The Orchester Métropolitain (OM) announced on Tuesday the cancellation of two programs from its current season, “Amour fatal”, in March, and “Fiesta latine”, in May, due to “the significant challenges that the ensemble is currently going through of the cultural environment”. For the moment, this is the most symbolic post-pandemic shock in the classical musical world.
“We are experiencing a scissor effect,” said the Duty Fabienne Voisin, CEO of OM. “The orchestra has been running a deficit for two seasons, much like all our fellow citizens in the cultural ecosystem. » Madame Voisin sees three reasons for this deficit: “A production cost which has soared – some say 30%, and we can agree on this percentage –, the public for whom inflation arranges choices differently and a stagnation of subsidies. »
Fabienne Voisin says she works with the Ministry of Culture and recognizes the merit of doing “the maximum to defend the community and OM, which is falling behind in funding compared to other symphonic groups”. But she chose “to make decisions to put the orchestra on the path to sustainability and avoid finding itself no longer having the levers to act”.
Nerve center
The canceled concerts are therefore “Amour fatal”, directed by Nicolas Ellis, which was to be given on March 13 in Saint-Léonard and on March 14 at the Maison symphonique, including the creation of the Bassoon Concerto by Airat Ichmuratov and Bacchus and Ariane by Roussel, and “Fiesta latine”, on May 16 at the Maison symphonique, with conductor Joana Carneiro and pianist Gabriela Montero. Ticket holders will receive a refund within ten business days of this announcement.
Many institutions had relatively solidified themselves during the pandemic with aid and subsidies maintained, in the face of a major reduction in production expenses. But this nest egg didn’t last long. “The aid masked a reality that was harsher than COVID. Inflation has hit this season more severely than last season,” analyzes Fabienne Voisin.
Unlike other cases in the sector, slow erosion of institutions or strategic derailments, the causes of this surprising situation at OM are certainly multifactorial, but we cannot contradict Fabienne Voisin when she speaks of “mastery of a growth, if we want to aim for budgetary balance.” A cultural institution cannot get stuck in a leverage effect, that is to say digging a hole to develop.
-OM had the possibility of canceling these two weeks, because, in terms of activity, the orchestra was above the number of weeks contractually owed to the musicians. But Fabienne Voisin recognizes it: “As soon as we remove two concerts, the orchestra being an employment center for the ecosystem, that weakens everyone. » For musicians, the blow is hard, because the nerve center of their activity is now affected, while the periphery was already affected. For example, the former Longueuil Symphony Orchestra, which represented a salary supplement for several OM musicians, is now nothing more than a shadow. OM instrumentalists are among the third of the musicians who threw in the towel following the arrival of violinist Alexandre Da Costa, and, for the survivors, the musician is no longer very profitable, to the point that a concert of the now “Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra”, on 1is February, presented as “historic”, with nothing less than the Bolerowas canceled.
A signal
“If OM, which is solid on its feet, ends up canceling two concerts, it is not a neutral decision, which must go unnoticed: it is an important signal which shows the fragility of culture in a city which shines precisely for its cultural richness,” says Fabienne Voisin, who refutes the idea of having wanted to send a message and only mentions its return to balance. “It’s not just that: recordings will not take place and free concerts in parks will not take place. We did not cancel them; we don’t engage them. »Pragmatically, the 2024-2025 season goes from 36 to 33 concerts and the 2025-2026 program will start on a basis of 30 concerts.
The director, who salutes “Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s enormous attention to his musicians, his courage and his total understanding of the economy, the ecosystem and the place of an orchestra in society today”, did not want to call into question the European tour in June: “The international influence of local talents pushes philanthropists to support this approach. The same goes for the concert at the foot of Mount Royal: it is a source of rallying new philanthropists. »
Fabienne Voisin challenges the interpretation of a 33% increase in support for the mission of the Council of Arts and Letters. “This is not our analysis; we are endowed 15% less than all other orchestras, including regional ones. Thus, the subsidies do not cover operating costs and OM manages to seek philanthropy to fill this gap. »
The orchestra has consistently continued its activity in the districts. “Yes, the districts pay, but it’s not even 10% of the costs. We are historically supported by the Conseil des arts de Montréal en tour, without which these concerts would be impossible, but it is the OM which provides the majority of the financial needs for these concerts. This is the DNA of the orchestra and we cannot give it up, but we are also looking for philanthropists to help us maintain and deploy this activity. »
