La chanson francophone
Quebecers and Canadians are passionate about the subject of language. Nothing could be more natural in an officially bilingual nation. For the French-speaking part of the country, French is a pillar of the national cultural identity that must be promoted and preserved through numerous initiatives. In music, this includes a 65% quota of French-language songs on French-language radio stations. Moreover, singing in French is also an opportunity to seduce the French market, and for some, it is a militant choice. At the end of the day, French chanson is a big business that does not suffer from the crisis. From the first great Quebec chansonniers such as Robert Charlebois, Félix Leclerc and Gilles Vigneault, to international stars such as Céline Dion and Garou, not forgetting the famous Beau Dommage and Cowboys Fringants, each generation has made its own contribution. Today, Cœur de Pirate, Pierre Lapointe, Louis-Jean Cormier and Yann Perreau are leading the revival of Quebec's French-language music, often outside their own borders.
Listening to songwriters on stage is one of the most Quebecois experiences possible. The best places to find them all week are the "boîtes à chansons". It was in these small cafe-like venues that Félix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault and Robert Charlebois got their start, and it's still on these stages that we see the future of local song. In Quebec City, the two mythical venues are La P'tite Grenouille and Les Voûtes Napoléon. The first one is located in the Sainte-Foy district (with several other branches in Quebec) and has an all-wooden room that is more spacious than it looks. As for Les Voûtes Napoléon, they are distinguished by the cachet of their location: nestled in a two hundred year old building that was once a restaurant and then a nightclub, they have been one of the country's most renowned stages for chansonniers since 1993. For concerts by established French singers, nothing beats the Théâtre Petit Champlain in town. A charming little venue, it stands out for its infallible programming, inviting both well-known and up-and-coming artists. A place where the love of the text as a whole is at the forefront, there are also comedy shows and theatre.Classical music
With a relatively young history, one cannot speak of a "classical music tradition" in Quebec. That said, the genre has been very popular in the country since the turn of the twentieth century, when it had a few great figures - mostly in the contemporary field. Between the 1950s and 1970s, names such as Pierre Mercure, Serge Garant, Gilles Tremblay and Claude Vivier, the dark genius, and Jacques Hétu, the most frequently performed Canadian composer abroad, developed a contemporary music that is uniquely Quebecois. Today, Quebec is suffering from a slight disaffection with classical music. Theatres are closing, audiences are dwindling, and funding is dwindling. But classical music is far from having left the country and great artists are doing it proud. Louis Lortie, a great interpreter of Chopin, Alain Lefèvre, a piano star, and the violinist Angèle Dubeau, who is particularly popular, are all examples. On the conducting side, Yannick Nézet-Séguin is, among others, the music director of the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal and the Metropolitan Opera of New York, and Walter Boudreau, icon and iconoclast, is the head of the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec.
Quebec City has a world-renowned chamber orchestra: Les Violons du Roy. Specializing in the classical baroque repertoire, the orchestra does not shy away from the 19th and 20th century repertoires from time to time. To see them, you have to go to this beautiful building in Old Quebec, the Palais Montcalm, a highly reputable venue. It is always a good idea to browse through the programming of this establishment, as it is very varied. Quebec City also has a symphony orchestra. With an excellent reputation, it has welcomed some great conductors and is now directed by Frenchman Fabien Gabel, praised for the precision and intensity of his interpretations. The ensemble performs at the Grand Théâtre de Québec, an imposing and very austere building that is also the home of the Opéra de Québec. The venue offers great classics with sometimes kitschy staging, but often performed by world-renowned Quebec voices: contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, soprano Marianne Fiset or baritone Jean-François Lapointe (the latter became the Opéra de Québec's artistic director in the fall of 2020). The Festival d'Opéra de Québec, in late July and early August, will also delight music lovers.Pop, rock, electro
Carried by a very dynamic Montreal scene in terms of independent music, the English-speaking Quebec scene is doing well. It's home to sacred monsters, from Godspeed You! Black Emperor to Arcade Fire, and confusing modern pop icons like Grimes. And on the francophone side, the young creation is far from falling asleep. On the contrary, it's more like an awakening. There are a few nuggets like Marie Davidson and her very mechanical and sensual new wave, Klo Pelgag and his colorful folk and then the children of Quebec City: the prodigious glam rock of Hubert Lenoir and the upset indie pop of Safia Nolin.
The nerve center of Quebec City's creative renewal is Le Pantoum. Studio, concert hall, record label, the place is essential to local creation. The other must-see for emerging artists is theImpérialBell. This emblematic venue has a large capacity (950 seats) and offers a program (led by the Quebec City Summer Festival) with great local and foreign names. The artists love to perform there and you can feel it. The last must-see in the city: the Anti Bar & Spectacles. If the place has a soft spot for softly wild or marginal aesthetics, it highlights the local scene as a whole - rock, indie, hip-hop - and we even saw Arcade Fire's singer giving DJ sets there. Nice and cheap. One last important player in the local music scene: the Quebec City Summer Festival. Every year, the FEQ offers for eleven days to combine big names - Metallica, The Rolling Stones or IAM - and young local talents. A great visibility for the creation of Quebec City.Aboriginal music
More united than before and heard by a Trudeau government more concerned about its minorities, Aboriginal people are gaining more visibility. Naturally, the movement follows in the cultural field. Aboriginal artists are more and more present on the Quebec music scene thanks, in particular, to large-scale festivals such as Innu Nikamu or Présence autochtone, which are a real showcase. Among the Aboriginal artists in Quebec to follow, the most traditional are to be found in the Black Bear group of singers and drummers. Amazing. A rising star on the Canadian scene, Élisapie sings in French, English and Inuktitut - her mother tongue - about today's Inuit culture and people. The activist and rapper Samian is also a famous and revered figure who is highly emblematic of the Aboriginal scene. There is not one scene in particular where you can see and hear Aboriginal music in Quebec City; most venues dedicated to contemporary music play it. Otherwise, you can listen to it online, via Nikamowin, a young streaming platform dedicated to contemporary or traditional artists of the genre.
Theater, humor and dance
Quebec is a land of theatre. And as French people, we can't ignore it, since we have directed, adapted, acted, edited and read leading playwrights like Wajdi Mouawad, Michel Tremblay, Larry Tremblay, Évelyne de la Chenelière and Carole Fréchette. Naturally, the national capital of a theatre-loving country is just as important. The most important institution in town is the Théâtre du Trident, located in the Grand Théâtre de Québec. Offering plays mostly from the classical repertoire, the Trident greatly values Quebecois (naturally) and Francophone authors with a very fresh look. Freshness can also be found in two neighbouring theatres: Théâtre Périscope and Premier Acte. While the former is very interested in the contemporary repertoire and values audacity, experimentation and freedom, the latter offers young theatrical creation an open and free space in which to take risks. Théâtre La Bordée is an important name in Quebec theatre, focusing on local repertoire and programming around social issues. It's hard to talk about contemporary Quebec theatre without mentioning one of its most brilliant directors: Robert Lepage. Known for his vibrant, fine and sharp direction of actors and multidisciplinary productions that have shaken up the standards, he now directs Le Diamant
, a new venue in his image. Quebecers are also fond of humour, so much so that a National School of Humour - highly reputed - was founded in Montreal in 1988. Quebec City has fewer comedy clubs than Montreal, but it does have a few. And since you can't leave Quebec without seeing improv, the Ligue d'Improvisation de Québec offers it at the Palais Montcalm. On the dance side, let's note the excellent choreographic stage La Rotonde. The place may be isolated in the city, but it radiates throughout the country with a contemporary dance program featuring the best of Quebec in the field. It's very audacious and very close to the public.
