February 18, 2025 • 38 mins
Grammy Award-winning soprano Christine Brewer takes us on a journey from her roots in Southern Illinois to commanding the stages of the world's most prestigious opera houses and concert halls. Join Ron Klemm and A. Dennis Sparger on Bach Talk as they chat about her influences, her commitment to storytelling and the role family plays in her career.
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Ron Klemm (00:00):
This is Bach Talk.
Christine Brewer (00:16):
I was fortunate that I had a teacher
who didn't push me vocally andjust taught me how to tell a
story, and this is what I try todo with the students. I said,
your job is to tell a story,whatever song you're singing,
whatever language it's in, youbetter know it well enough that
you can tell the story.
Ron Klemm (01:08):
The town may go by a different name, but the
similarities are striking. Thebeauty, the calm, the smiles and
the voice of the town'sstoryteller is unmistakable.
Christine Brewer (01:39):
I'm not saying disregard your technique, but
when you're actually performing,you don't need to be thinking
about technique. You need tojust be thinking about how I'm
gonna say this story.
Ron Klemm (02:11):
Hello, I'm Ron Klemm. Welcome to Bach Talk. Sometimes,
when we sit down for theseconversations, we know only a
little about our guest, and overthe course of the conversation,
we learn much more about them,about their lives, their work,
and as the case may be, theirconnection to Bach and to The
Bach Society of Saint Louis.Other times we know the person
(02:35):
well, extremely well in thiscase. Soprano Christine Brewer
has sung with The Bach Societyno fewer than 10 times by our
count, and that is no accident.The girl from the quaint, small
southern Illinois town you'venever heard of became an
international sensation withperforming credits in major
(02:58):
opera houses and concert hallsaround the globe. The Grammy
Award winner is featured on morethan two dozen recordings, many
with the world's finestorchestras and conductors. But
perhaps even more impressivethan all of that is the way
Christine Brewer gives back tothe community she loves. And so
(03:21):
it was a genuine joy for BachSociety music director and
conductor Dennis Sparger, andme, to sit down with Christine
in the Sparger's breakfast room.We talked for hours about old
times and new. Let's eavesdropon some of that conversation
right now.
The Bach Society makes a bigdeal about something that
(03:46):
appeared in BBC Music Magazine,when someone from London came
here and heard our ChristmasCandlelight Concert, and then
not too long after that,proclaimed The Bach Society's
Candlelight Concert, ChristmasCandlelight Concert, one of the
top 20 Christmas events in NorthAmerica. Is that right? Do I
(04:08):
have that right?
A. Dennis Sparger (04:08):
That's correct. Yes, you have that
right.
Ron Klemm (04:09):
And we just think that's the best. Now, if we were
to go back in the BBC Musicarchives a little farther, we
would find a list of the top 20sopranos of all time. And lo and
behold, right on that list withall these incredible names, is
our neighbor, Christine Brewer,wow. How did that happen?
Christine Brewer (04:32):
I don't know. I got a call from my manager in
London, Peter Bloor, and hesaid, he said, you might want
to, you know, and I subscribe tothe BBC Magazine, you know, you
might want to check out the nextmonth's issue. And by the way,
there's going to be a littleprogram here in London. And he
gave me the date, do you thinkyou could come and maybe say
(04:53):
something? And I said, well,what did I do? And he said,
well, they've listed you as oneof the time. Top 20 sopranos of
all time. And of course, Ithought he was just lying to me.
Ron Klemm (05:05):
You thought he was pulling your leg.
Christine Brewer (05:07):
I said, come on. Oh, come on. I mean, there
were lots of times, though, thathe would call me about
something, and I would just say,okay, is this true? Is this
really true? He called when theRoyal Opera House had
renovation, and when theyreopened, he called, and he
said, they would like for youand Placido Domingo also will be
(05:27):
there to sing for the reopeningof the Royal Opera House in
Covent Garden. I said, Okay,April Fools, right? He said, no.
I said, really, aren't theygoing to have some, you know,
some folks from your countrythere? Yes, there will be some,
but they want you there. And I'mlike, really? I mean, it took me
about 15 minutes to believe so,yes, quite often I was surprised
(05:50):
by these things.
Ron Klemm (05:51):
Why do you think that is? Is it because of your
upbringing, or is it just anatural reaction that, oh, I
can't possibly be that good.
Christine Brewer (06:03):
I think it probably was partly from my
upbringing. I grew up in areally small community. My mom
was a fabulous singer, and she,she had me when she was a
teenager. You know, she and mydad got married quite young, and
she always sang. And the peoplein her little town of McClure,
(06:27):
Illinois, population, I don'tknow, three or 400 people wanted
to send her to some kind ofmusic school, but she, she, she
got married before she finishedher senior year in high school.
My dad was in the army, and shestayed home, you know, they got
married, and she stayed home andfinished high school, but she
she didn't want to, and then shehad three kids, all, you know,
(06:48):
pretty quickly, but that voicewas amazing. She thought that I
sang a little bit out of tunewhen I was a little girl. So she
talked to some man in our churchabout it, and he was a violinist
and also made violins, and hesaid, she needs to learn how to
(07:08):
play an instrument like aviolin, because it will help her
ear. So that's what we did. AndI loved it. I loved playing the
violin. And my brothers stilljoke about, you know, yeah, they
called me Christy. Christy wasalways in her bedroom practicing
that violin, you know, and momwould have to tell her to stop
(07:29):
and go, go outside and play fora while. I loved it, but it was
probably the best thing thatcould have happened. But having
said all that, my mom neverstudied music professionally,
didn't know how to read music,but she had this glorious kind
of sound. And I used to, when Iwould do recitals in St. Louis,
(07:50):
have her come up and sing acouple things, spirituals or
something, with me at the end ofthe recital. And one time, my
voice teacher at the time, wasStephen Smith. He was in the
audience, and he saw me at mynext lesson, and he said, you
know, I have a lot of studentswho tell me, my mom sings, my
dad's a singer, my uncle's asinger. He said, but, and he
(08:12):
just was speechless for a coupleseconds, and he said, I've never
heard a voice like that. Hesaid, if your mom would have
chosen the path that you're on.I said, I know, I know she would
already be there. He said, yes,but Mom always said to me, and
we were we went to the littleSouthern Baptist Church in
McClure, about 30 miles fromwhere we live. Well, we lived in
(08:34):
McClure for a while, but GrandTower.
Ron Klemm (08:37):
Which is on the eastern banks of the Mississippi
River, about what 20 minutessouth of where we're sitting
right now? Maybe a littlefarther?
Christine Brewer (08:45):
A little further, it takes about a couple
hours to get there.
Ron Klemm (08:47):
Okay, okay.
Christine Brewer (08:48):
But it's right on the river and but we went to
this little church in McClurewhere my dad had gone. My dad
was a deacon there. His brotherwas a Southern Baptist pastor.
We had uncles who were Pentecostpastors. It was a very tight
little religious community, butmy mom would always say, she
would point to my throat, andshe'd go, you have nothing to do
(09:13):
with that. She said, that comesfrom God. Now how you use it?
How you use your voice is onyou. She said that to me. It was
ingrained in my head. And thenshe would go with me to these
violin competitions, and Iwould, I would get a first
place. But on the way home, shewould comment on, do you know,
(09:37):
in that second movement, Ithought that you were, maybe you
were a little nervous, but itdidn't sound as clear as the
first. I mean, she didn't talkabout, you know, but it was just
what she heard. And later on,when she started coming to see
me in operas, quite often shewould, you know, she came to
London to see me. She and my dadcame to London to see at Covent
(10:00):
Garden, Marriage of Figaro,yeah. And after, you know, the
next day, she said, Well, yousounded beautiful, but she said,
I just didn't feel like you werealways singing from your heart.
And I remember just thinking,what? What? What is she talking
about? And it really wasn't tillshe was dying. She had ALS
(10:24):
sometimes called Lou Gehrig'sdisease, and she got it in her
late 50s, so she was quiteyoung, and we would sit and
talk, because she was able toplan what she wanted done and
what not done.
Ron Klemm (10:37):
Sure.
Christine Brewer (10:38):
And one day we were just sitting chatting, and
I said, Mom, why were you alwaysso hard on me? You know about,
you know, I didn't think youplayed that second movement the
way it should have sounded, oryou didn't sing with your heart
and and she said, well, becauseI didn't know what to say, but I
(10:58):
didn't ever want you to thinkyou didn't have to keep
practicing. And honest to god, Ithink that is why I am just, you
know, whenever I've got an operacoming up, and I'm doing one in
the spring at the SpoletoFestival in Charleston, and I've
sung Turn of the Screw. I'vesung with Mrs. Gross before, but
(11:21):
I've already got the score out,and I'm making sure that I've
still got it in my memory. Imean, I think that instilled in
me that kind of, you know,preparation.
A. Dennis Sparger (11:31):
The preparation, yeah.
Christine Brewer (11:32):
Yeah.
A. Dennis Sparger (11:32):
Just have to continue to do it.
Christine Brewer (11:34):
And, and she was, she sang in a trio with two
other gals that were, they allstarted it in high school, and
they called it the Shawnee trio,because we all went to Shawnee
High School, and they sanggospel and jazz, and I grew up
sitting in on their rehearsals,and if one of them wasn't there,
I'd sing their part. You know,yes, yeah, so I think that's a
(11:58):
long answer to your question,but, but anyway, so when those
kind of awards happen, I alwaysfeel like I feel blessed that
they happen. But it's not like Ithink, yeah, I deserve that. You
know, I don't think that.
A. Dennis Sparger (12:14):
It does come as a surprise.
Christine Brewer (12:15):
It does, it does. Yeah.
A. Dennis Sparger (12:17):
And I think another thing that this tells us
is that you don't have to haveall of these years of training
in music and college degrees.Some people can listen very
intently, and they understandwhat's going on, and they do
have comments to make, they canhelp a performer improve.
Christine Brewer (12:34):
Absolutely, absolutely. And I didn't ever
take a voice lesson until I wentto college. I sang all the time.
I don't remember ever notperforming. Now, my family says
the first time I performed atchurch, I was three, and I sang,
Go Tell it On the Mountain. AndI'm the oldest of the three kids
(12:56):
and my brothers, when theystarted to get older, they said
my mom would teach us songs thatwe would sing at church. Now, my
brother Steve sang in his churchchoir for quite some time, and I
think he still doesoccasionally.
Ron Klemm (13:10):
Is that right?
Christine Brewer (13:10):
Uh, Jeff, you know, sings for fun, you know,
if we get together and, youknow, maybe sing something but,
but they didn't get the bug likeI did, you know.
Ron Klemm (13:50):
My grandfather sang the blues like nobody you've
ever heard. She says, so maybeit's in my genes. Christine
Brewer talking about Come Rainor Come Shine from St. Louis
Woman, words by Johnny Mercer,music by Harold Arlen, from a
recording made in 1993 tobenefit Opera Theater of St.
(14:13):
Louis. Christine, our St. Louiswoman was accompanied by pianist
Kirt Pavitt. I want to take amoment to tell you about some
exciting news regarding BachTalk. We're going to spend some
time in the near futureanswering your questions,
whether it's a question for ourmusic director and conductor
Dennis Sparger, for me or any ofour Bach staff. We want to know
(14:36):
what it is, and we will answerit the best way we can, and
since we stay in contact withall of our guests, if you're
listening today, or if you'velistened to a previous episode
and thought I wonder what he orshe meant by that, or I wish
those guys would have askedabout thus and so just tell me
what it is. I promise we'll getin touch with that guest and
(14:57):
answer the question for you. Wehave an easy way for you to do
that, just go to boxsociety.organd click on the Bach Talk page.
There, you'll find a simple formthat you can use to ask your
question, or if you'd rather,email us directly,
bachtalk@bachsociety.org. Yoursilence is not golden. I look
(15:19):
forward to hearing from you.More of our conversation with
Christine Brewer, straight aheadwith Dennis Sparger. I'm Ron
Klemm and this is Bach Talk.
You brought up the fact thatmusic is a gift, right, and that
(15:40):
a talent is something that youare blessed with, but you have
to do something with it in orderto make it work.
Christine Brewer (15:48):
That's right.
Ron Klemm (15:49):
Which which is more important? Or are good singers
born, or are they made? Or is italways a combination of both?
Can you train anyone? Can youtrain me, for example, to be a
world renowned top 20 baritone?
Christine Brewer (16:05):
I'm going to plead the fifth.
Ron Klemm (16:07):
Thank goodness.
Christine Brewer (16:09):
I did have I graduated from college when I
was quite young. I was 17 when Igraduated from high school, and
in this little high school thatI attended, Shawnee High School
down in Wolf Lake, Illinois,they ran out of classes for me
my senior year because I'd takenall the, you know, trigonometry,
(16:34):
physics, chemistry, I mean, sothey had me. I was taking
college courses. I would justsit in the math teachers class,
and I took so many courses inpsychology and math and science
that by the time I startedcollege, I was a second semester
sophomore. And so when Igraduated from college, I was
(16:54):
20, and my voice wasn't reallydeveloped very much, thankfully.
And Dennis, you, you know
Dr. Glen are very well. He was the head of
A. Dennis Sparger (17:02):
I do.
the music department, and he wasa voice professor and the organ
professor, and I was in thechoir because I was going to go
into music education. And hesaid, I think you, you know,
should take some voice lessons.And I said, what's wrong with my
voice? I mean, that's howignorant this little 17 year old
(17:23):
was, because I thought, well,maybe it was like because there
was a problem he needed to, nohe said, I think you might want
to make that part of your major.Oh, okay, sure. So thankfully,
he heard this small voice, andhe knew that he said to me
later, I always could hear thatyou would be singing Strauss and
(17:45):
Wagner someday.
Ron Klemm (17:46):
Wow.
Christine Brewer (17:47):
But he said I wasn't going to have you sing in
arias when you were 17, 18, 19years old. I sang lots of Mozart
concert arias. I sang lots ofHandel, Purcell, Schubert, Hugo
Wolf, lots of art songs, lots ofFrench melodies, stuff like
that.
Ron Klemm (18:05):
Lieder and things like that.
Christine Brewer (18:06):
Yes, absolutely.
And we know you sang a lot ofBach.
And a lot of Bach. It was allthat stuff. And then there were
a couple students at McKendreewhen I was there who were
singing arias, you know. And Iremember one day I went into my
lesson, I said, well, how comeyou're letting her sing? She's
singing something from La Bohemeand and she's not even a voice
(18:30):
major. She's a science major,and she's just taking, he said,
because her voice has developeda little bit sooner than yours.
And this is a thing I tellstudents at Webster when I work
with them, everybody's path,everybody's journey, is is
unique, and many of us,especially the bigger voices,
(18:50):
start out rather light, and thenthey grow. If you have a teacher
that pushes you too soon tostart pushing into those bigger
roles, your voice won't hold upfor it. And I've through the
years, sometimes I go someplaceand I sing, and they'll ask me,
can you come and do a masterclass? Or can you teach? We've
(19:11):
got a, my two least favoritewords, a baby Wagnerian and and
I had a young woman, and I wouldnever say something like this in
front of a master class, but itwas just this young woman and
her pianist and me, and shewalked in the room, and she said
she was going to sing Dich,teure Halle from Tannhäuser I
(19:32):
said, okay. And she startedsinging, and I could hear
already sort of damage in hervoice, so I stopped her, and I
said, do you have anything elseyou know, any Mozart or any, you
know? Oh, no, my teacher says,I'm going to be a Wagnerian
Verdi singer. I'm going to so Iasked how old she was. She was
(19:52):
23 and I said, truthfully, Ihear some some damage, and I
think you probably need to seean ENT and I think you need to
stop singing and get your voicehealthy, and then maybe approach
with some, you know, lighterthings, some Baroque things,
some you know, and I don't knowwhat ever happened, but it's,
(20:13):
it's something. I was fortunatethat I had a teacher who didn't
push me vocally and just taughtme how to tell a story, and this
is what I try to do with thestudents at Webster. I said,
your job is to tell a story.Whatever song you're singing,
whatever language it's in, youbetter know it well enough that
(20:34):
you can tell the story. And Imean, yes, I'm not saying
disregard your technique. Butwhen you're actually performing,
you don't need to be thinkingabout technique. You need to
just be thinking about how I'mgoing to say this story.
Ron Klemm (20:50):
Just a portion of Benjamin Britten’s arrangement
of Thomas Moore’s The Last Roseof summer from Groves of
(21:25):
Blarney. Christine Brewer,accompanied by pianist Kirt
Pavitt in a recording made inPowell Hall back in 1999. More
(22:04):
with Christine in a moment. Thisis Bach Talk.
You still live in SouthernIllinois, not too far from where
(22:26):
you grew up.
Christine Brewer (22:28):
Yeah.
Ron Klemm (22:29):
I don't, I don't know. I don't want to be
presumptuous, but it would seemto me that you could live
anywhere in the world and youcould be just fine. So that
staying here, close to home is achoice.
Christine Brewer (22:42):
Absolutely.
Ron Klemm (22:43):
Tell me about that.
Christine Brewer (22:44):
When I did start pursuing this career, and,
you know, giving contracts tosing operas and being in London
for two months, or San Franciscoor LA or New York, a lot of
times, my managers sometimeswould say, you know, you ought
to just move to New York. Isaid, well, that's not going to
(23:08):
work for me. My husband's ateacher in Freeburg, Illinois.
Ron Klemm (23:11):
Give a shout out to Ross now, come on.
Christine Brewer (23:13):
Woot woot. But my voice, and Dennis, I mean,
you, you met me when I was firststarting out.
It did not really develop. I was in my late
A. Dennis Sparger (23:20):
Sure.
20s when I had my daughterElizabeth, and that's when I
started to notice my voicegetting bigger, right? So I
really, up to that point, wasn'tdoing a lot of opera or
anything, you know, and I wasteaching. I taught in Marissa,
Illinois, in a little coalmining town. I taught there for
(23:42):
a year, and then I was asubstitute teacher for, I don't
know, seven years or something.And I sang as a soloist at St.
Michael and St. George EpiscopalChurch in St Louis. You know. So
I had little jobs at the St.Louis Symphony paid me as one of
the section leaders, you know.So I had little gigs here and
(24:02):
there, but because I waited tillit was later and I already had a
child, my husband wasestablished in a job. My folks
lived a couple hours away. Hisfolks lived a half an hour away
from us, and we had lots offriends in Lebanon.
Ron Klemm (24:21):
Lebanon, Illinois.
Christine Brewer (24:22):
Illinois, yes, yes. And so I just felt like I
was pretty central. I could bein Chicago in an hour. I could
be in New York in an hour and ahalf or two, be on the west
coast in four hours. It feltlike a good place to stay, and I
knew that Elizabeth was in goodhands with Ross and with our
(24:45):
neighbors, and now she didtravel with me, and even one of
the trips I took her to Londonand we stayed in an apartment
that I rented quite often thatwas right over a beautiful
Indian restaurant. The food wasso great, you could smell it,
and it was about a 10 minutewalk to the opera house, so it
(25:07):
was really convenient for me.
A. Dennis Sparger (25:09):
Covent Garden area?
Christine Brewer (25:10):
Yes, yes. And there were lots of shops along
the way. So on the way home fromrehearsal, I could stop and, you
know, pick up some dinner stuff,you know, well, Elizabeth got to
know the area really well. Shewas eight. I can remember this
so clearly. And there were someevenings we'd finish our dinner
and stuff, and then we'd do herschool work, and that's back in
(25:32):
the days of fax machines. AndI'd fax the stuff back home to
Ross, and he'd drop it off atschool for her, and then she'd
say, could we, could I just godown and get some garlic naan,
right now.
Ron Klemm (25:46):
That sounds good.
Christine Brewer (25:47):
I know. And she would just go downstairs,
and they knew her. I mean, wewere in there enough, and I knew
she was safe. And she'd go downand she'd bring it back up, you
know. And then my parents cameto visit, and they rented an
apartment that was a maybe amile from us. And so there were
days when I had rehearsal, theyhad things they wanted to do. It
(26:11):
was their first time to London.They had things they wanted to
see. And Elizabeth said, I cantake them on the tube. I mean, I
can take them around eight yearsold. I said, really?
A. Dennis Sparger (26:22):
And she knew her way around?
Christine Brewer (26:23):
She did. And she said, now one thing dad has
told me, when you're traveling,you don't take your map out,
because then people think you'rea tourist. You figure it out
before you go. And so I'm like,okay, so they would take off.
They went to the Tower ofLondon, they went to, I mean,
they did all of this stuff whileI was at rehearsal. I'd come
(26:44):
home, my mom would fix somedinner for us, you know. And
then once the performancesstarted, she came with my
parents to the one that theycame to, and then they had to
fly home, then they were onthere for about a week or two.
And then we had a long run. Andit was a Marriage of Figaro with
no cuts.
Ron Klemm (27:05):
That's a long.
Christine Brewer (27:06):
Four hours long, right?
Ron Klemm (27:07):
Yeah.
Christine Brewer (27:08):
So I had someone who could watch her. I
had a nanny who could watch her,but she said, oh no, I want to
see all the performances. Isaid, Honey, it's a long night.
That's really a long time. Shesaid, no, here's what I do. She
said, each night I just look atone character, like one night, I
(27:32):
will just look at Bryn Terfel.He was singing Figaro, just
gonna look at him. One night. Ijust watched Susanna. That was
Sylvia McNair. And then I justwant you. I said, even if we're
not singing, yes, because I wantto see how you're reacting to
I'm like, Really, okay. I said,Well, you don't have to go, oh
no. So I would take her to theopera house, and the usher would
(27:56):
take her up to this place whereshe always sat, and God love
her. She she did that. She tookmy parents around. Then she came
back one time. She was, I think,just out of college, and then we
had a nice little apartment, andshe would, we'd have breakfast
together, and then she wouldjust take off on the train and
go to different places around
Ron Klemm (28:17):
By this time, you knew she was just, she was going
to be independent.
Christine Brewer (28:21):
She did that all the time. And then Paris,
the same thing. I do rememberone time we were talking about
this the other night, Ross said,what did we ever do before we
had cell phones? And I said,Well, I'll tell you one story
that was scary for me. He was inGermany with his students on a
trip, and he was coming to meetElizabeth and me in Paris. And I
(28:43):
was singing at the Châtelet,which is right on the Seine
River. And Elizabeth was, Ithink maybe she might have been
still in high school, or closeto graduation, 17, 18, maybe,
and, and I was doing Ariadne forlike, the 10,000th time, you
know. And she said, Well, do youmind if I just, you know, wander
(29:07):
around the neighborhood, youknow, and I'll meet you back
here, when do you finish? Isaid, Five o'clock. Okay, so I'm
waiting for at the stage door atfive o'clock. She's not there.
She's not there. I didn't know,really, what to do. I thought I
don't want to leave and go backto our apartment, because I'm
not sure, she's supposed to comehere.
Ron Klemm (29:27):
Be honest, Mom, did you freak out?
Christine Brewer (29:29):
A little bit, yes. And it was springtime, you
know it was the weather wasnice, thankfully wasn't raining.
And she got there about maybe 45minutes later. And I said, what
happened? She said, I did notrealize how difficult it was to
(29:50):
navigate these streets, because,you know, they aren't straight
Ron Klemm (29:53):
The old cow paths, yeah, yeah.
Christine Brewer (29:55):
And the names change and she said, but I
remember. Heard that if I couldget to the river, I remembered
that your opera house is on theand she said, so I just kept
walking. And she knew a littleFrench, so she did ask people,
and so she just kept walkingtill she found it. But oh my
gosh, I was I was so nervous.But you know what? It made her a
(30:18):
very independent person. Andthere are times, and I talk
about this with a lot of myother friends who are moms,
there are times that I thought,should I be leaving for two or
three months, leaving mydaughter at home? Because at a
certain point she didn't want togo, yes?
Ron Klemm (30:36):
Well, sure.
Christine Brewer (30:37):
You know, she had, she played in sports, she
played in the band, you know,and, and in the summer, we all
traveled together, which wasreally nice, but, you know, but
I always had these doubts in theback of my mind, you know, I'm
missing this, I'm missing that,or, or when I did turn down a
job because I was staying I'mthen I'm thinking, oh, should I
have done that? Was that a badmove? And, and sometimes I'd
(30:59):
have, you know one of mymanagers, and I won't ever
mention the name, would say,well, you're going to ruin your
career if you don't take this Isaid, Well, I only got one
chance with my daughter, so.
A. Dennis Sparger (31:10):
Yes.
Christine Brewer (31:11):
Let it go.
A. Dennis Sparger (31:12):
And that's more important.
Christine Brewer (31:13):
It is.
Ron Klemm (31:13):
And that's what I heard out of all of that, which
was family helped shape whoChristine Brewer is.
Christine Brewer (31:21):
Totally.
Ron Klemm (31:22):
And and that, yeah, that means everything.
A. Dennis Sparger (31:24):
Well, what we didn't cover is, in all of these
trips, do you have time to dothe sightseeing?
Christine Brewer (31:30):
No, I mean, I do like, I mean, when you're
rehearsing an opera, it's sixdays a week, so on the one day
you're off, you find yourselfdoing laundry, you know, doing
your errands that you need todo, or go through your score
and, you know, making sure.Yeah, so And Ross, God love him.
You know, being the he taughtsocial studies. He never used a
(31:53):
textbook. He taught eighthgrade. He taught history through
music and art and language. Sothe kids would read books,
whatever they were studying.They would read novels about it.
They would study the music thatwas going on and the art that
was going on. He would bring inHolocaust survivors to speak to
his eighth graders. He wouldbring in authors to come and
(32:16):
talk about their books and thatsort of thing. So when he and he
always, I always had my schedulea year or two in advance, he'd
look through and he'd go, oh,Madrid. Are you taking Elizabeth
to Madrid? I said, Well, yeah,because school will be out. And
so okay, he would start a littlebox by his desk at the office at
(32:37):
our house, and he would justthrow articles from, I don't
know, National Geographic ordifferent magazines.
A. Dennis Sparger (32:44):
He knew where to find them.
Christine Brewer (32:46):
And honest to God, if Ross were here, he could
tell you where certain paintingsare, which museum they're in. So
he made a list of things thatElizabeth and I could do while
we were in Madrid. Well, we didmost of it, but I couldn't do it
all because I said, actually,I'm rehearsing.
A. Dennis Sparger (33:03):
He'd have more than enough.
Christine Brewer (33:04):
So she but then when he would go with us,
if it was in the summer, thenthey would take off and go to
mostly art museums they loved.
A. Dennis Sparger (33:13):
Wow.
Christine Brewer (33:13):
And she's still like that now.
Ron Klemm (34:54):
A little bit of the Domine Deus, the fifth movement
from the Gloria by Francis.Poulenc, something we pulled out
of our archives. ChristineBrewer singing the soprano solos
with The Bach Society of SaintLouis Chorus and Orchestra
conducted by Dennis Sparger atthe Christmas Candlelight
Concert in Powell Symphony Hallin December of 2010. What a
(35:17):
legacy. Our conversation withChristine continued for over an
hour, and we'll share more of itwith you next time she talked
about some of her favorite operahouses and concert venues in
this country and in Europe, sherelates what her mentor Birgit
Nielsen always told her moreabout storytelling too, and the
passionate message she gives toher students.
Christine Brewer (35:40):
And I say this to students, I said, you know,
sometimes we sing pieces that welove, but you don't ever want to
just let it become automatic.Oh, yeah, I know how this goes,
because your life changes everyday, and your life experience
informs how you're going to tellthe story. That's the exciting
(36:01):
thing about making music. Youbring your life experience each
time you sing it. It's not like,oh, I want to make sure I sing
that high G like I sang it lasttime. You know, that's boring,
but make it fit what your lifeexpresses now.
Ron Klemm (36:15):
That's next time on Bach Talk. Remember now we want
to answer your questions for meor for Maestro Sparger or any of
our guests. Take a moment rightnow to contact us with your
comments or questions, just goto bachsociety.org and click on
Bach Talk on that page, there'sa simple form that you can use
to ask your question, or if youprefer, send me an email
(36:37):
directly.bachtalk@bachsociety.org. while
you're at it, take a moment torate and review our podcast on
your favorite platform. Whereveryou listen, Your feedback helps
immensely. We'll leave you as webegan with Mira from Bob
Merrill's Carnival. TheAssociate Producer of Bach talk
(37:00):
is Scott MacDonald. Specialthanks, of course, to Christine
Brewer and Dennis Sparger.Additional assistance for this
episode from Ila Klemm, MelissaPayton and Keith Fredlund. The
recording engineer for all ourperformance excerpts, as well as
Christine's Powell Hallrecording is Paul Henrich, and
(37:20):
as always, marketing andtechnical assistance provided by
Andie Murphy and CharissaMarciniak of Right Relations.
(38:06):
Bach Talk is a registeredtrademark of The Bach Society of
Saint Louis. I'm Ron Klemm.
This is Bach Talk.
Christine Brewer (00:16):
I was fortunate that I had a teacher
who didn't push me vocally andjust taught me how to tell a
story, and this is what I try todo with the students. I said,
your job is to tell a story,whatever song you're singing,
whatever language it's in, youbetter know it well enough that
you can tell the story.
Ron Klemm (01:08):
The town may go by a different name, but the
similarities are striking. Thebeauty, the calm, the smiles and
the voice of the town'sstoryteller is unmistakable.
Christine Brewer (01:39):
I'm not saying disregard your technique, but
when you're actually performing,you don't need to be thinking
about technique. You need tojust be thinking about how I'm
gonna say this story.
Ron Klemm (02:11):
Hello, I'm Ron Klemm. Welcome to Bach Talk. Sometimes,
when we sit down for theseconversations, we know only a
little about our guest, and overthe course of the conversation,
we learn much more about them,about their lives, their work,
and as the case may be, theirconnection to Bach and to The
Bach Society of Saint Louis.Other times we know the person
(02:35):
well, extremely well in thiscase. Soprano Christine Brewer
has sung with The Bach Societyno fewer than 10 times by our
count, and that is no accident.The girl from the quaint, small
southern Illinois town you'venever heard of became an
international sensation withperforming credits in major
(02:58):
opera houses and concert hallsaround the globe. The Grammy
Award winner is featured on morethan two dozen recordings, many
with the world's finestorchestras and conductors. But
perhaps even more impressivethan all of that is the way
Christine Brewer gives back tothe community she loves. And so
(03:21):
it was a genuine joy for BachSociety music director and
conductor Dennis Sparger, andme, to sit down with Christine
in the Sparger's breakfast room.We talked for hours about old
times and new. Let's eavesdropon some of that conversation
right now.
The Bach Society makes a bigdeal about something that
(03:46):
appeared in BBC Music Magazine,when someone from London came
here and heard our ChristmasCandlelight Concert, and then
not too long after that,proclaimed The Bach Society's
Candlelight Concert, ChristmasCandlelight Concert, one of the
top 20 Christmas events in NorthAmerica. Is that right? Do I
(04:08):
have that right?
A. Dennis Sparger (04:08):
That's correct. Yes, you have that
right.
Ron Klemm (04:09):
And we just think that's the best. Now, if we were
to go back in the BBC Musicarchives a little farther, we
would find a list of the top 20sopranos of all time. And lo and
behold, right on that list withall these incredible names, is
our neighbor, Christine Brewer,wow. How did that happen?
Christine Brewer (04:32):
I don't know. I got a call from my manager in
London, Peter Bloor, and hesaid, he said, you might want
to, you know, and I subscribe tothe BBC Magazine, you know, you
might want to check out the nextmonth's issue. And by the way,
there's going to be a littleprogram here in London. And he
gave me the date, do you thinkyou could come and maybe say
(04:53):
something? And I said, well,what did I do? And he said,
well, they've listed you as oneof the time. Top 20 sopranos of
all time. And of course, Ithought he was just lying to me.
Ron Klemm (05:05):
You thought he was pulling your leg.
Christine Brewer (05:07):
I said, come on. Oh, come on. I mean, there
were lots of times, though, thathe would call me about
something, and I would just say,okay, is this true? Is this
really true? He called when theRoyal Opera House had
renovation, and when theyreopened, he called, and he
said, they would like for youand Placido Domingo also will be
(05:27):
there to sing for the reopeningof the Royal Opera House in
Covent Garden. I said, Okay,April Fools, right? He said, no.
I said, really, aren't theygoing to have some, you know,
some folks from your countrythere? Yes, there will be some,
but they want you there. And I'mlike, really? I mean, it took me
about 15 minutes to believe so,yes, quite often I was surprised
(05:50):
by these things.
Ron Klemm (05:51):
Why do you think that is? Is it because of your
upbringing, or is it just anatural reaction that, oh, I
can't possibly be that good.
Christine Brewer (06:03):
I think it probably was partly from my
upbringing. I grew up in areally small community. My mom
was a fabulous singer, and she,she had me when she was a
teenager. You know, she and mydad got married quite young, and
she always sang. And the peoplein her little town of McClure,
(06:27):
Illinois, population, I don'tknow, three or 400 people wanted
to send her to some kind ofmusic school, but she, she, she
got married before she finishedher senior year in high school.
My dad was in the army, and shestayed home, you know, they got
married, and she stayed home andfinished high school, but she
she didn't want to, and then shehad three kids, all, you know,
(06:48):
pretty quickly, but that voicewas amazing. She thought that I
sang a little bit out of tunewhen I was a little girl. So she
talked to some man in our churchabout it, and he was a violinist
and also made violins, and hesaid, she needs to learn how to
(07:08):
play an instrument like aviolin, because it will help her
ear. So that's what we did. AndI loved it. I loved playing the
violin. And my brothers stilljoke about, you know, yeah, they
called me Christy. Christy wasalways in her bedroom practicing
that violin, you know, and momwould have to tell her to stop
(07:29):
and go, go outside and play fora while. I loved it, but it was
probably the best thing thatcould have happened. But having
said all that, my mom neverstudied music professionally,
didn't know how to read music,but she had this glorious kind
of sound. And I used to, when Iwould do recitals in St. Louis,
(07:50):
have her come up and sing acouple things, spirituals or
something, with me at the end ofthe recital. And one time, my
voice teacher at the time, wasStephen Smith. He was in the
audience, and he saw me at mynext lesson, and he said, you
know, I have a lot of studentswho tell me, my mom sings, my
dad's a singer, my uncle's asinger. He said, but, and he
(08:12):
just was speechless for a coupleseconds, and he said, I've never
heard a voice like that. Hesaid, if your mom would have
chosen the path that you're on.I said, I know, I know she would
already be there. He said, yes,but Mom always said to me, and
we were we went to the littleSouthern Baptist Church in
McClure, about 30 miles fromwhere we live. Well, we lived in
(08:34):
McClure for a while, but GrandTower.
Ron Klemm (08:37):
Which is on the eastern banks of the Mississippi
River, about what 20 minutessouth of where we're sitting
right now? Maybe a littlefarther?
Christine Brewer (08:45):
A little further, it takes about a couple
hours to get there.
Ron Klemm (08:47):
Okay, okay.
Christine Brewer (08:48):
But it's right on the river and but we went to
this little church in McClurewhere my dad had gone. My dad
was a deacon there. His brotherwas a Southern Baptist pastor.
We had uncles who were Pentecostpastors. It was a very tight
little religious community, butmy mom would always say, she
would point to my throat, andshe'd go, you have nothing to do
(09:13):
with that. She said, that comesfrom God. Now how you use it?
How you use your voice is onyou. She said that to me. It was
ingrained in my head. And thenshe would go with me to these
violin competitions, and Iwould, I would get a first
place. But on the way home, shewould comment on, do you know,
(09:37):
in that second movement, Ithought that you were, maybe you
were a little nervous, but itdidn't sound as clear as the
first. I mean, she didn't talkabout, you know, but it was just
what she heard. And later on,when she started coming to see
me in operas, quite often shewould, you know, she came to
London to see me. She and my dadcame to London to see at Covent
(10:00):
Garden, Marriage of Figaro,yeah. And after, you know, the
next day, she said, Well, yousounded beautiful, but she said,
I just didn't feel like you werealways singing from your heart.
And I remember just thinking,what? What? What is she talking
about? And it really wasn't tillshe was dying. She had ALS
(10:24):
sometimes called Lou Gehrig'sdisease, and she got it in her
late 50s, so she was quiteyoung, and we would sit and
talk, because she was able toplan what she wanted done and
what not done.
Ron Klemm (10:37):
Sure.
Christine Brewer (10:38):
And one day we were just sitting chatting, and
I said, Mom, why were you alwaysso hard on me? You know about,
you know, I didn't think youplayed that second movement the
way it should have sounded, oryou didn't sing with your heart
and and she said, well, becauseI didn't know what to say, but I
(10:58):
didn't ever want you to thinkyou didn't have to keep
practicing. And honest to god, Ithink that is why I am just, you
know, whenever I've got an operacoming up, and I'm doing one in
the spring at the SpoletoFestival in Charleston, and I've
sung Turn of the Screw. I'vesung with Mrs. Gross before, but
(11:21):
I've already got the score out,and I'm making sure that I've
still got it in my memory. Imean, I think that instilled in
me that kind of, you know,preparation.
A. Dennis Sparger (11:31):
The preparation, yeah.
Christine Brewer (11:32):
Yeah.
A. Dennis Sparger (11:32):
Just have to continue to do it.
Christine Brewer (11:34):
And, and she was, she sang in a trio with two
other gals that were, they allstarted it in high school, and
they called it the Shawnee trio,because we all went to Shawnee
High School, and they sanggospel and jazz, and I grew up
sitting in on their rehearsals,and if one of them wasn't there,
I'd sing their part. You know,yes, yeah, so I think that's a
(11:58):
long answer to your question,but, but anyway, so when those
kind of awards happen, I alwaysfeel like I feel blessed that
they happen. But it's not like Ithink, yeah, I deserve that. You
know, I don't think that.
A. Dennis Sparger (12:14):
It does come as a surprise.
Christine Brewer (12:15):
It does, it does. Yeah.
A. Dennis Sparger (12:17):
And I think another thing that this tells us
is that you don't have to haveall of these years of training
in music and college degrees.Some people can listen very
intently, and they understandwhat's going on, and they do
have comments to make, they canhelp a performer improve.
Christine Brewer (12:34):
Absolutely, absolutely. And I didn't ever
take a voice lesson until I wentto college. I sang all the time.
I don't remember ever notperforming. Now, my family says
the first time I performed atchurch, I was three, and I sang,
Go Tell it On the Mountain. AndI'm the oldest of the three kids
(12:56):
and my brothers, when theystarted to get older, they said
my mom would teach us songs thatwe would sing at church. Now, my
brother Steve sang in his churchchoir for quite some time, and I
think he still doesoccasionally.
Ron Klemm (13:10):
Is that right?
Christine Brewer (13:10):
Uh, Jeff, you know, sings for fun, you know,
if we get together and, youknow, maybe sing something but,
but they didn't get the bug likeI did, you know.
Ron Klemm (13:50):
My grandfather sang the blues like nobody you've
ever heard. She says, so maybeit's in my genes. Christine
Brewer talking about Come Rainor Come Shine from St. Louis
Woman, words by Johnny Mercer,music by Harold Arlen, from a
recording made in 1993 tobenefit Opera Theater of St.
(14:13):
Louis. Christine, our St. Louiswoman was accompanied by pianist
Kirt Pavitt. I want to take amoment to tell you about some
exciting news regarding BachTalk. We're going to spend some
time in the near futureanswering your questions,
whether it's a question for ourmusic director and conductor
Dennis Sparger, for me or any ofour Bach staff. We want to know
(14:36):
what it is, and we will answerit the best way we can, and
since we stay in contact withall of our guests, if you're
listening today, or if you'velistened to a previous episode
and thought I wonder what he orshe meant by that, or I wish
those guys would have askedabout thus and so just tell me
what it is. I promise we'll getin touch with that guest and
(14:57):
answer the question for you. Wehave an easy way for you to do
that, just go to boxsociety.organd click on the Bach Talk page.
There, you'll find a simple formthat you can use to ask your
question, or if you'd rather,email us directly,
bachtalk@bachsociety.org. Yoursilence is not golden. I look
(15:19):
forward to hearing from you.More of our conversation with
Christine Brewer, straight aheadwith Dennis Sparger. I'm Ron
Klemm and this is Bach Talk.
You brought up the fact thatmusic is a gift, right, and that
(15:40):
a talent is something that youare blessed with, but you have
to do something with it in orderto make it work.
Christine Brewer (15:48):
That's right.
Ron Klemm (15:49):
Which which is more important? Or are good singers
born, or are they made? Or is italways a combination of both?
Can you train anyone? Can youtrain me, for example, to be a
world renowned top 20 baritone?
Christine Brewer (16:05):
I'm going to plead the fifth.
Ron Klemm (16:07):
Thank goodness.
Christine Brewer (16:09):
I did have I graduated from college when I
was quite young. I was 17 when Igraduated from high school, and
in this little high school thatI attended, Shawnee High School
down in Wolf Lake, Illinois,they ran out of classes for me
my senior year because I'd takenall the, you know, trigonometry,
(16:34):
physics, chemistry, I mean, sothey had me. I was taking
college courses. I would justsit in the math teachers class,
and I took so many courses inpsychology and math and science
that by the time I startedcollege, I was a second semester
sophomore. And so when Igraduated from college, I was
(16:54):
20, and my voice wasn't reallydeveloped very much, thankfully.
And Dennis, you, you know
Dr. Glen are very well. He was the head of
A. Dennis Sparger (17:02):
I do.
the music department, and he wasa voice professor and the organ
professor, and I was in thechoir because I was going to go
into music education. And hesaid, I think you, you know,
should take some voice lessons.And I said, what's wrong with my
voice? I mean, that's howignorant this little 17 year old
(17:23):
was, because I thought, well,maybe it was like because there
was a problem he needed to, nohe said, I think you might want
to make that part of your major.Oh, okay, sure. So thankfully,
he heard this small voice, andhe knew that he said to me
later, I always could hear thatyou would be singing Strauss and
(17:45):
Wagner someday.
Ron Klemm (17:46):
Wow.
Christine Brewer (17:47):
But he said I wasn't going to have you sing in
arias when you were 17, 18, 19years old. I sang lots of Mozart
concert arias. I sang lots ofHandel, Purcell, Schubert, Hugo
Wolf, lots of art songs, lots ofFrench melodies, stuff like
that.
Ron Klemm (18:05):
Lieder and things like that.
Christine Brewer (18:06):
Yes, absolutely.
And we know you sang a lot ofBach.
And a lot of Bach. It was allthat stuff. And then there were
a couple students at McKendreewhen I was there who were
singing arias, you know. And Iremember one day I went into my
lesson, I said, well, how comeyou're letting her sing? She's
singing something from La Bohemeand and she's not even a voice
(18:30):
major. She's a science major,and she's just taking, he said,
because her voice has developeda little bit sooner than yours.
And this is a thing I tellstudents at Webster when I work
with them, everybody's path,everybody's journey, is is
unique, and many of us,especially the bigger voices,
(18:50):
start out rather light, and thenthey grow. If you have a teacher
that pushes you too soon tostart pushing into those bigger
roles, your voice won't hold upfor it. And I've through the
years, sometimes I go someplaceand I sing, and they'll ask me,
can you come and do a masterclass? Or can you teach? We've
(19:11):
got a, my two least favoritewords, a baby Wagnerian and and
I had a young woman, and I wouldnever say something like this in
front of a master class, but itwas just this young woman and
her pianist and me, and shewalked in the room, and she said
she was going to sing Dich,teure Halle from Tannhäuser I
(19:32):
said, okay. And she startedsinging, and I could hear
already sort of damage in hervoice, so I stopped her, and I
said, do you have anything elseyou know, any Mozart or any, you
know? Oh, no, my teacher says,I'm going to be a Wagnerian
Verdi singer. I'm going to so Iasked how old she was. She was
(19:52):
23 and I said, truthfully, Ihear some some damage, and I
think you probably need to seean ENT and I think you need to
stop singing and get your voicehealthy, and then maybe approach
with some, you know, lighterthings, some Baroque things,
some you know, and I don't knowwhat ever happened, but it's,
(20:13):
it's something. I was fortunatethat I had a teacher who didn't
push me vocally and just taughtme how to tell a story, and this
is what I try to do with thestudents at Webster. I said,
your job is to tell a story.Whatever song you're singing,
whatever language it's in, youbetter know it well enough that
(20:34):
you can tell the story. And Imean, yes, I'm not saying
disregard your technique. Butwhen you're actually performing,
you don't need to be thinkingabout technique. You need to
just be thinking about how I'mgoing to say this story.
Ron Klemm (20:50):
Just a portion of Benjamin Britten’s arrangement
of Thomas Moore’s The Last Roseof summer from Groves of
(21:25):
Blarney. Christine Brewer,accompanied by pianist Kirt
Pavitt in a recording made inPowell Hall back in 1999. More
(22:04):
with Christine in a moment. Thisis Bach Talk.
You still live in SouthernIllinois, not too far from where
(22:26):
you grew up.
Christine Brewer (22:28):
Yeah.
Ron Klemm (22:29):
I don't, I don't know. I don't want to be
presumptuous, but it would seemto me that you could live
anywhere in the world and youcould be just fine. So that
staying here, close to home is achoice.
Christine Brewer (22:42):
Absolutely.
Ron Klemm (22:43):
Tell me about that.
Christine Brewer (22:44):
When I did start pursuing this career, and,
you know, giving contracts tosing operas and being in London
for two months, or San Franciscoor LA or New York, a lot of
times, my managers sometimeswould say, you know, you ought
to just move to New York. Isaid, well, that's not going to
(23:08):
work for me. My husband's ateacher in Freeburg, Illinois.
Ron Klemm (23:11):
Give a shout out to Ross now, come on.
Christine Brewer (23:13):
Woot woot. But my voice, and Dennis, I mean,
you, you met me when I was firststarting out.
It did not really develop. I was in my late
A. Dennis Sparger (23:20):
Sure.
20s when I had my daughterElizabeth, and that's when I
started to notice my voicegetting bigger, right? So I
really, up to that point, wasn'tdoing a lot of opera or
anything, you know, and I wasteaching. I taught in Marissa,
Illinois, in a little coalmining town. I taught there for
(23:42):
a year, and then I was asubstitute teacher for, I don't
know, seven years or something.And I sang as a soloist at St.
Michael and St. George EpiscopalChurch in St Louis. You know. So
I had little jobs at the St.Louis Symphony paid me as one of
the section leaders, you know.So I had little gigs here and
(24:02):
there, but because I waited tillit was later and I already had a
child, my husband wasestablished in a job. My folks
lived a couple hours away. Hisfolks lived a half an hour away
from us, and we had lots offriends in Lebanon.
Ron Klemm (24:21):
Lebanon, Illinois.
Christine Brewer (24:22):
Illinois, yes, yes. And so I just felt like I
was pretty central. I could bein Chicago in an hour. I could
be in New York in an hour and ahalf or two, be on the west
coast in four hours. It feltlike a good place to stay, and I
knew that Elizabeth was in goodhands with Ross and with our
(24:45):
neighbors, and now she didtravel with me, and even one of
the trips I took her to Londonand we stayed in an apartment
that I rented quite often thatwas right over a beautiful
Indian restaurant. The food wasso great, you could smell it,
and it was about a 10 minutewalk to the opera house, so it
(25:07):
was really convenient for me.
A. Dennis Sparger (25:09):
Covent Garden area?
Christine Brewer (25:10):
Yes, yes. And there were lots of shops along
the way. So on the way home fromrehearsal, I could stop and, you
know, pick up some dinner stuff,you know, well, Elizabeth got to
know the area really well. Shewas eight. I can remember this
so clearly. And there were someevenings we'd finish our dinner
and stuff, and then we'd do herschool work, and that's back in
(25:32):
the days of fax machines. AndI'd fax the stuff back home to
Ross, and he'd drop it off atschool for her, and then she'd
say, could we, could I just godown and get some garlic naan,
right now.
Ron Klemm (25:46):
That sounds good.
Christine Brewer (25:47):
I know. And she would just go downstairs,
and they knew her. I mean, wewere in there enough, and I knew
she was safe. And she'd go downand she'd bring it back up, you
know. And then my parents cameto visit, and they rented an
apartment that was a maybe amile from us. And so there were
days when I had rehearsal, theyhad things they wanted to do. It
(26:11):
was their first time to London.They had things they wanted to
see. And Elizabeth said, I cantake them on the tube. I mean, I
can take them around eight yearsold. I said, really?
A. Dennis Sparger (26:22):
And she knew her way around?
Christine Brewer (26:23):
She did. And she said, now one thing dad has
told me, when you're traveling,you don't take your map out,
because then people think you'rea tourist. You figure it out
before you go. And so I'm like,okay, so they would take off.
They went to the Tower ofLondon, they went to, I mean,
they did all of this stuff whileI was at rehearsal. I'd come
(26:44):
home, my mom would fix somedinner for us, you know. And
then once the performancesstarted, she came with my
parents to the one that theycame to, and then they had to
fly home, then they were onthere for about a week or two.
And then we had a long run. Andit was a Marriage of Figaro with
no cuts.
Ron Klemm (27:05):
That's a long.
Christine Brewer (27:06):
Four hours long, right?
Ron Klemm (27:07):
Yeah.
Christine Brewer (27:08):
So I had someone who could watch her. I
had a nanny who could watch her,but she said, oh no, I want to
see all the performances. Isaid, Honey, it's a long night.
That's really a long time. Shesaid, no, here's what I do. She
said, each night I just look atone character, like one night, I
(27:32):
will just look at Bryn Terfel.He was singing Figaro, just
gonna look at him. One night. Ijust watched Susanna. That was
Sylvia McNair. And then I justwant you. I said, even if we're
not singing, yes, because I wantto see how you're reacting to
I'm like, Really, okay. I said,Well, you don't have to go, oh
no. So I would take her to theopera house, and the usher would
(27:56):
take her up to this place whereshe always sat, and God love
her. She she did that. She tookmy parents around. Then she came
back one time. She was, I think,just out of college, and then we
had a nice little apartment, andshe would, we'd have breakfast
together, and then she wouldjust take off on the train and
go to different places around
Ron Klemm (28:17):
By this time, you knew she was just, she was going
to be independent.
Christine Brewer (28:21):
She did that all the time. And then Paris,
the same thing. I do rememberone time we were talking about
this the other night, Ross said,what did we ever do before we
had cell phones? And I said,Well, I'll tell you one story
that was scary for me. He was inGermany with his students on a
trip, and he was coming to meetElizabeth and me in Paris. And I
(28:43):
was singing at the Châtelet,which is right on the Seine
River. And Elizabeth was, Ithink maybe she might have been
still in high school, or closeto graduation, 17, 18, maybe,
and, and I was doing Ariadne forlike, the 10,000th time, you
know. And she said, Well, do youmind if I just, you know, wander
(29:07):
around the neighborhood, youknow, and I'll meet you back
here, when do you finish? Isaid, Five o'clock. Okay, so I'm
waiting for at the stage door atfive o'clock. She's not there.
She's not there. I didn't know,really, what to do. I thought I
don't want to leave and go backto our apartment, because I'm
not sure, she's supposed to comehere.
Ron Klemm (29:27):
Be honest, Mom, did you freak out?
Christine Brewer (29:29):
A little bit, yes. And it was springtime, you
know it was the weather wasnice, thankfully wasn't raining.
And she got there about maybe 45minutes later. And I said, what
happened? She said, I did notrealize how difficult it was to
(29:50):
navigate these streets, because,you know, they aren't straight
Ron Klemm (29:53):
The old cow paths, yeah, yeah.
Christine Brewer (29:55):
And the names change and she said, but I
remember. Heard that if I couldget to the river, I remembered
that your opera house is on theand she said, so I just kept
walking. And she knew a littleFrench, so she did ask people,
and so she just kept walkingtill she found it. But oh my
gosh, I was I was so nervous.But you know what? It made her a
(30:18):
very independent person. Andthere are times, and I talk
about this with a lot of myother friends who are moms,
there are times that I thought,should I be leaving for two or
three months, leaving mydaughter at home? Because at a
certain point she didn't want togo, yes?
Ron Klemm (30:36):
Well, sure.
Christine Brewer (30:37):
You know, she had, she played in sports, she
played in the band, you know,and, and in the summer, we all
traveled together, which wasreally nice, but, you know, but
I always had these doubts in theback of my mind, you know, I'm
missing this, I'm missing that,or, or when I did turn down a
job because I was staying I'mthen I'm thinking, oh, should I
have done that? Was that a badmove? And, and sometimes I'd
(30:59):
have, you know one of mymanagers, and I won't ever
mention the name, would say,well, you're going to ruin your
career if you don't take this Isaid, Well, I only got one
chance with my daughter, so.
A. Dennis Sparger (31:10):
Yes.
Christine Brewer (31:11):
Let it go.
A. Dennis Sparger (31:12):
And that's more important.
Christine Brewer (31:13):
It is.
Ron Klemm (31:13):
And that's what I heard out of all of that, which
was family helped shape whoChristine Brewer is.
Christine Brewer (31:21):
Totally.
Ron Klemm (31:22):
And and that, yeah, that means everything.
A. Dennis Sparger (31:24):
Well, what we didn't cover is, in all of these
trips, do you have time to dothe sightseeing?
Christine Brewer (31:30):
No, I mean, I do like, I mean, when you're
rehearsing an opera, it's sixdays a week, so on the one day
you're off, you find yourselfdoing laundry, you know, doing
your errands that you need todo, or go through your score
and, you know, making sure.Yeah, so And Ross, God love him.
You know, being the he taughtsocial studies. He never used a
(31:53):
textbook. He taught eighthgrade. He taught history through
music and art and language. Sothe kids would read books,
whatever they were studying.They would read novels about it.
They would study the music thatwas going on and the art that
was going on. He would bring inHolocaust survivors to speak to
his eighth graders. He wouldbring in authors to come and
(32:16):
talk about their books and thatsort of thing. So when he and he
always, I always had my schedulea year or two in advance, he'd
look through and he'd go, oh,Madrid. Are you taking Elizabeth
to Madrid? I said, Well, yeah,because school will be out. And
so okay, he would start a littlebox by his desk at the office at
(32:37):
our house, and he would justthrow articles from, I don't
know, National Geographic ordifferent magazines.
A. Dennis Sparger (32:44):
He knew where to find them.
Christine Brewer (32:46):
And honest to God, if Ross were here, he could
tell you where certain paintingsare, which museum they're in. So
he made a list of things thatElizabeth and I could do while
we were in Madrid. Well, we didmost of it, but I couldn't do it
all because I said, actually,I'm rehearsing.
A. Dennis Sparger (33:03):
He'd have more than enough.
Christine Brewer (33:04):
So she but then when he would go with us,
if it was in the summer, thenthey would take off and go to
mostly art museums they loved.
A. Dennis Sparger (33:13):
Wow.
Christine Brewer (33:13):
And she's still like that now.
Ron Klemm (34:54):
A little bit of the Domine Deus, the fifth movement
from the Gloria by Francis.Poulenc, something we pulled out
of our archives. ChristineBrewer singing the soprano solos
with The Bach Society of SaintLouis Chorus and Orchestra
conducted by Dennis Sparger atthe Christmas Candlelight
Concert in Powell Symphony Hallin December of 2010. What a
(35:17):
legacy. Our conversation withChristine continued for over an
hour, and we'll share more of itwith you next time she talked
about some of her favorite operahouses and concert venues in
this country and in Europe, sherelates what her mentor Birgit
Nielsen always told her moreabout storytelling too, and the
passionate message she gives toher students.
Christine Brewer (35:40):
And I say this to students, I said, you know,
sometimes we sing pieces that welove, but you don't ever want to
just let it become automatic.Oh, yeah, I know how this goes,
because your life changes everyday, and your life experience
informs how you're going to tellthe story. That's the exciting
(36:01):
thing about making music. Youbring your life experience each
time you sing it. It's not like,oh, I want to make sure I sing
that high G like I sang it lasttime. You know, that's boring,
but make it fit what your lifeexpresses now.
Ron Klemm (36:15):
That's next time on Bach Talk. Remember now we want
to answer your questions for meor for Maestro Sparger or any of
our guests. Take a moment rightnow to contact us with your
comments or questions, just goto bachsociety.org and click on
Bach Talk on that page, there'sa simple form that you can use
to ask your question, or if youprefer, send me an email
(36:37):
directly.bachtalk@bachsociety.org. while
you're at it, take a moment torate and review our podcast on
your favorite platform. Whereveryou listen, Your feedback helps
immensely. We'll leave you as webegan with Mira from Bob
Merrill's Carnival. TheAssociate Producer of Bach talk
(37:00):
is Scott MacDonald. Specialthanks, of course, to Christine
Brewer and Dennis Sparger.Additional assistance for this
episode from Ila Klemm, MelissaPayton and Keith Fredlund. The
recording engineer for all ourperformance excerpts, as well as
Christine's Powell Hallrecording is Paul Henrich, and
(37:20):
as always, marketing andtechnical assistance provided by
Andie Murphy and CharissaMarciniak of Right Relations.
(38:06):
Bach Talk is a registeredtrademark of The Bach Society of
Saint Louis. I'm Ron Klemm.
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