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.