Chants Libres has announced that mezzo-soprano Marie-Annick Béliveau will be its new Artistic Director.

The mezzo-soprano will take over for Pauline Vaillancourt, who founded the company 31 years ago. Béliveau was already assistant artistic director with the company since 2013 and will take over her new post starting on July 1, 2022.

“It is with great humility and enthusiasm that I take up this torch,” Béliveau said in an official press statement issued by the company. “To take over from such a symbolic figure as Pauline Vaillancourt is a privilege and I want Chants Libres to continue to be this indispensable tool that gives composers the opportunity to create operas with the greatest of liberties. More than ever, opera, this coming together of all the arts, lends itself to the mixing of genres and a vision that breaks down the walls of disciplines.”

The company, which was founded in 1990, is set to present excerpts from five operas as part of its OPER’ACTUEL / Works in Progress, which is presented in co-production with Ensemble Paramirabo. That event is set for August 27 and 28, 2022.