Tenor John Mac Master has proudly shared the glowing reviews for Opéra de Montréal’s current production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, which stars mezzo Allyson McHardy as Sister Helen Préjean and Étienne Dupuis as the condemned Joseph de Rocher.

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John Terauds

John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.

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It’s ironic that one would have to go to Montreal to hear a fine mainstage production of an English-language opera — and one whose cast is populated by English Canadians.

Mac Master sings the role of father Grenville in this Alain Gauthier-directed production. Besides McHardy, Torontonians in the show include Kimberly Barber (De Rocher’s wife) and Alain Coulombe (George Benton).

LaPresse critic Claude Gingras admitted that the power of the production left him at a loss for words, which is an occasion in itself.

Christophe Huss, writing in Le Devoir, opened his review of Saturday’s first performance by writing:

We have been lied to! For the last 60 years certain people have tried to make us believe that new music is a bitter pill made up of ingredients we could not possibly understand — and the less we can digest, the more fun it will be. Really?

He goes on to praise the work — as all three critics do to a greater or lesser degree — the director and the cast.

Are we unlikely to see this now-13-year-old provien-hit opera by Jake Heggie in Toronto because it’s too accessible? We’re such a serious city, artistically speaking, aren’t we?

You can read the Gazette review here, the LaPresse review here, and the Le Devoir review here.

There are three performances remaining at Montreal’s acoustically challenged Salle Wilfrid Pelletier — tonight, Thursday and Saturday. You’ll find details here.

John Terauds

• Author
• Recent Posts

John Terauds

John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.

Latest posts by John Terauds (see all)

• Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
• Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
• CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019