The Opéra de Montréal has announced that it will be presenting a new opera “La Reine-Garcon” in 2023 in co-production with the Canadian Opera Company.

The work will be by composer Julien Bilodeau and librettist Michel Marc Bouchard and will be based on Boucard’s “Christine, La Reine-Garcon, which was presented in Montréal in 2012 and has appeared around the work. The work is based on Sweden’s Queen Christina who abdicated at age 27 after an unconventional reign. The opera will place a focus on the monarch when she comes into contact with philosopher René Descartes.

Working with Michel Marc is a true privilege,” noted Bilodeau in a press release. “His gift for words and his sensibility for music has led to a collaboration that is rightly challenging for me, as a composer.”

“It is a pleasure for me to work with Julien,” added Bouchard. “He is a true source of inspiration. Julien’s musical writing is masterful and incorporates the lyricism and sensitivity required to portray the many sides of Sweden’s queen. Whether we are creating scenes of great intimacy or epic grandeur, Julien can convey both the most delicate and most powerful of emotions.”

The Opéra de Montréal has presented a number of new works over the last five years, including “JFK,” “Another Brick in the Wall,” “Silent Night,” and “Dead Man Walking,” among others; in sum, they have showcased eight new operas in that time span. The company has also showcased four world premieres since 1990.