The new opera Lillian Alling, which we brought to Banff August 18, has a large cast, most of it singers from our Opera as Theatre program. We wanted to get a bit of an insider’s view from two of the leads. Melanie Krueger is a Vancouver-based singer who was in the chorus of Lillian Alling when it had its world premiere in Vancouver last fall. The VO music director, Leslie Dala, who also conducted our Lillian, encouraged her to audition for the Banff production, and here she is. Cairan Ryan plays the pivotal (and romantic) role of Scotty McDonald. Cairan is originally from Cochrane, Alberta, but after studying voice at McGill and taking on roles in companies all across North America, in January he joins the Virginia Opera Spectrum Resident Artist Program.
Props to the props of Lillian Alling
We’ve wrapped up opera for this summer, with a couple of standing ovations for our production of the new opera Lillian Alling, created by composer John Estacio and librettist John Murrell. The opera, about a woman who arrives in New York from Russia and carries a secret across the North American continent, flashes back and forth between the 1970s and the 1920s. Shortly before the premiere, I went backstage to check out some of the details that made the show so interesting.
Guess who came to lunch …
Matthieu Gregoire and Anne Julien, giving their voices a break for lunch
Meet Matthieu Gregoire and Anne Julien. Both Montreal-based artists, they’re at the Centre for the Opera as Theatre program. Matthieu is a tenor singer, originally from Québec City. Anne is a mezzo-soprano. I interrupted their buffet lunch for a quick chat:
Why did you come to The Banff Centre?
Anne: The Banff Centre is a well-known place to develop in opera. I knew the work would be hard – we work up to 12 hours a day – but also that the results would be of a very high level.
Matthieu: It’s hard to get into this program and a great opportunity. A lot of bursaries are given by The Banff Centre to the people who come here, which means you don’t have to flip your whole life upside-down to find money for the program. That kind of opportunity doesn’t come up very often.
Was it easy to get the time off to be here?
Anne: It was easy for me. I’m a singer, but I also do some courses in psychology and work in a psychology laboratory. I could finish enough of my work before coming here to get away. (Are you a psychologist?) Maybe one day I will be. If I ever do a PhD, I would like to combine my singing with psychology through art therapy, but we’ll see.
Matthieu: It was not so easy for me to get the time to be here − I had to quit my job! I’m just a waiter, but it works for me when I am in a show. This summer, I had festivals to do before I came to Banff, and some after as well, so I quit work for the summer. Sometimes you have to let go of one thing to get experience in another!
What did you do this morning?
Anne: I had an acting class, and a movement course. It was about getting to know your body better, and about understanding the space that your body takes on a stage. We were learning to always be … light, in action, illuminated …
Matthieu: … for your body to always be ‘on’.
Anne: Yes, ‘on’!
Matthieu: Your body has to express itself on stage as much as your voice. It’s about being as present in your body as you are in your acting and singing.
Will we see you both in the upcoming operas, Lillian Alling and Cosi Fan Tutti?
Anne: I will be doing both – we had chorus rehearsals this morning.
Matthieu: I am doing Lillian Alling; small roles and the chorus. The main character of the story travels across all of North America, from Brooklyn to British Columbia, so she meets a lot of different people, which means a lot of small roles!
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