Opera comes into the home (Barre, Vermont)

Pianist Jacques St. Jean accompanies soprano Michelle Bolduc in an opera aria Sunday afternoon in a "house concert" in Barre. (Photo: Submitted Photo)

Opera comes into the home

By Jim Lowe, Times Argus Staff
The Barre Montpelier Times Argus
October 1, 2008
Hyperlink: http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/FEATURES14/810010353

BARRE – Barre has almost always been home to Italians and French-Canadians, and consequently opera. So, it is no surprise to find opera in a Barre home. But live and at this level?

On Sunday afternoon, a young Montreal soprano and a veteran Canadian tenor filled the home of Chris Maloney and Paul Guiffre with the sounds of grand opera and Broadway to an intimate and enthusiastic paying audience. It was what is called a "house concert," but the level of performance was world-class.

Soprano Michelle Bolduc, whose mother lives in Barre, together with tenor Louis Langelier, with Montreal pianist Jacques St. Jean, presented some pretty spectacular singing. Bolduc is a young up-and-coming singer, while Langelier has starred in European as well as North American opera houses.

The svelte Bolduc is a coloratura, capable of singing deftly in high registers, but with an unusually rich sound. She was particularly impressive in the flowery bel canto arias from Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," in which she sang with a controlled passion and effectively delivered the vexation of the strange Lucia. Langelier managed his huge voice to effectively match and complement Bolduc's hardly weak instrument.

Langelier was heard at the Barre Opera House several years ago singing for the Vermont International Opera Festival. Although a powerful presence, at that time he had some difficulty controlling his huge voice as he was in the process of recovering from a serious illness. On Sunday, Langelier was healthy and in control. Among other fine performances, he delivered a particularly intense and powerful performance of the famous aria from Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci."

He really made you feel it with him.

Bolduc was not only brilliant but funny as the wind-up doll in Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann." (Langelier graciously wound her up as necessary.) The two closed with the intimately beautiful duet from Puccini's "La Boheme," in which Bolduc was truly convincing as the young falling-in-love Mimi and it was beautiful.

There were also selections from Verdi's "La Traviata" and Puccini's "Tosca," among others. St. Jean not only accompanied expertly on piano, but also performed two Chopin Waltzes. Bolduc and Langelier also sang selections from operetta and Broadway musicals. Particularly enjoyable, including some interesting accents, was the duet "Tonight" from Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story." It was indeed an afternoon of beautiful singing.

Denis Thibouthot, Bolduc's stepfather and an emergency room nurse at Central Vermont Medical Center, promised that this concert would not be the last.