A Conversation with Dominique Labelle, Part 1

Continuing my conversation of last August with soprano Dominique Labelle...Leslie Holmes: We were speaking of French composers, and I'm interested to hear you pronounce the h Reynaldo Hahn, because, even Bob Gartside [author of books on interpreting the songs of Faure and Ravel, and an expert on French pronunciation] isn't sure if you should pronounce the initial h. Hahn is Venezuelan, as I'm sure you know. That may make a difference in the pronunciation.Dominique Labelle: You know, I could care less. Really. I think you can go both ways. People don't say my name well, most of the time, and it really doesn't matter.LH: I have known Susan [Davenny Wyner] since well before she was Wyner. DL: She is a lovely person.LH: Indeed she is.DL: And she is a fantastic conductor. Every time I have worked with her, we have such a good time. She goes right into the depth of the music. She cares so much, and she deserves to have a great orchestra.LH: It's so interesting that we have these new, or premiere, productions of pieces from the 1700s, like the Handel Gloria.DL: Le roi et le fermier [Monsigny] was a premiere.LH: Yes, with Bill Sharp. I interviewed him out at the Yellow Barn.DL: He's lovely. He was my boyfriend in the opera. He's a great colleague . . . a joy to work with. He's very professional, and a wonderful singer. He is unique in using his own voice. He doesn't try to imitate anyone. He's not looking to become a product. I think that a lot of people, who are making a living at singing, have to work at being a nice product. It's part of the deal. We recorded both Le deserteur and Le roi et le fermier [both Monsigny], After recording this opera [Le roi et le fermier], we went to Versailles and sang it there. I sang the role of Jenny. It hadn't been done in hundreds of years. The last time it was done, Marie Antoinette, herself, sang that role. She loved to be a shepherdess. She had a little farm at the castle.LH: I didn't know she sang.DL: She sang that role in the little theater at Versailles. What was so amazing was that they found a set that had been used when she sang in that production. It would have been too small for the big theater, so they had to add a little. It was kind of an historical event. It was pretty amazing. The French people loved it. They were so grateful that an American group came to Versailles with a French opera.LH: As a Canadian, French is a big part of who you are.DL: Yes, but presented by an American group? Can you imagine?LH: I read in the paper today that the ART [American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA] is putting on a play about Marie Antoinette.DL: Could be. There's a movie about her playing now.LH: You have worked with Jos van Veldhoven.DL: I have done a lot of work with him. We did a Telemann Passion, which is not performed a lot. I'm not sure if it was a premiere. We did, also, Gluck's Orphee et Eurydice in Bonn, where he was conducting. I did a tour of Messiah with him in December. I enjoy him. I really like his musicianship. I think he gets better and better every time I see him. He's a good man. I like him.LH: It's really interesting, because, as you saw, I read about all these people, and all, except Yehudi, were born in 1950 or 1952.DL: Really?LH: All at the same time.DL: What about Ivan Fischer?LH: 1951.DL: And Nick McGegan?LH: 1950.DL: Amazing!LH: And Jos-1952. Isn't that interesting? Concerning baroque music, how do you feel about period instruments?DL: I love period instruments. I love the way some of the baroque instrumentalists play them. They have to deal with the fact that their instrument is a little bit smaller, and the strings are gut. They have to be a little more inventive, creating special shape to the music. I think the way they play is very, very different. And they are very supportive of the singers. …

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