l'Opera de Montréal is, in the best sense of the word, a provincial company. Here, the province is Québec and the sensibility is as well. I've seen about 10 of their offerings over 30 or so years. I've noticed that their promotional materials (which have a 'young' look typical of Montréal in general) have little or no relationship to the actual look and feel of their productions, which tend to be conventional and often ad-hoc. Not a bad thing. Orchestra and chorus are always strong. As others have noted, the acoustics are quite good for the size of the hall, and the pit muffles the sound a bit (it's always a bit dull). The company tends to offer leading parts to local talent, sometimes with dazzling effect, but they also bring in solid international singers, which means that, sometimes, you'll catch a rising star, or a well-established 'house' singer from the Met and elsewhere. The thing I love the most, though, is the feeling that this is what Montrealers *do.*