Karina Gauvin

The art of getting back to simple songs….

I am a freelance opera singer and have been in this career for more than 25 years. From singing Armide by Gluck with the Netherlands Opera to Vitellia in « La Clemenza di Tito » by Mozart at the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Theatre des Champs Elysées in Paris, recording and concertizing around the world, it’s been a busy life. When COVID struck, like thousands of performers everywhere, I saw my work and livelihood vanish overnight and cancelled for the foreseeable future.

Looking down the tunnel of what’s in store is very daunting and all artists will vouch for this. Being in this new sink or swim environnement is the new normal and as artists, we are called upon to be « creative » yet again. When the news got from bad to worse, to fight the blues and to help some friends and family on Facebook who were quite depressed, I decided to start singing some simple songs from Quebec. I opened my cupboard and pulled out some old music that was given to me by an opera singer, back in the 80’s. Before she died, she wanted me to have all her music and said to me: "one day, you will do something with this".

Running around diverse concert venues all these years, It was just never the right time to look at these little songs. Somehow, they were too simple to put into a « normal »  concert program. But suddenly, with all of this time on my hands, I decided to give them a go. Armed with a phone, a totally out of tune piano as well as a 70’s organ I purchased in a charity shop a couple of years back, I stepped out of my comfort zone. The songs are presented with an altered accompaniment and slightly deconstructed, improvisation or with quirky rhythms . They are fanciful or funny little vignettes sung in my mother tongue (French).