Boston
Singers' Resource News Bulletin, October
26 , 2005
Critically
acclaimed lyric soprano, Rochelle Bard, was recently named a Finalist
in the prestigious MacAllister Awards. She has appeared on the stages
of Tanglewood, New England Light Opera, Cape Cod Opera, Opera Boston,
Longwood Opera, Opera Lyrica di Orvieto, and the Chautauqua Institute.
Believe it or not, this lovely and intelligent singer was once a Bio-Med
major:
These days, Boston-based lyric soprano Rochelle Bard is a very happy
woman. Within the past year she has been a finalist in the Jensen Foundation
Voice Competition and The New Jersey Verismo Opera Competition. She
was also certified at the 2005 – 2006 Classical Singer Convention
in the Professional Division. Then, to top it off, in August she was
named one of the top 15 finalists in the prestigious MacAllister Awards
which were held this year in Chicago.
Rochelle dubs her experience at the MacAllister Awards “amazing
and very intense. There was some phenomenal singing. I don’t usually
like to listen to other competitors (at auditions) but when you’re
backstage, before going on, you can’t help it. The singing was
so beautiful.” She acknowledges the Award as “very high profile.
There isn’t a huge monetary award but it really gets your name
out there. It’s something special to put on your resume.”
Her experience at the Classical Singer Convention was also special.
Her judges included the internationally acclaimed stage director, drama
coach, and author, Janet Bookspan, and the top artist managers, Peter
Randsman of Randsman Artists Management, and Michael Rosen of Robert
Lombardo and Associates. She says, “I had sung at a master class
with Ms. Bookspan. It was thrilling that, after my audition, she came
backstage and asked me if I would work with her in New York.”
Being labeled a ‘Certified Singer’ might seem like an odd
way to honor singers and Rochelle admits she’s not crazy about
the term. :”But,” she goes on to explain, “it’s
Classical Singer Magazine’s way of saying ‘We’ve heard
a lot of singers all week-end, literally hundreds, and you are one of
the top 10.’ The term ‘Certified’ is a way for Classical
Singers to put their stamp on those people who they deem are ready,
as a complete package, to audition in their own level. The experience
at the Convention was priceless and the exposure in the magazine is
great timing for audition season.”
Her success at these competitions is based, in part, by the quality
of her whole ‘package.’ Judges comment on performance, appearance
and stage presence. But she also recognizes the value of presenting
repertoire that is appropriate for her particular talents. She says,
“So often singers sing things they shouldn’t be singing yet.
They don’t realize how important this is. People may be impressed
if you can do things that are difficult. But in reality you should be
doing things that are ‘easy’ for you. Don’t just show
off your coloratura just because you can. You should be doing things
that you can do better than everyone else. If that means singing Pamina,
then sing Pamina. It’s not a bad thing. Something I’ve learned
over time is that if you choose your repertoire accordingly, people
will notice. You might think they’ve heard Musetta a million times.
Well, if you can sing Musetta better than anyone else, then sing Musetta.
And don’t apologize for it.”
Along the same lines, she feels that a singer can make a mistake by
trying to be too diverse. As she puts it, “You have to do things
that make sense (to juries, when auditioning). You have to present a
package that doesn’t look confusing. Don’t mix Mimi with Queen
of the Night. I did that at auditions a few years ago and it seriously
confuses people!”
Her recent awards and her awareness of how to be a success at competitions
is particularly impressive when you learn that she didn’t begin
to study voice seriously until the age of 22. Up to that point she thought
she would most likely go into some form of medicine. She says, “I
was very serious in high school, planning my life. I was looking for
something that would make everyone proud. I thought being a doctor would
just be the height of that, since I come from a family of doctors.”
In preparation for this, she went to Holy Cross College in Worcester
and earned a degree in biology pre-med. She worked very hard, she says,
but after graduation decided not to attend medical school right away.
Instead she taught eighth grade biology and learned quickly that “it
was definitely not what I wanted to do. I could do it, but it wasn’t
my passion.”
Her passion, apparently, was music. The Worcester native began studying
the piano at an early age and was accompanying her older sister in voice
lessons by the time she was in the fifth grade. As far as singing though,
she had done only a little studying while in college and had performed
in some Musical Theater productions. So she returned to college, this
time at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, with the thought
that “If I’m going to be a teacher, I’ll be a teacher
of music.” But even that plan didn’t work out.
Instead, she recalls, a voice teacher heard her during her audition
at UNCW who told her she wasn’t going to be a teacher. “And
I thought, ‘Oh no, I’m not even good enough to be a teacher.’
What the teacher meant, rather, was that she had a gift for singing.
The comment led her to the New England Conservatory of Music, where
she received a Master of Music degree in Voice.
Rochelle comes by her talent somewhat naturally. Her grandmother is
a singer and her older sister, Nicole Lian, is well-known in the Worcester
area for her work in Musical Theater.
She thinks she is very lucky to love the repertoire of her chosen field
of opera and operetta. She says her voice is very well suited for both
repertoires. “I’m flexible vocally so I can do operetta and
I love to sing in English.” But she is also able to sing coloratura.
Her favorite operatic roles are Violetta, Mimi and Susannah. She plans
to sing all three roles at some point and arias for each of them are
in her current audition and recital package. The appeal of opera for
her is the challenge of singing in a foreign language. Also, she enjoys
the speed of productions. “Things are thrown together quickly –
much faster than in Musical Theater, at least in my experience,”
she says.
Rochelle is known by local conductors and other musicians as a singer
who is well-prepared and who brings thoughtful and intelligent perspectives
to the music she is singing. This too is a reflection of her rapid growth
and maturity. “A few years ago,” she says, “I didn’t
know to speak up (at rehearsals). I’d do whatever people would
tell me to do musically. Over time I’ve had more experience and
confidence in my musicianship and I’m not afraid to make suggestions.”
Such confidence is tempered with a degree of humility; an awareness
that the music world can be a small place. Rochelle is featured by Classical
Singer Magazine in the October, 2005 issue. There she is quoted as saying
“Something that is not always taught in school is the idea of not
only getting hired, but getting rehired. Get your job done while being
a good colleague and people will remember you!”
We suspect that once you hear her, you’ll remember her too.
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To find out more about Rochelle Bard, visit her website at www.rochellebard.com.
Upcoming performances include:
Nov 25, 2005 7:00
Nov 27, 2005 3:000
Weill: Street Scene
Maine Grand Opera
Kurt Weill's greatest ‘Broadway Opera’ will be fully staged,
with orchestra. The score brings songs and dance of blues, jazz, spirituals
and grand opera. The cast includes Rochelle Bard*, Meredith Hansen*,
Jeanai Ratcliffe*, and Susan Brownfield*.
Camden Opera House, 29 Elm Street, Camden, ME.
Tickets may be reserved by calling 207-763-3071.
http://www.mainegrandopera.org/events.cfm.
Fri Dec 16, 2005 8:00 PM
Respighi: Lauda per la Nativita del Signore: Chorus pro Musica
A pastoral cantata composed in 1930, based on a 13th-century poem depicting
the nativity of Jesus as the shepherds might have seen it. With Rochelle
Bard*, soprano; Susan Forrester, mezzo-soprano; Martin Kelly, tenor.
Program will include a candlelight procession, brass chorals and carol
sing-along. Jeffrey Rink, Music Director
Old South Church, Copley Square, Boston. $15 - $45. 617-267-7442. www.choruspromusica.org.
Rochelle Bard is currently under management with Anthony George Artist
Management, New York. www.operaag.com.
Other information:
The Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Voice Competition – www.jensenfoundation.org.
The New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera - www.njavo.org.
The Classical Singer Convention - www.classicalsinger.com/convention.
The MacAllister Awards - www.macallisterawards.com.
An article about the MacAllister Awards is found at http://www.arts4all.com/newsletter/issue19/kohn19.html.