_{Artist of the Week} 15 Qs for Catherine St-Arnaud

Who/what inspired you to sing?
My music/choir teacher when I was growing up, France Bernard. She is a magical person – literally! She composed all sorts of arrangements, songs and lyrics for us, and created shows from scratch. She often gave me little solos and was always very encouraging towards my singing. Growing up musically and artistically alongside her made me not only a singer, but also an artist. 

Drink of choice?
Champagne!

Favourite place?
Anywhere by the Fleuve Saint-Laurent or by the sea. Even though I grew up with woods and trees, I am a salt-water person. It soothes me. The wind, the songs of the waves, the scents of sea salt and sea weeds, the wildflowers all around, the rock picking… I wish I owned a small cabin in the Bas-du-Fleuve or in Gaspésie where I could escape to sometimes. 

Top 3 favourite operas?
1. Le nozze di Figaro. Forever and ever.
2. Poulenc’s: Les mamelles de Tirésias and Dialogues des Carmélites. Feminism & heartbreaking music.
3. La bohème. As soon as Musetta takes her earrings off, I start crying until the very end.

Which opera role would like to sing right now?
Other than my “bucket list roles” (like Massenet’s Manon, or Marie in La fille du Régiment, or more Susannas), I’d like to sing more roles from operas written by women. There are many of them, from this era, yes, but also from the past. I wish there were more operas by women regularly programmed, and that they would also become part of the “classics.” 

Who is a singer you admire from the past?
Mirella Freni, Maria Callas and Anna Moffo.

What’s your favourite thing about singing with orchestra?
The magic! (No rock’n’roll band can equal the massive sound from an orchestra!)

What was the first opera you first saw?
It was Jenůfa, by Janáček, at Opéra de Montréal. I was seven years old. I don’t know why my mom chose this opera, as it could be considered a weird choice for a kid’s first opera! Although I didn’t understand much of the story, I still remember being so impressed by the capacity of these people to sing so loud and play so freely onstage. 

There is also a beautiful full circle to mention: Among that cast was soprano Chantal Lambert (singing Karolka), who has become, in the past few years, a dear friend of mine through the preparation of the opera Albertine en cinq temps (Major). We were both part of the team behind the libretto – le Collectif de la Lune Rouge – and we still today are singing the roles of the oldest and youngest Albertines (there are 5 Albertine characters: 30-40-50-60-70 years old). I am in sincere awe of her artistry and of her career. She will receive a Ruby Awards next month in recognition of her career, and I am thrilled for her! It is pretty cool that life has given me the chance to sing alongside someone who was in the cast of the first opera I ever saw.

Where is your favourite coffee shop?
My favorite coffee shop opened last February in Petite Patrie (in Montréal). It’s called Royale Ginette – a queer-owned coffee shop that bakes the best brioches in Montréal (I’d say in Canada, but admittedly I haven’t tried the brioches of every province… yet). Their motto is: “Queen, queer and coffee!” Mathilde, the barista and one of the owners, specially prepares my matcha lattes with “extra shot of matcha” (it gives me superpowers!). How could I not love this place?

What was your childhood dream job?
Well, I never expected to become an opera singer, that’s for sure! I was aiming to be, literally, Carmen Sandiego. During days off from school, I used to spend half of the day with my dad at the high school where he was teaching. I would wander around in the school – an old building with lots of secret passage – and think I was Carmen, solving mysteries. To me, that was the only job option for my future. (Knowing all these secret passages when I actually studied at that school also became very handy!)

What book are you reading at the moment?
I am currently reading Véronique Marcotte’s newest book Je n’ai personne à dire que j’ai peur, as well as Cœur de slush by Sarah-Maude Beauchesne and Palestine – Un féminisme de libération by Nada Elia. Very eclectic choices, I know! And I am slowly re-reading Kundera’s L’insoutenable légèreté de l’être. It takes me a while to finish books because I rarely read only one at a time. 

Which actress would be cast as you in a film about your life?
While I can’t pick an actress, I would say it would have to be someone who could be a mix of Lorelai Gilmore and Hermione Granger (the characters, not the actresses!).

What is one very popular thing that you have no interest in?
Reality TV shows of any sort. I live my own life – that’s enough reality for me! 

Who has been inspiring you lately?
My friends. I have friends that range from 8 to 83 years old! I admire their wisdom, strength, determination, resilience, respect, thinking, integrity, ways of handling life’s challenges… They inspire me every single day to become a better person. I find that the more I’ve grown up, the friendships I continue to nurture are a with people I admire and respect. I have no time for fake people (see above re: reality TV).

Anything else you would like our readers to know?
It’s okay (and mostly normal) to have other jobs than singing – the world is crazy expensive, the industry slows down, but we all must pay our bills! Let’s stop being ashamed of this.

Let ourselves be inspired by our colleagues. Superheroes are not only from the past generations. They can also be the person sitting right beside you in rehearsal. 

Being a singer can be so many things. “Failure” and “success” are not measured by the size of the gigs. 

And the most important: I think I need to say something about how weird it feels to be singing in a world that is so messed up. I find it difficult to think about the beauty of the arts when the rest of the world is living horrors: genocide in Palestine, USA crazy politics, Ukraine, wars everywhere… I used to think making art could save something, but at this point, it is hard to believe it. I don’t have a solution as of right now, but it is something I am thinking about a lot.