'People are listening to me now': the remarkable ascent of Innu soprano Élisabeth St-Gelais
She speaks with CBC’s Marion Newman about the responsibility she feels as an Indigenous musician in Canada
The career of 27-year-old soprano Élisabeth St-Gelais is taking off like a rocket. An Innu from the Pessamit community, where she grew up in a family of music-lovers, St-Gelais knew from a young age that music would be her life.
"I never had any doubts," she told CBC Music. "Music has always been my main activity."
St-Gelais now resides in Montreal, having recently completed a master's in voice performance at McGill University's Schulich School of Music. While there, she won the $25,000 Wirth Vocal Prize. A few months later, she nabbed the grand prize in the senior category at the 2022 Canadian Music Competition — accolades that secured her a spot on CBC Music's annual classical "30 under 30" list.
2023 has been equally thrilling: St-Gelais has been named Radio-Canada's classical Révélation, and in July, she won the $50,000 Prix d'Europe.
We invited St-Gelais to our Montreal studio for an interview with Marion Newman, host of CBC Music's Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. Newman, an accomplished classical singer in her own right, is also Indigenous: Kwagiulth and Stō:lo. They had lots to discuss.
Scroll down to read their conversation, which has been edited for brevity. And tune in to Saturday Afternoon at the Opera on July 1 to hear St-Gelais sing music by Henri Duparc, Richard Strauss, Hector Berlioz and Giacomo Puccini with pianist Louise Pelletier — an exclusive CBC session, recorded at McGill University's Pollack Hall.
Marion Newman: Élisabeth, thank you so much for joining me.
Élisabeth St-Gelais: Kuei, Marion. Tshinushkumitin for the invitation.
Newman: You've had lots of success at competitions. How do you feel about the whole competition experience?
St-Gelais: I have to confess that I love competitions. Before I did singing competitions, I thought I was not competitive. But now, I think I am. I like the thrill, I like the stress. It pushes me, you know? It's my motor for success.
Competitions can be good when they're not toxic, when they're well done, and when you admire your competition — the other singers — and talk to them and say thank you when you win a prize, and be humble, of course.
Newman: Right. You're inspired by them and they help you push yourself further. I'm glad you think of it in such a healthy way.
You and I have shared experience as people whom others take note of for more than just our training, our voices, our experience as classical singers, and that is our Indigeneity. You're Innu and I am Kwagiulth and Stō:lo. Do you feel like being Innu has any kind of influence on how you sing, or why you sing?
St-Gelais: There is something about being Indigenous right now, in the Truth and Reconciliation era, while we're doing music: the importance of what I am saying, because people are listening to me now.
It's a big responsibility to speak, to sing, to be out there in the media. It's a responsibility for my Innu community and the other young Indigenous people who want to be represented in the media and in society — a responsibility that I take very seriously.
Newman: Do you feel like your Indigeneity has anything to do with why you take on certain repertoire?
St-Gelais: First of all, I choose the repertoire that resonates with me, that calls to me [and speaks to] my artistry and my love of music. So, of course I will choose something beautiful and repertoire that will suit my voice. And after that, if they're Indigenous works, then wow.
I think it's important, if you're Indigenous, to perform Indigenous works. But some people say, "Oh, if you're not Indigenous, you cannot perform Indigenous works," and I don't really agree with that. I think the more people who spread the word, spread the art — it's very interesting.
If you're open in a healthy and kind way to our work, our music, our artistry, I will appreciate it.
Newman: Absolutely. When I hear that people don't want that to happen, it's because the role being played is of an Indigenous person, and until we've had a chance to really embody that ourselves, to show the world what the real notion of an Indigenous person is, that's where that comes into play. They don't want someone who's not Indigenous to play those roles.
I notice a real difference in how I feel when I'm performing stories — especially anything that touches our cultures [and] that's gone through periods of being shut down, or illegal. There's a process of shedding the fear of "getting it wrong," or misrepresenting somehow, that I have to go through in order to feel confident performing that music.
We're often told that we represent our whole communities. You've spoken of that. It can affect my work in good ways, and sometimes in not very good ways. How does it feel to you to embody our stories through music?
St-Gelais: It feels very powerful for me. Yes, it's a big responsibility. But — I don't know why, Marion — I feel like my back is strong. Humbly, I'll be able to hold this story and share it. My wish is to heal. It's very important to me. It's very much my mission — and my duty.
Newman: Do you have any stories or truths that you wish to share or address through song or opera?
St-Gelais: I don't know if it could happen one day, but my dream is to do an Indigenous opera at the Met. Because now they're doing Afro-American works and jazz works — so many interesting things. And with a leader like Yannick Nézet-Séguin, I'm sure the Met will continue to be "in our era." It's a silly dream, but to have a soprano role by an Indigenous composer, and to do it in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera — I think it would be more than wonderful.
Newman: I think that's not a silly dream at all. That's what you should be aiming for. And in all the new works that you and I are part of developing, that one of those should make it to the Met, I don't think it's silly. It's a wonderful thing to put out there.
St-Gelais: Maybe not that silly, yeah [laughs].
