Twenty Seven

Client

Opéra de Montréal

Location

Montréal

Date

2025

Services

Production

Visual design

Industries

Performing arts

A contemporary opera about the fate of novelist Gertrude Stein

The chamber opera Twenty-Seven, stage directed by Oriol Thomas and with singers from the Opéra de Montréal’s Lyric Workshop, is a tribute to the golden age of Paris.

Twenty-Seven is a contemporary opera by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Royce Vavrek. Commissioned by the Opéra de Montréal, and with the work of emerging artists from its Lyric Workshop, this five act opera was presented at Montréal’s Centaur Theatre from March 23^rd to 31^st, 2019.

Legendary characters

Twenty-Seven transports us back to Gertrude Stein’s salon at 27 rue de Fleurus. The American writer was a major figure in Parisian artistic and intellectual life, having hosted and encouraged the work of Matisse, Picasso, Hemingway and Fitzgerald. The opera recounts the cultural excitement surrounding this literary circle during a period agitated by war, and a remarkable love story for the time between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.

Visuals in tribute to art

The minimalist and intimate decor of the show is inspired by the influence of Cubism and the Belle-Époque era. Frames become projection surfaces for paintings. Our visuals reproduced the masterpieces of Picasso, Man Ray and Matisse, playing with the effects of decomposition and mixing of materials. Tribute is paid to the author Gertrude Stein with visual content related to her writing and inner torments.

Credits
Stage Direction : Oriol Thomas
Set Design : Simon Guilbault
Costume design : Oleksandra Lykova
Lighting Design : Martin Sirois
Video Design : Félix Fradet-Faguy
Assistant to the Stage Director : Mélissa Campeau
Technical Direction : Antoine Breton

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