg. where he has served since 2012. In 2016-2017, he became Anna-Sophie made her Canadian Opera Company debut a lifetime Honorary Member of the Chamber Orchestra this year alongside Thomas Hampson and Karita Mattila, of Europe. After his 10-year tenure with the Rotterdam creating the role of Lavia in the world premiere of Rufus Philharmonic Orchestra, he was named Honorary Wainwright’s new opera, Hadrian. Anna-Sophie’s operat- Conductor. ic roles include Blanche (Dialogue of the Carmelites) with In September 2019, on the cusp of his 20th season with Opera McGill, Adele (Die Fledermaus) with Opera McGill the Orchestre Métropolitain, Yannick Nézet-Séguin an- (2017), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) organized by the Bard nounced that his contract with the OM was renewed for College (2016) and Belinda (Dido and Aeneas) with the life. This open-ended commitment is based on mutual Conservatoire de musique de Montréal (2014). In 2019, she trust. Such contracts between a young conductor and an will debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in the orchestra they didn’t found are extremely rare. role of Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro). He has worked regularly with many leading European en- In concert, Anna-Sophie has performed as a soloist with sembles and has enjoyed many close collaborations with numerous professional orchestras and choirs including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Philharmoniker, the Orchestre symphonique de Gatineau and the orches- Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk and the tra of the Festival de Lanaudière. She has been heard in Chamber Orchestra of Europe as well as with London Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, in Mozart’s Great Mass in C Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was Principal Guest minor, Coronation Mass and Requiem, in Schumann’s Der Conductor from 2008 to 2014. His opera interpretations Rose Pilgerfahrt, and in several Bach cantatas at Bourgie have been acclaimed in many of the world’s most famous Hall in Montreal. In 2019, you will be able to hear Anna- houses, including the Metropolitan Opera (New York), the Sophie accompanied by her brother Carl Matthieu Neher Salzburg Festival, La Scala (Milan) and the Royal Opera at the piano on a Canadian tour organized by Jeunesses House (Covent Garden, London) and such renowned con- Musicales Canada. cert halls as the Musikverein (Vienna), the Concertgebouw Anna-Sophie is currently a member of the Canadian Opera (Amsterdam) and Carnegie Hall (New York). Company’s prestigious Ensemble Studio. Yannick Nézet-Séguin records exclusively on the Deutsche Grammophon label while continuing his collaborative Sophie Naubert, soprano partnership between ATMA Classique and the Orchestre The young soprano Sophie Naubert has been praised Métropolitain. His honours include Artist of the Year for her intelligent musicality, sensibility and enthusi- by the prestigious magazine Musical America, a Royal asm. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the Philharmonic Society Award (RPS, London), Canada’s Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with Aline Kutan National Arts Centre Award (Ottawa), the Prix Denise- and has already won several prizes and scholarships, Pelletier, awarded by the Quebec government, the Medal including the Jeunesses musicales du Canada Scholarship, of Honor of the National Assembly of Quebec and the first place at the Festival-concours de musique de Oskar Morawetz Award. Sherbrooke (2019) and first place at the Festival-concours Yannick Nézet-Séguin holds six honorary doctorates de musique classique de Pierre-De Saurel (2019). (Université du Québec à Montréal, 2011; Curtis Institute With her immense curiosity, agility and vocal flexibility, of Music, Philadelphia, 2014; Rider University, Princeton, Sophie is as comfortable with the operatic repertoire as 2015; McGill University, Montreal, 2017, Université de she is with art songs and Lieder, always maintaining a Montréal, 2017; Pennsylvania University, 2018), and is a luminous stage presence. As part of her Conservatoire Companion of the Order of Canada (2012), a Companion program, she performed the operatic roles of Cinderella of the Quebec Order for the Arts and Literature (2015), as understudy and Noémie (Cendrillon, Massenet), Belinda an Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2015) and an (Dido and Aeneas, Purcell) and Cupid (Venus and Adonis, Officer of the Ordre de Montréal (2017). Blow). Over the course of her musical journey, she has worked with masters such as François Leroux, Wolfgang Anna-Sophie Neher, soprano Holzmair, Lena Hellström-Färnlöf, Liz Upchurch, Olivier Canadian-German soprano Anna-Sophie Neher is the Godin, Richard Turp, Anna Samuil, Nicola Beller Carbone recipient of a bachelor’s degree from the Conservatoire and Paul Curran. de musique de Montréal. After studying in New York for a year under the tutelage of Sanford Sylvan and Dawn Upshaw, in 2018, she completed her master’s degree at McGill University, working with Dominique Labelle. During her studies, Anna-Sophie distinguished herself in several