So last night was the season opening of the Opéra de Montréal and I was fortunate enough to get invited by a friend who regularly reviews opera for Rover Arts an online Montréal arts review. I was only able to make it for the intermission of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, and true to the old adage, a well-dressed person can literally walk in anywhere without drawing any attention. In other words, the ticket is more proof to myself that I attended, lest anyone criticize my cultural merits too harshly. It was a packed house and Salle Wilfrid Pelletier looked as good as I’ve ever seen it. Place des Arts, as originally conceived, is a defiantly elegant example of Made-in-Québec 60s modernism, though I suppose some may wish to define it as Internationalist-Modernism, as that would be in keeping with other local landmarks, such as the Tour de la Bourse, Place Ville Marie or the Chateau Champlain. I asked my friend what he thought about the hall, and he mentioned that he particularly enjoyed the ease of circulation on the different levels of Place des Arts, in and outside Salle Wilfrid Pelletier and even between the interiors and exterior plaza. He contrasted this with the open spaces of the new concert hall, which he found to be constrained.

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