Born and raised in Paris, France, Marie-Stéphane Bernard had an education emphasizing the arts and a home filled with love. She discovered an early passion for music, studying first the piano and then the violin before a classmate’s mother encouraged her to try something new: opera. Marie-Stéphane’s soaring talent would take her around the world as she thrilled audiences with her performances in the grandest operas and most charming operettas ever written. Her walls are lined with photos of her triumphs on the celebrated stages of France, Italy, Germany, Japan, and the United States.
In her one-woman show, Sounds of My Life, Marie-Stéphane takes audiences on a lyrical, touching journey through her life and career, using the music she loves — the arias, operettas, and French chansons that speak to her heart.
Though she could have staged the performance in her native France, Marie-Stéphane chose to share her life first with her adopted hometown of Memphis. She’s doing so on the acoustically perfect Germantown Performing Arts Center stage in the Duncan-Williams Performance Hall.
In advance of her March 11 performance, she gave us a little taste of what is in store. Meet the charming and talented FACE of Memphis, Marie-Stéphane Bernard!
Please welcome Marie-Stéphane Bernard, our newest FACE of Memphis!
How did music shape your childhood?
My mother made sure we always had music in our little apartment, in our little nest in the heart of Paris. (That is a line from my show!) She had me study piano when I was four years old.
At one point, I was crazy about operetta, especially Jacques Offenbach’s, so my mother bought a little cassette player to keep close to my bed. I could play the songs I loved every night, and I slept with that.
What led you to pursue opera as a career?
A mother of a school friend often told me that I had a beautiful voice and a special talent. When I was 15, she took me to an opera rehearsal at a famous concert hall. It was my musical operatic baptism. I listened in awe the whole afternoon. I changed from the violin to opera after that.
The friend’s mother was the wonderful operatic soprano Hildegard Behrens, who I call my musical godmother. She was so sure that I would be an opera singer, just from listening to me in the little school choir.
What was your first role, and what did you learn from the experience?
La Contessa di Ceprano in Rigoletto by Verdi. It is a very little role at the beginning of the opera. I had performed at age 16 in the theater, but this was my first step into the world of opera.
The best way to learn your job is to do your job. You can study, but until you are onstage in front of an audience, you don’t know if you are cut out for this.
I learned how an opera is built with so many different aspects — music, acting, directing, and behind-the-scenes. It is like learning the magic of a good recipe. When you make a cake, you have all the ingredients in good proportions at the right temperature. It is the same thing for a show; it all comes together to make something beautiful.
Marie-Stéphane loves to play the roles of strong, vibrant, impetuous women. She is pictured here in the lead role of Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow, an operetta by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár.
Can you tell us some of your career highlights?
My first performance as Musetta in La Bohéme was an incredible experience. [It was] at La Fenice Opera House in Venice. I entered a contest to play the role in a new production. I arrived and found there were about 550 contestants for the role. I laughed and thought, what am I doing here? But I was in my 20s and full of energy, so I thought I would try it. Long story short, I got the role! It was a beautiful adventure.
Totally different, [I loved playing] the role of Duchesse d’Alba in a new opera called Goya, telling the life of the painter Francisco Goya. The composer-director, Jean Prodromidés, wrote the role for me; he created it based on my voice. This was totally unique for me. As an opera singer, you usually interpret a character that is already written and performed in so many wonderful ways. You influence the role in subtle and nuanced ways, but the creation (musically speaking) is done. It is extremely rare to be a part of the creation.
From there is the world of Jacques Offenbach; his music is always so joyful. I had the chance to perform in two of his operettas — the role of Metella in La Vie Parisienne and the title role in La Périchole. Both were at the Opéra Comique in Paris. I did 170 performances of each during the wintertime for four years in a row. It was packed every night.
What is your favorite role and why?
There are many. I like to play the roles of strong, impetuous, vibrant women. I love to do Guilietta in The Tales of Hoffman by Offenbach, Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow by Lehár, and Jenny in Threepenny Opera by Weill. But perhaps my favorite is the title role in Carmen by Georges Bizet. Because of the temperament of Carmen, it is very exciting to do as an actress and a singer. It requires both skills. She is a very dramatic character, and the story is beautiful and colorful.
What brought you to Memphis?
Les hasards de la vie — the chances of life! My husband and I were living in Alexandria, VA, and we wanted to move further south.
Marie-Stéphane has loved the work of Jacques Offenbach since she was a young girl. One of her favorite performances was the title role in La Périchole at Opéra Comique in Paris. She played the role 170 times for four years in a row — to a packed audience every night.
What do you love most about living here?
I love to be with my friends; I have really wonderful friends here. We like to walk, read books, pray together, and see concerts and shows together. Simple joys.
I like to eat, so I enjoy Memphis restaurants very much.
I love our home in Harbor Town. I can’t picture myself living anywhere else. Harbor Town has a European flair. First, because a lot of Europeans do live here, and everything is within walking distance. I can go for days without taking the car and still go to restaurants and Miss Cordelia’s for groceries. It’s perfect. I love this style of living.
Can you tell us more about the creation of Sounds of My Life?
As an opera singer, I wanted to be part of the excitement of creation. But to create — what does that mean? I started to think about a show and what it could be. I thought, I am French, and I have a beautiful journey. Let’s start from there.
Sounds of My Life will take the audience through time and space. It is a journey of beautiful arias and songs. I share my life, my smiles and tears, and my passion for my art. My hope is to inspire you to embrace life’s opportunities and grandeur and confront and overcome life’s challenges. To pursue your dreams.
Metella in La Vie Parisienne by Offenbach is another favorite role. Marie-Stéphane gave lyrical performances at the Opéra Comique in Paris, France, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Shanghai Opera in China.
What advice would you give young girls who want to follow their artistic dreams?
First and foremost, believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? Work hard and be dedicated to your art, even if you think you will have to make sacrifices — because you will. Follow your goal and live your dream. Nobody will give you anything, so you have to work for it.
I have had young girls come to me for vocal coaching. At the first meeting, I always ask, “Why are you here? What are you expecting?” I let them express what they want. They may tell me, “I want to sing like you.” I say, “This is impossible because you are unique. I am unique. I am here to help you discover your voice, instrument, and beauty — which will be different from mine.”
What’s the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Have a good night’s sleep before a performance.
Aside from faith, family, and friends, what are three things you can’t live without?
Tea, laughter, and beauty.
Co-presented by GPAC and Opera Memphis, Sounds of My Life is on March 11, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at the GPAC website or by calling the box office at (901)751-7500. Marie-Stéphane Bernard wrote the story for Sounds of My Life with Jerre Dye, Chicago-based director, librettist, and a University of Memphis graduate. She will be joined onstage by Paris-based musical arranger/director Karim Medjebeur.
All photos are courtesy of Marie-Stéphane Bernard.
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