Spectacular nature! | The Magic of the OSM

The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) swept stormy and scorching time on Wednesday during its 12^e Large concert on the esplanade of the Olympic Park. Chef Rafael Payare, who had prepared a program inspired by nature in all his states, has breathed a sweet wind of freshness on the city.

Preparation

When we arrived at 5 p.m., a few people were already installed in front of the stage, while the 90 Musicians of the OSM repeated under the overwhelming heat. The host of the evening, André Robitaille, also listened carefully to what was going on.

This evening which has now become a tradition, it finds it “extraordinary, exceptional”. “What fascinates me is the active listening to the crowd,” says the actor, who also animates the concerts that the OSM offers in the parks. “But when the silence is called, it is there. Despite the number. »»

Conviviality and respect: this is what André Robitaille feels during these large evenings which attract several thousand people. For him, the trip brings something like “social sweetness”. “I don’t want to look like Questaine when I say that, but that’s what I get.” Solidarity, something sweet, and with everything that is happening socially, politically, it feels good. This downtime, with beautiful music well played, I find it beautiful. »»

After the rehearsal

The rehearsal is over, Rafael Payare descends from the stage to change in his lodge. “It’s hot, anyway,” he said, coming back. “But it’s less worse than yesterday, anyway, you feel a little wind. »The chef is still as happy to find the Montreal public in this show entitled Spectacular nature. “The idea is to walk in images, landscapes,” he explains.

Even if his time is counted, the chef takes advantage of the moment to take a little crowd, especially with people from the Venezuelan community. When he arrives, a lady literally throws herself into his arms. The others hesitate a little, but he quickly finds himself surrounded by admirers who want to talk to him, getting a picture of himself. He welcomes them warmly and happily.

Maria Aljandrina Ramos, the one who opened the ball, does not come back from her luck. “When he passed me earlier, I called him, he said to me: I will take a shower and I come back to see you,” says the original Venezuelan, who has lived in Montreal for 15 years.

She already frequented the stadium show when Kent Nagano was the leader of the OSM, but of course, her compatriot Rafael Payare has a special place in her heart. “When he started, he played folk music from Venezuela. It’s great pride, ”she explains.

It was the first time that she had the opportunity to speak to her. “What a gift! »Enough to go home right away? She laughs. “No, I’m going to stay until the end. And thunderstorms don’t scare him. “There will be none, that’s for sure. »»

Like Maria, the Belloso family is from Venezuela, and had attended the Esplanade concert before Rafael Payare. But a layer of interest was added, explains Katherine, who is there with her sister Géraldine and her parents, Alba and Marco. “Seeing someone who was trained with the El Sistema, a musical training which is a great success created in Venezuela, we are very proud of that. »»

Before the show

Against all odds, the sun has pointed out and a small wind began to blow. It is 7 p.m., and we see people arriving on the site, the spectators who have been there for a long time are installed on their chairs or on the covers.

The musicians grant their instruments, small groups speak between them or take a picture of each other, and the atmosphere is very soft. Ten minutes before the concert start, André Robitaille came to announce the last count.

The concert

Soberly hosted by André Robitaille, the concert started with the opening of the opera Guillaume Tell by Rossini, an archical and attractive piece that put the table for an evening full of twists and turns. But Rafael Payare has never been afraid to introduce less known artists. And it’s a good idea to have programmed a piece of contemporary Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, A camilwhich means “blue deer”, whose folk accents have particularly liked to the attentive public.

The whole start of the concert took place under a pink sky: the risk of thunderstorms were indeed behind us, and the atmosphere was perfect for receiving the tenor Pene Pati, first with an air of Romeo and Juliet of Gounod evoking the sun, then another, taken from The bohemian de Puccini, the moon. And while he sang, for the second year in a row, a volley of Bernaches flew over the site, attracting the applause and laughter of the crowd.

The magic of the evening continued to operate, with the Quebec play Maxime Goulet inspired by the ice crisis, which charmed the crowd. Followed the concert resistance part, an extract from the Symphony n^o 2 of the immense Greek composer Míkis Theodorákis, of which it is the 100^e birthday birthday this year. Through the outbursts of the work, the expressiveness of the soloist pianist Godwin Friesen was a fascinating anchoring.

The night had already fallen when Pene Pati, the new darling of the crowd, came to interpret the famous No sleep taken from Turandot de Puccini, whose final attracted him of course a standing ovation.

“It’s a week of madness,” said Rafael Payare at the microphone, when André Robitaille asked him to talk about the classic trip, which takes off until Sunday, with concerts and dozens of free events.

But we quickly returned to music with The sea de Debussy, and as a reminder Hungarian walking drawn from Faust’s damnation de Berlioz, who will appear in the OSM opening concert.

The Montreal orchestra failed to make the sky clear enough so that we could see Perseids – there had been enough miracles for this evening. But after the concert, the smiling faces, the couples who walked hand in hand, the people who went quietly by bike or towards the metro with their folding chair hanging on the shoulder – we even met musicians of the orchestra on the quay of the metro! – made us understand exactly what André Robitaille meant by social sweetness. And it is not quetaine at all.

Consult the classic OSM trip page