Music at Place des Arts
History and Administration
It was on the initiative of Jean Drapeau, mayor of Montreal, that some citizens conferred in 1955 to plan an organization bearing the name Centre Sir-George-Étienne-Cartier, which eventually became the PDA. The plans by Montreal architects Affleck, Desbarats, Dimakopoulos, Lebensold, Michaud and Sise were unveiled in 1959. Work began 11 Feb 1961. The Grande Salle, renamed Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on 13 Jun 1966, was inaugurated on 21 Sep 1963 with an MSO concert conducted jointly by Wilfrid Pelletier and Zubin Mehta. In 1964 the Centre Sir-Georges-Étienne-Cartier corporation was dissolved and replaced by the Régie de la PDA which, following the reform of the municipal tax system in 1982, became the Société de la Place des arts de Montréal. The Société has reported to the Minister of Cultural Affairs of Quebec (renamed Minister of Culture, Communications and the Status of Women), with Place des Arts functioning as a provincial crown corporation. Administration is handled through a government-appointed board of directors, and operating costs are partially subsidized by the Quebec government.
After Louis-A. Lapointe, president of the original corporation (1957-64), the presidents of the Société have been François Mercier (1964-8), Marcel Piché (1968-72), Raymond Crépault (1972-3), Jean-Claude Delorme (1974-82), Guy Joron (1982-7), Danièle Touchette Robitaille (1988-92), Roger D. Landry (1992-5), Clément Richard (1995-2002), Normand Legault (2002-3), Alan B. Gold (2003-4), François Macerola (2004-8), and Jean Laurin (beginning 2008). The directors general have been Claude Robillard (1957-64), Gérard Lamarche (1964-86), Guy Morin (1986-93), Roger D. Landry (1993-4), France Fortin (1994-2000), Clément Richard (2000-1), and Marie Lavigne (beginning 2001). With the integration of the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, the PDA has become one of the largest integrated arts centres in North America.
Theatre Specifications
The Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, with 2982 seats, is the largest hall in the PDA. The stage, 47 by 17 m, is suitable for orchestral concerts, operas, ballets, musicals, and variety shows. The pit is adjustable and can hold up to 100 musicians. The hall has 5 foyers, of which the Piano nobile, the central main lobby, is enhanced by Les Anges radieux, the work of the Quebec sculptor Louis Archambault.
The advent of Expo 67, with its attendant World Festival, hastened the construction of a second building, inaugurated in 1967, which has housed the Théâtre Maisonneuve, the Théâtre Jean-Duceppe (Théâtre Port-Royal until 1991), and the Studio-théâtre (originally named Théâtre du Café de la Place). It was designed by Montreal architects David, Barott and Boulva, and is located to the south-west of the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier.
The Théâtre Maisonneuve, which occupies the upper part, is a modern version of a theatre in the Italian style, and can accommodate 1460 spectators. The stage measures 46 by 21 m and can be used for dance, plays, musicals, or concerts. The pit holds 45 instrumentalists. The Théâtre Jean-Duceppe has 755 seats, which are tiered in the orchestra to give a good view over an exceptionally large stage, 42 by 17 m. Although principally designed for theatre, this hall has an orchestra pit that can hold 10 musicians.
Inaugurated 6 Nov 1978, and designed by architects David, Barott and Clève, the Studio-théâtre holds 138 seats, making this hall an intimate space for theatre and vocal recitals.
The 421-seat Cinquième salle, designed by architects Jodoin, Lamarre, and Pratte, was inaugurated 29 May 1992. Designed as a multi-purpose venue, the Cinquième salle functions as part of the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, and caters to film, vocal and dance performances, literary readings, and live theatre. The hall has a flexible design, enabling the seating configuration to be altered according to the needs of the performance.
The 2,100-seat Maison Symphonique de Montréal, the newest addition to PDA, is located at the corner of de Maisonneuve Blvd. and St. Urbain St. Campaigns for a new concert hall for the MSO were begun in 2002. Despite initial setbacks, in 2006 Jean Charest assured that the hall would be built under his government. By March 2009, construction plans for the $266-million hall were underway, with architects Diamond and Schmitt and acousticians Artec Consultants commissioned for the design. The hall is equipped to handle both orchestra and chamber performance, delivering the natural resonance, dynamic fexibility, and intimacy not achieved by the Salle Wilfid-Pelletier. Maison Symphonique opened 7 Sep 2011 with a televised concert of the MSO, the MSO Chorus, and the Tafelmusik Chamber Chorus under Kent Nagano. On the program were Beethoven's Symphony No. 9; Gilles Tremblay's Envol: Alléluia, for solo flute; Claude Vivier's Jesus erbarme dich, for a capella choir; and the specially commissioned Qu'un cri élève nos chants!, by Julien Bilodeau.
The Esplanade, a large outdoor area dividing the concert halls, has been the location of festivals and art exhibitions.
Music Performances
A variety of international names in music, dance, theatre and variety have appeared at the PDA, including Tori Amos, Harry Belafonte, Maria Callas, Yvon Deschamps, Claude Dubois, Bob Dylan, James Ehnes, Maynard Ferguson, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ida Haendel, Vladimir Horowitz, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, André Laplante, Jean Lapointe, Monique Leyrac, Anne Murray, David Oistrakh, Louis Lortie, Luciano Pavarotti, Radiohead, and Ginette Reno. The gala concert of the Montreal International Music Competition has been held there as well. The Opera Guild and the Opéra du Québec have also held their performances there. The Théâtre Maisonneuve has been used by the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the Pro Musica Society and the Orchestre Métropolitain.
The Société de la PDA, since 1972, has organized performing activities at noon and on weekends, in particular the series Sons et brioches in conjunction with the Jeunesses musicales of Canada. Place des Arts has also been the site of major festivals, including the Festival international de Jazz de Montréal, the Just for Laughs Festival, Les FrancoFolies de Montréal, the World Film Festival, the Montreal High Lights Festival, the Festival TransAmériques, and the Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal.
Following the publication of Placedart which issued 37 numbers from 1968 to 1975, the Société has distributed Le Magazine de la Place des Arts (1989-) to audience members. Published five times per year, it contains concert programs as well as monthly calendars of artistic activities.
Author Julie Dufresne, Laurent Duval, Richard Haskell
"Arts de Montréal," Alcan News, Sep 1963
"La Grande Salle, Place des Arts," Royal Architectural Institute of Canada , Nov 1963
"La Place des Arts du Québec a un an," L'Actualité , Oct 1964
"Cahier spécial sur l'Édifice des théâtres," Le Devoir (Montreal), 29 Mar 1967
Duval, Laurent. "Derrière le béton," Culture vivante, 17, May 1970
PDA Annual Reports (1974-5-)
Institut québécois. Public opinion poll (1975)
Gingras, Claude. "En 15 ans, la Place des Arts est devenue la place de tout le monde," La Presse (Montreal), 30 Sep 1978
Fitzgerald, John. "The price dilemma at Place des arts," Montreal Gazette, 13 Mar 1982
Angrignon Sirois, Maryse. "Place des arts 1963-1983," Aria, vol 6, Autumn 1983
Joron, Guy. "L'Avenir de la Place des arts après l'OSM," Le Devoir (Montreal), 2 and 3 May 1984
Robert, Véronique. "Embouteillage à la Place des arts," L'Actualité, Apr 1986
Duval, Laurent. L'Étonnant dossier de la Place des arts : 1956-67 (Montreal 1988)
"La Place des Arts fête son 25ième anniversaire," Radio activité, vol 7, no 47, 29 Aug 1988
Lepage, Jocelyne. "De la 'Place des autres' à la Place des arts : les 25 ans d'un projet grandiose," La Presse (Montreal), 17 Sep 1988
Angrignon Sirois, Maryse. "Guy Morin: directeur général, Place des arts," Aria, vol 11, Winter 1988
Sauvé, Mathieu-Robert. "Théâtres sous surveillance," L'Actualité, Jun 1989
Paré, Bernard. "A revolutionary theatre appears on the scene (L'Entree en scene d'un theatre revolutionaire)," Magazine de la Place des Arts, vol 3, no 5, May/Jun 1992
___________. "La Place des Arts ouvre sa boite à chansons," Paroles & Musique, vol 2, no 3, Mar 1995
Dugas, Louise. "Nouvelle mission," Magazine de la Place des Arts, vol 10, no 2, Nov/Dec 1998
Rice, Kelly. "A dream come true," Magazine de la Place des Arts, vol 10, no 4, Mar/Apr 1999
Illien, Gildas. La Place des Arts et la Révolution Tranquille: Les fonctions politiques d'un centre culturel (Sainte-Foy 1999)
Marceau, Guy. "Slowly but surely," Magazine de la Place des Arts, vol 14, no 1, Sep/Oct 2002
Kaptainis, Arthur. "Wait for it: MSO hall promised by 2011," Montreal Gazette, 28 Jun 2006
__________. "MSO hall plans revealed (259 million dollars)," Montreal Gazette, 29 May 2009
__________. "New hall:Good room needs to get better," Montreal Gazette, 8 Sep 2011
Everett-Green, Robert. "L'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal bursts into full colour in new hall," Globe and Mail, 8 Sep 2011
_________________. "A new home - and a whole new range of sound," Globe and Mail, 9 Sep 2011
Littler, William. "A sounder structure for a symphony," Toronto Star, 17 Sep 2011
Links to Other Sites
Place des Arts
The website for Montréal's prestigious Place des Arts, home of the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Théâtre Maisonneuve, Théâtre Jean-Duceppe, the Studio-théâtre and the Cinquième salle.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ victory in the 1967 Stanley Cup was a singular event. Who would have predicted that it would not happen again?
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