Review: LA REINE-GARCON at Four Seasons Centre For The Performing Arts

Seeing a fully staged new operatic production in an environment as airy and luxurious as the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a treat in itself. La-Reine Garçon, produced jointly by the Canadian Opera Company and Opera Montreal, offers this and more. It blends superb new music with absorbing historical drama, exploring some of the most controversial themes of current times. 

Compositionally, this opera by Quebecois composer Julien Bilodeau is a perfect introduction to new music for those who are unfamiliar or skeptical. Based on some of the experiments that dominated 20th-century innovation, I have encountered fear that new opera will involve several hours of dissonant cacophony that can only be enjoyed by classical music experts. Bilodeau challenges this misconception by pushing the boundaries of tonality in a way that perks up the ears, without abandoning tonality altogether. Michel Marc Bouchard, also Quebecois, approaches the libretto like a through-sung opera, where every word is relevant to the plot. However, there are also clear musical numbers (arias, duets and ensembles) that simultaneously provide songs we can relax into, opportunities for the singers to showcase their voices, and move the story along.

La-Reine Garçon dramatizes the story of Queen Christina of Sweden, a 17th-century monarch. Queen Christina is an intriguing figure because of her prodigious intellect, hunting prowess, and scholarship, which were not expected of women, and her penchant for wearing men’s clothing. She ruled capably until her overspending, refusal to marry and her conversion from Lutheranism to Catholicism as part of the counter-reformation motivated her to abdicate and move to Rome. The melodramatic reimagining holds faithful to these historical facts while weaving them around an ill-fated queer romance and philosophical musings with Renee Descartes, who was invited to Sweden by Queen Christina because of her deep interest in philosophy. By exploring explicitly queer sexuality and gender themes while remaining faithful to the events of Christina’s life the opera contests the polarizing rhetoric that queer and trans people are new, without being politically preachy.

All of the main characters have substance and complexity for the performers to sink their teeth and voices into. Kirsten MacKinnon does a commanding job of conveying the masculine physicality that Christina prided herself on which earned her the nickname La Reine-Garçon (Girl King). Her hearty lyric soprano is right for the role as well. While supple, warm, and easy there is a throaty quality to her performance that belies the sweetness we associate with traditional lyric soprano roles. Similarly, Queen Hezumuryango does a phenomenal job of vocally illustrating the queer twist on the usual light soprano ingenue stock character. She is captivating in the role of Ebba Sparre, Christina's courtier and not-so-secret lover. In addition to having a beautiful voice and impeccable technique, she also brings strength, vulnerability, and sensuality to the role while interpreting unexpected harmonies and melodic passages with bold musicality. She and MacKinnon are entrancing as butch-femme star-crossed lovers. 

Canadian opera favourite Aline Kutan is memorable in the role of Christina’s cold, toxic, mentally unstable mother. The scoring of her derisive laughter is one of the most memorable compositional features of this opera and Kutan’s strident, silverbell high notes are still ringing in my ears. 

Owen McCausland is an excellent intellectual nemesis for Queen Christina in the role of Descartes. In real life, they came to dislike each other over ideological differences—a timeless theme in and of itself. I have heard McCausland bring a lot of sweetness to his approachable, easygoing tenor in other roles. Here, he manages to play the role with an authoritative, cold detachment that resonates with authenticity as he and Christina ponder and pontificate about the possibility of “curing” love with reason.

Under the baton of COC resident conductor Johannes Debus, the orchestra does a superior job of interpreting this new work, truly creating the effect of one big, textured instrument. As is now customary, projection was a significant aspect of set design. Here, it is used to achieve results that can’t be achieved with traditional sets, most notably a stunning display of the northern lights. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this production directed by Angela Konrad. Great music, great storytelling, all around fantastic. If you didn’t know New Opera was a thing, go see this. If you already love new opera, go see this. I would love to do a deep dive into this score and I hope a recording of this production becomes available. 

La Reine-Garcon is on stage until February 15.

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