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Since 1988, the Chœur classique de Montréal has participated in several large-scale events, notably at the inaugural concert of the outdoor amphitheatre of the “Festival international de Lanaudière.” Under the direction Semyon Vekshtein, the choir performed in productions of Borodin’s Prince Igor, Verdi’s Requiem and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades.
Numerous broadcasts on both the English and French networks of the CBC, as well as French-language radio networks in Europe served to broaden the choir’s audience base.
The Chœur classique has had the privilege of singing upon numerous occasions with soloists of international stature, including Joseph Rouleau, Paul Plishka, Eva Zeller, Vladimir Popov, Jozeh Gregor and Anton Kuerti. The choir has also had the pleasure of performing with some of Canada’s most renowned lyric artists, such as Sonia Racine, Gabrielle Lavigne, Thérèse Sévadjian, Maria Popescu, Corina Circa, Michèle Gaudreault, Adrienne Savoie, Claude Corbeil, Guy Bélan-ger, Robert Robitaille, Grégoire Legendre and John J. Hébert. In performing its Russian repertoire, the choir also had the honour of working with three of the Bolshoi’s greatest names, Galina Kalinina, Vladimir Bogatchov and Yuri Mazurok.
In June 1993, the Chœur classique de Montréal produced its own concert for the first time, performing Sergei Rachmaninov’s Vespers in Montréal’s St-Jean-Baptiste Church, under the direction of Semyon Vekshtein. The concert was broadcast a week later by Radio-Canada from St-Viateur-d’Outremont Church, and then performed once again in Trois-Rivières, Québec, at the “Festival international de musique vocale,” this time under the direction of Marthe Lacasse, who became the choir’s regular conductor in September 1993. |
