Kathleen Fortin is excellent in both acting and singing. She is always ready to take on a new role and never says no to a project where she has to do everything.
This is even more true when it comes to the opera Nelligan by André Gagnon and Michel Tremblay, a universe in which she has been immersed since her youth.
On December 3rd at the Théâtre Maisonneuve in Montreal and on December 7th at the Palais Montcalm in Quebec, she will perform the vocal part of the tribute show Les 4isons d’André Gagnon, which includes, among other things: Songs from the opera Nelligan and from the show Leyrac sings Nelligan. At the first of the two concerts, it was exactly three years since the pianist, composer, conductor and arranger died.
Kathleen Fortin in the spotlight with pianist and arranger Stéphane Aubin. PHOTO BY MICHEL PINAULT, PROVIDED BY STATION BLUE AGENCY
Kathleen Fortin is very familiar with “The 4 Seasons” by André Gagnon, a show produced by the Station Bleue agency, which she has hosted since 2016. But this time it is a symphonic version that music lovers from the metropolis and the old capital are right to listen to. There is no orchestra associated with the project per se. Rather, it is a meeting of musicians whose first chairmen are Carla Antoun (cello), Stéphane Aubin (piano), Antoine Bareil (violin), Dominique Girard (double bass and electric bass) and Maxime Lalanne (drums).
“Basically it was a concert with five musicians, and Stéphane Aubin had done a version with a large orchestra, and that is the version we are covering. The arrangements are more complex and lavish. I’m very excited because we’ve only heard it very rarely in a symphonic version. Everything is amplified, the sound travels up my spine, it can’t be compared to anything.”
The red-haired actress has been a fan of the opera Nelligan since its creation in 1990, when she was still a teenager and already singing pieces. Later, theater professor André Brassard recommended Kathleen Fortin Louise Forestier for a show attended by André Gagnon, who was seduced by her magnificent voice.
MARIO BEAUREGARD/AGENCE QMI
“André Gagnon asked me to play Nelligan’s mother in the OSM, I was a complete unknown at the time. I haven’t come back from it yet,” said Kathleen Fortin in an interview with QMI Agency.
Then there were the shows “The 4 Seasons” by André Gagnon and the revival of the opera Nelligan at the TNM. “I sing these songs in many situations. In “The 4 Seasons” by André Gagnon I play three songs from the opera Nelligan, although not in the same key as the TNM version. You have to know how to change hats pretty quickly and I have to say that I would sing these songs my whole life.
The show “Les 4 Saisons” by André Gagnon is of course largely instrumental, both classical and popular – like the famous song “Wow” – and a third of the evening is reserved for the singing part with the support of Kathleen Fortin.
“André Gagnon felt very close to the poet and lived for a while in the same house as Nelligan on Saint-Louis Square, and there he created the opera Nelligan. It was inspired and inhabited by the soul of the poet. He is a great melodist, one of the greatest, he had the ability to touch us every time. He wanted to make diversity and not classical music aimed at the elite.”
Tickets are available online in both Montreal and Quebec.
Back to the robot portrait
Kathleen Fortin will also be back in 2024, at Club illico, in the third and final season of the portrait robot series directed by Alexis Durand-Brault.
Kathleen Fortin on the set of Portrait-Robot between shots of an episode of the second season in June 2022 in Montreal. She plays Elektra in this series directed by Alexis Durand-Brault. Joël Lemay / QMI Agency
At the end of the second version, we saw Bernard (Rémy Girard) kidnapped by the mafia and Kathleen Fortin’s character Elektra was there, suggesting that she could be involved in this affair.
“2024 is just around the corner, a great year, I’m spoiled. For me, this is a nice balance when I work a lot!” concluded Kathleen Fortin, who will also take on her role in the musical theater Lily St-Cyr again in spring 2024.
Advertising poster for the musical theater Lili St-Cyr with Maxime Denommée, Lunou Zucchini, Marie-Pier Labrecque, Kathleen Fortin, Stéphane Brulotte and Roger La Rue. Photo provided by 3Pointes and Agence evenko