The premiere of the opera L’orangeraie by Zad Moultaka and Larry Tremblay, co-presented by Chants Libres and the NEM, should have taken place last October at Monument-National. In the current context, the postponement of this new work became a unique occasion to film Prélude à l’opéra. Conceived and stage directed by Pauline Vaillancourt and co-directed with Manuel A. Codina, the prelude explores a sense of lack in all its theatrical dimensions. On the main stage of Monument-National, the NEM musicians join the original cast, conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt, to play excerpts from the opera L’orangeraie and offer a collective interpretation of a “future” work.