Ana Sokolovic Unveils CLOWN(S) at Opéra de Montréal
In January, Sokolovic’s opera CLOWN(S) premieres at the Opéra de Montréal. The new stage work draws inspiration from the worlds of Sand, Fellini, Chaplin, and Keaton to create a favola in musica told in seven scenes.
On January 31–February 8, 2026, the Opéra de Montréal presents the world premiere of CLOWN(S), a new original Montreal production by composer Ana Sokolovic directed by Martin Genest. This marks Sokolovic’s fifth opera, expanding a stage catalogue that includes the Dora Mavor Moore Award–winning Svadba and other acclaimed works presented internationally by the Royal Opera House, Opera Philadelphia, San Francisco Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
Conceived as a favola in musica—a musical fable—CLOWN(S) explores the universal cycle of a clown’s life: birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
Through seven scenes interspersed with five intermezzos, this opera immerses the audience in a sensitive and poetic journey where joy, love, loss, and the vertigo of the human condition unfold in turn. This inventive fresco, combining invented language, music and magic, is part of the fragmented world of the circus and street performers.
Alone on stage, a clown opens his suitcase and releases a whole inner world where memories, emotions, wonders, and wounds coexist. This founding gesture marks the beginning of a journey that is both intimate and universal, retracing the many stages of life: discovery, love, joy, conflict, sadness, reconciliation, and, finally, serenity.
Driven by Ana Sokolovic’s vivid imagination and sensitivity, the work is a lively and accessible opera, combining music, theatre, dance, acrobatics, and puppetry. In a short format lasting 1 hour 30 minutes without an interval, CLOWN(S) invites the audience to laugh, be moved, and let themselves be carried away in an immersive and sensory experience that is both joyful and touching.
Composed for four soloists, choir, brass ensemble, percussion, and ondes Martenot, CLOWN(S) presents music rich in colour, texture, and unique sounds, reflecting Ana Sokolovic’s boundless imagination. Audiences can expect a spectacular production where music, lighting, clowning, and stage imagery intertwine to create an electrifying experience.
The world of Ana Sokolovic, librettist and composer of the work: CLOWN(S), an opera at the heart of humanity:
“What excites me about opera is the power of music: it transmits emotions from the performer’s body to the audience. Opera remains relevant because it opens up all the senses and reveals the human condition not through words, but through the raw physicality of sound.
“In this new work, I have brought together all my artistic passions—gibberish, slapstick, puppets, shadows, mime, Fellini—to create a baroque, lively and playful universe.
“Through seven scenes, I explore the life cycle of a clown, from birth to old age, with his joys, fears, loves and losses.
“With an unusual instrumentation combining singers, brass, percussion and ondes Martenot, I hope to offer the audience a sound and performance experience that is fresh, unique and deeply human.”
A stage vision of exceptional visual richness, explains director Martin Genest:
“Behind the musical complexity of CLOWN(S) lies Ana’s rich, sensitive and humorous imagination. It is a fertile creative space for me. To journey through her work, I chose to use several mediums: puppetry, circus, shadows, black light, clowning, etc.
“Synesthesia is a condition that allows people to “see” music. So I translated the different rhythms, colours and changes in tone of this inspiring work into images in order to reveal all its subtleties.
“CLOWN(S) takes us on a journey through the different stages of life: from birth to death, through adolescence and ageing. A troupe of clowns takes to the stage at Théâtre Maisonneuve to tell you this incredible story!”
World Premiere Opera
CLOWN(S)
Music and libretto by Ana Sokolovic
Directed by Martin Genest
Opéra de Montréal
Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place de Arts
Saturday January 31, 2026 at 7:30pm ET
Tuesday February 3, 2026 at 7:30pm ET
Thursday February 5, 2026 at 7:30pm ET
Sunday February 8, 2026 at 2:30pm ET
More info at (operademontreal.com)[https://operademontreal.com/programmes/clowns]
Soloists
Aline Kutan, soprano (Canada/Armenia)
Mireille Lebel, mezzo-soprano (Canada)
Andrew Haji, tenor (Canada)
Bruno Roy, baritone (Canada)
Conductor
Jirí Rožen
ABOUT ANA SOKOLOVIC
A leading figure in contemporary music, Quebec composer Ana Sokolovic has gained international recognition for her imaginative and rhythmically vibrant music, with a repertoire ranging from critically acclaimed operas and orchestral works to powerful solo and chamber pieces.
Originally from Serbia, Sokolovic’s music is infused with Balkan rhythms and shaped by influences from multiple artistic disciplines. She won back-to-back JUNO Awards in the “Classical Composition of the Year” category: in 2019 for Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes, a work for countertenor, choir, and orchestra; and in 2020 for her violin concerto Evta. Her operas have been performed internationally, including at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Boston, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Her opera Svadba, premiered in 2010, received the Dora Mavor Moore Award for “Outstanding New Opera.”
This season, Sokolovic’s opera CLOWN(S) receives its world premiere at the Opéra de Montréal. The new stage work draws inspiration from the worlds of Sand, Fellini, Chaplin, and Keaton to create a musical favola told in seven scenes. Alongside her compositional work, she has been appointed the first holder of the Opera Research and Creation Chair at the Université de Montréal.
ABOUT MARTIN GENEST
A major figure in the performing arts in Quebec for over 20 years, Martin Genest has created groundbreaking stage concepts both in Quebec and internationally.
An experienced director, he is recognized for his immersive and innovative approach to theater, challenging the traditional stage-audience relationship and engaging the spectator’s senses.
Two productions, particularly acclaimed by critics — Festen, Fête de famille (adapted from Thomas Vinterberg’s film) and Octobre 70 (adapted from Pierre Falardeau’s film) — brought him to the attention of the wider public and earned him several awards.
He collaborates with major institutions such as Théâtre du Trident and Cirque du Soleil, notably with Joyà, a permanent show combining circus performance, music, theater, and culinary arts, which has been running in Mexico since 2014.
After a trip to Vietnam, Martin Genest made his first foray into opera, working with Robert Lepage as the puppet choreographer for The Nightingale and Other Fables by Igor Stravinsky, which has been performed across Europe.
His work in theater has received numerous awards, including Best Production and Best Direction, granted by the Quebec Theatre Academy, the Quebec Association of Theater Critics, and the juries of the Quebec Excellence Awards.
Martin Genest is currently preparing a tribute to Félix Leclerc.
ABOUT L’OPÉRA DE MONTRÉAL
Deeply rooted in Montreal, at the crossroads of North American and European cultures, the Opéra de Montréal acts as a catalyst for the city’s artistic creativity and celebrates the rich vocal heritage of Quebec and Canada by bringing opera to life in all its diversity and boldness. From the great classics of the operatic repertoire to new works from here and abroad, through its training programme for the best young Canadian singers and its strong commitment to the community and education, the Opéra de Montréal offers unforgettable operatic events where everyone is warmly welcomed and feels at home.
For more information:
MARYSE BOUCHARD | [email protected]
LYNE DUTREMBLE | [email protected]
> Further information on Work: Clown(s)
Photo: André Parmentier