Opéra et théâtre en dialogue. La question de l’appropriation culturelle dans la création opératique contemporaine

Based on the analysis of a challenging case from the OpéRA de poche (2021-2022) augmented-reality opera research-creation project led by the Canada Research Chair in Opera Creation, this article takes an interdisciplinary approach to the complex issue of cultural appropriation in opera creation today. The findings of studies on theatre and performance suggest avenues for reflection with potential for successful application in the opera context. The relationship between presence and representation and the intercultural relationship at the heart of the encounter fueling research-creation projects are the two axes of the dialogue that gives substance to the article, opening up a decolonial perspective. Quebec’s artistic reality, as seen in the cases of the polemic against Robert Lepage’s SLĀV and Kanata and the example of Ondinnok’s Rabinal Achí, constitutes a framework in which to consider the issues arising from new forms of technological expression in the field of opera.