Montreal's Place des Arts
Classical music programming highlights in 2025 and 2026
Although the city was founded in 1642 by French settlers and incorporated as a city in 1842, there is evidence that the Island of Montreal was occupied by First Nations native people up to four thousand years ago. Montreal is the largest city in Canada's province of Quebec, the second largest city in Canada and one of Canada's most bilingual cities. For more than a-hundred-and-fifty years, Montreal was Canada's financial and industrial centre, and one can still see some of the city's earliest still-standing buildings, mostly in the Old Montreal area, many dating back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Like Calgary, Montreal sits at the confluence of two rivers - the St Lawrence and Ottawa - and it also sits at the confluence of French and English culture, which gives it a unique perspective in the arts.
Montreal's cultural depth can be sampled in the programming of the city's performing arts centre - the Place des Arts, Canada's largest cultural centre, created in 1963, which boasts nearly a million visitors each year, and six concert venues of various sizes - Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (2,996 seats), Montreal Symphony House (2,117 seats), Théâtre Maisonneuve (1,453 seats), Théâtre Jean-Duceppe (765 seats), Cinquième salle (420 seats) and the 129-seat Salle Claude-Léveillée.
Montreal's Place des Arts. Photo © 2022 J F Savaria
A wide variety of music, opera, dance, musical theatre, comedy, spoken word, circus/magic and other cultural events are regularly programmed at the Place des Arts. Orchestral music has held a prominent place in Montreal, thanks to performances by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Orchestre Métropolitain.
Looking ahead, highlights of the Place des Arts' classical music programming in 2025 and beyond include:
- Samy Moussa's Nocturne, Bartók's Piano Concerto No 3 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 5. Orchestre symphonique de Montréal conducted by Tianyi Lu with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. 12 and 13 March 2025.
- J S Bach's St John Passion. An Ensemble Caprice production, conducted by Matthias Maute. 4 April 2025
- Gilles Vigneault and Bruno Fecteau's Grand-Messe plus the Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez. Chœur Métropolitain, with musicians from Orchestre Métropolitain. 5 April 2025
- Chamber music by Beethoven, Chopin and Brahms. Duo Marion Portelance and Emmanuel Laforest - cello and piano. 23 and 24 April 2025
- Puccini's La bohème. An Opéra de Montréal production, with the Orchestre Métropolitain conducted by Simon Rivard. 10-20 May 2025
- Mozart's Don Giovanni. An Opéra de Montréal production directed by Stephen Lawless and conducted by Kensho Watanabe. 27 September - 5 October 2025
- Orff's Carmina Burana and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Francis Choinière conducts the Orchestre Philharmonique et Chœur des Mélomanes. 7 and 9 November 2025
- Janáček's Jenůfa. An Opéra de Montréal / Pacific Opera Victoria production, directed by Atom Egoyan and conducted by Nicole Paiement. 22-30 November 2025
- Montreal composer Ana Sokolović's contemporary opera Clown(s). Opéra de Montréal. 31 January-8 February 2026.
- Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé and Respighi's Pines of Rome. Francis Choinière conducts the Orchestre Philharmonique et Chœur des Mélomanes. 1 March 2026
- Bizet's Carmen. Edmonton Opera. Directed by Anna Theodosakis and conducted by Jean-Marie Zeitouni. 2-10 May 2026
- Puccini's Turandot - concert version. Francis Choinière conducts the Orchestre Philharmonique et Chœur des Mélomanes and the Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal. 9 and 10 May 2026
Puccini's Turandot at Place des Arts, Montreal, Canada
Further information: placedesarts.com
Posted 10 March 2025 by Keith Bramich
