Speaking the universal language of music, Michele Baron has something to say in any exotic locale. This versatile soprano Micheleis currently singing in Dakar, Senegal, located in western Africa. Cut off from nearly all the resources singers typically rely on, she still manages to make music, be inspired, keep her voice in shape, and perform. Traveling around the world with her husband, who is employed in the U.S. Foreign Services, and one-year-old son to remote places doesn’t silence this soprano. For the last several years , they have been posted throughout Southeast Asia with only occasional stays stateside. Now in Senegal just five months, Michele expects to remain there with her family for another two years. She has parlayed her locations into opportunities, proving once again that you can sing anywhere!
We hooked up via the Internet; one of the resources Michele still has access to (when the phone lines are up, that is). One thing I found in corresponding with Michele was that her curiosity and the locales provide a lot of inspiration. Mix in a dose of humor, a big helping of flexibility, and a dollop of determination, and she’s able to sing in places few opera singers have ever gone before. I also found that many of her skills as a singer are helping her in her daily life, quickly learning local dialects and languages.
(Due to the nature of our correspondence, Michele’s answers to my questions are a combination of paraphrasing and direct quotes from our emails.)
Are you homesick for the usual things a singer has at hand; other singers, teachers, coaches? How do you handle that?
Singing and learning new music, as well as their cultural interpretations helps me stay flexible and open to the places we travel. In being a performer, I don’t mind jumping in and trying out a new language or dialect. Performing is a great way to meet people.
One of the very real difficulties has been finding a good, or even any piano, let alone orchestras or accompanists. Although, I’ve found that everything is workable one way or another. I’ve met three classical pianists in Dakar; one is an American with the missionary community, one is Japanese and teaches at the University, and the other is a Russian concert pianist. There are even two orchestras made up of members from the Senegalese and French soldiers stationed at the two bases here. But it’s always nicer to be a part of a community of singers. It’s hard to sing through La Bohéme without a tenor.
Since I’m away from my former teacher, Jane Randolph, I rely on Lamperti exercises to keep my voice in shape. I try to keep my voice fluent and even throughout all the octaves in all dynamics. My prior training guides me in performing new and old favorites. If I have a really difficult problem, I email one of my teachers in the U.S.
Is it a big sacrifice to travel with your husband and give up the typical singer’s existence?
I try to focus on the plethora of new experiences, as well as the wealth of music I find when we travel. This lifestyle might keep me away from the upper levels of my aspirations, but it won’t stop me from singing and being prepared in case that mythical big break materializes. I may be the world’s oldest debutante!
Has Dakar heard operatic voices like yours before?
Classically trained voices are a rarity in developing nations. Here there are quite a few community level singers who have formed an “International Choir.” They say there have been other trained voices here, but none quite as sizeable as my own. I live in a neighborhood with unsound-proofed, concrete houses and the neighbors say they enjoy hearing me practice. When I do, people congregate on the sidewalk outside to listen.
The choir here is quite energetic and enthusiastic. They have also asked me to direct and perform with them. Our first performance will be this year’s first installment of the “annual” Christmas concert at the church. Unfortunately, many of them don’t read music and I have to teach them each song. That has made me appreciate the resources when I’ve had them. If I can find enough singers, maybe we’ll try a community La Bohème.
How do you handle being outside the typical audition/performance circuit?
It’s difficult. Developing nations rarely have performance venues. I try to establish connections wherever I end up, and maintain or re-establish them with a recent cassette. It doesn’t take the place of being “available,” but it helps. Time, distance and accessibility constraints do limit the feasibility of auditioning for some houses and productions. Some of my mentors have said that I’m simply too footloose for the mainstream.
I think that preparation and flexibility enable me to offer credible performances whenever I get the chance to find a stage. Sometimes that stage is only a box in a rice field or a small platform. Audiences may not be mainstream, and some of my rep might be indigenous to the locale, but I think artistic and vocal integrity are important wherever one performs.
How have you acquired the jobs you have?
I have sung at midnight harvest celebrations in the middle of rice paddies, then with the Royal Thai Navy the following week. I find that by being flexible, I get more chances to sing.
When we were posted to Thailand, I always looked for performance venues. There were two major orchestras. But the National Orchestra had a British conductor who mostly hired established “name” British singers. However, after the audition (in which I sang crossover – opera and classics), the conductor did recommend me to the conductor of the Royal Thai Navy Orchestra. That conductor set up several concerts and gave me a spot on their TV special. I did a wide variety of rep, including some in Thai.
I read about the Penang Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the local paper. I tracked down the conductor and convinced him to audition me. As a result, I performed several concerts and recorded a CD with them. Later, the CD project was expanded as a result of my receiving a Fulbright Grant.
I directed and trained the chorus, which culminated into a live concert recording. In the process, I learned several songs in regional dialects and languages: Tamil, Hokkien, Malay, and Bahash. It was a wonderful experience. In conjunction with my Fulbright, I also did some workshops with the chorus and learned a lot while performing, teaching, and sharing music.
How do you stay inspired to keep up your art?
It’s always inspiring to sing to an audience and see their response to the music … especially if the language and music are unfamiliar to them. It is often difficult to sing convincingly when I know that the enormity of my efforts to do so is not recognized.
It helps me find viable local and national charities to arrange benefit concerts with. It provides me with a venue, and audience, feedback, and inspiration. I try to sing for women’s and children’s charities wherever we are living. Sometimes, the music becomes a means to its own end.
What is your fach and what do you sing?
Soprano G, below middle C to E, above high C. I’m mostly a vocal gourmand; I now have a concert rep of over twenty languages and have been asked to sing everything from Porter to Puccini. But I don’t sing any aggressive coloratura or anything that would strain my throat.
What opportunities for performing and singing are you finding in Dakar?
The American Ambassador is a wonderful woman and very supportive. I’m doing a solo Christmas concert, so I should meet all the local “international” decision makers there. I’ve contacted the Goethe Institute and the Alliance Francaise: they’re both considering concerts after January 2002. There’s also been some interest shown from the Italian and Russian Embassies. I’m also meeting with the director of the Orchestra and we are hoping to organize some concerts. Benefits, most likely as funds, are very limited in emerging countries.
I have begun to make inquiries to see about singing for the local schools. I’m also establishing some contacts with local pop singers to learn some Wolof songs. My ear training will come in handy, as indigenous music is not always written down.
When Ramadan is over, I’ll resume my studies with the local Muslim cantor (who happens to be a woman). I’m trying to understand the traditions of cantoring; female cantors are unusual. I’ll learn about the differences she notices in her work (as opposed to that of men), why she selects certain passages, and the receptiveness of the worshippers. From all of this, I’m hoping to write a few compositions based on the Qu’ran for inclusion in my rep and possible recording later.
What do you see yourself doing with this vast array of literature you are assimilating? collected?
I’m collecting songs. I plan to eventually compose suitable concert pieces that I hope to record and ‘share’ with other singers. I generally try to work new regional pieces into my concerts while I’m still there to make sure that I’ve got it right. I suppose I might eventually produce a song-photo-interview travelogue, but that’s for later when I have more perspective.
It is sometimes difficult to not have the measuring tape of accredited performance venues as a sort of affirmation of my vocal work. But I love singing, and look for opportunities to share my art wherever I can find them.
