Additional Information
On January 5, 2026, the Orchestre classique de Montréal (OCM) will welcome soprano Marie-Josée Lord. The artist from Trois-Rivières will sing Andre Previn’sHoney and Rue song cycle for the occasion. A work that presents certain challenges, as the singer explains in the interview I conducted with her. It should be noted that the OCM concert, under the baton of Kalena Bovell, is being offered on the occasion of Black History Month. There will also be works by Afro-descendant composers on the program: Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Concertante Symphony in C major, op. 9 no 1); William Grant Still (Mother and Child) and Florence Price (Symphony for Strings in G major). The occasion was perfect to catch up with Marie-Josée on her life since the pandemic and her upcoming projects.
PanM360: Hello Marie-Josée. What’s new in your life?
Marie-Josée Lord: I have been teaching for a year now, in a music-focused school in Shawinigan. I have to get up at 5 a.m. every morning, which is new for me!
PanM360: And all this in parallel with the gradual resumption of concert activities and the career of a singer. Which brings us to this concert on February 5 in Montreal. You will be singing Andre Previn’s vocal cycle, Honey and Rue. What can you tell us about it?
Marie-Josée Lord: It’s a cycle of songs written from poems by Nobel laureate in literature Toni Morrison. It’s a cycle I sang in 2024 with the Nova Scotia Symphony. I had to learn it for the occasion.
PanM360: What kind of challenge does this work pose?
Marie-Josée Lord: It’s quite difficult. Previn’s music is very influenced by jazz. The rhythm is irregular and the harmonies are complex. It “rubs” a lot, from major to minor, etc.
PanM360: You’ve already sung with the OCM a few times, right?
Marie-Josée Lord: Yes, 3 or 4 times. In 2017, I believe, the last one?
PanM360: You are gradually getting back into the swing of things on stage. What other projects do you have ahead of you?
Marie-Josée Lord: I created a show about twenty years ago, Chants de mon pays (Songs of My Country), in tribute to Quebec poets and lyricists. These are the lyrics of songs that were part of my childhood and that I discovered as I grew up. You know, we do German lied, French melody, etc., but in Quebec, we have that quality also. Texts and melodies that talk about the country, the people, the cold. A poetry that has been carried overseas, but that we don’t sing about in a lyrical way. I like to make this version of our Francophone roots known, landlocked and alive in America. It’s not a new project, but I admit that I dream of recording it one day. The arrangements by François Vallières, which adorn my voice with a string quartet, are very beautiful.
PanM360: Opera? The Recital?
Marie-Josée Lord: Yes, I really want to go back to the opera. When the pandemic broke out, I was getting ready to sing Violetta (La Traviata) in Montreal. It was postponed three times, then cancelled. For me, it was a tough blow. It was my dream to sing that. For the recital, it’s also an idea that has been with me. I would like to build a program around Honey and Rue, and explore a repertoire related to that.
PanM360: You also told me about a conference project?
Marie-Josée Lord: Yes. They’re quite ready. Three conferences that I title My Voice, My Therapist. It’s partly autobiographical. I talk about the search for authenticity through my voice. For example, for me, it was quite an intense battle. I had to tame that voice and, consequently, myself afterward. In my youth, my voice had a roundness that inhabited a body that didn’t seem ready to receive it. It took me years of searching to find my identity there. It was a slow process, a journey to fill that psychological gap. In the conferences I talk about that, about the fact that my voice and I, for a while, were more enemies than friends. I think it can resonate with other people, even if their case doesn’t involve singing. I think everyone can relate to it in one way or another. The search for authenticity, the difficulties related to the maturation of the body, especially as a young girl, etc.
PanM360: It’s an open door to your intimacy…
Marie-Josée Lord: Yes. That’s maybe why it takes me some time yet to go public with it. In theory, the conferences are ready. But I spend my time correcting things, fine-tuning….
PanM360: And then teaching, does that inspire you?
Marie-Josée Lord: I would really like to open my workshop, my singing studio. I discovered that I really enjoy giving master classes!
PanM360: In any case, you don’t lack ideas.
Marie-Josée Lord: These are things that have been on my mind for a long time, but I didn’t think I was old enough! …
PanM360: Thank you for allowing us to get to know these facets of yourself a little better.
