Alumni Spotlight: Jonelle Sills' 3Rs of Opera - Relevance, Risk and Relationships

You may have seen GGS Alumna Jonelle Sills (ADP ’18, soprano) in recent live performances of the Brahms Requiem with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra & Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, or perhaps you heard her as Mimì in Against the Grain Theatre’s award-winning production of La Bohème, which was first livestreamed by the CBC in 2019, then rebroadcasted in 2020 for starving opera lovers during the pandemic. She was also named as one of Canada’s 30 hot classical musicians under 30 by CBC Music in 2020.
 
Sounds Like GGS! sat down with Ms. Sills to discuss her experience as an emerging artist in a re-emerging field, and to hear her guidance for new graduates. 

Arias: Canadian Voices of Opera, Portraits by V. Tony Hauser

Sounds Like GGS!: Can you recall your earliest exposure to opera and/or classical music, or remember what initially drew you towards opera as an art form? From there, how did you decide to pursue operatic singing as a career?

Jonelle Sills: My earliest memory of being impacted by opera was when I was a high school student. I went on a field trip to the Four Seasons Centre to see the COC's production of La Bohème. There was a specific moment when Rodolfo introduced Mimi to his friends in Act II and said: "Perché...perché son io il poeta, essa la poesia..."(For...for I am a poet; and she is poetry itself). After that performance, I wrote that text all over my binders, I was so moved at how something could be so beautiful.

Following this experience, there were many stepping stones that have led me to where I am. I was a member of Bach Children’s Chorus which was my first experience with classical music. As I prepared to go to York University for classical voice, I studied with Barbara Fris. When I started at York I had the opportunity to study with Stephanie Bogle and work with Catherine Robbin, Lissette Canton, Norma Burrowes, Raisa Nakhmanovich and many more faculty. Stephanie Bogle is also a faculty member at The Glenn Gould School, and encouraged me in my first year at York to work towards attending the GGS’s ADP for Voice and Opera performance.

Even as a student I wouldn’t say that I knew that I wanted to pursue a career, but I just knew that I wanted to become a better singer. I wanted to be in communities that challenged me and allowed me to be a better singer. I feel that focusing on growing in my craft has allowed me to ground myself and grow my career.

Sounds Like GGS!: Who or what do you most enjoy listening to these days?

Jonelle Sills: I’m such a mixed bag of favourites, but currently I am listening to a lot of Maverick City Music, James Blake, Kanye West, Beethoven and Mascagni.
 

Sounds Like GGS!: You are currently a member of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program at Vancouver Opera – what has this experience been like for you during the pandemic, and how have you been balancing your time between Vancouver and Toronto?

Jonelle Sills: It has been the best experience and I am so grateful to all of the staff at Vancouver Opera. It truly was and is a gift to work so closely with such talented staff and colleagues. Although the season was reimagined, we were lucky that they still invested in their young artists. It was definitely different, singing with masks and socially distanced staging. The team was very supportive as we navigated through these learning curves of presenting art during a global pandemic. Going to Vancouver was a gift, and I am counting down the days until I return. Markham and the GTA are my home, but I have fallen in love with the beauty and easy accessibility to nature that Vancouver offers. It has become one of my favourite places.

Sounds Like GGS!: As a modern performer, how do you conceptualize the future of opera? Who or what do you look to for inspiration?

Jonelle Sills: My hope for the future of opera would be that it is willing to take more risks. I hope that opera in Canada would take baby steps to try new things. I see this risk taking in my smaller companies but would love to see larger organizations take more risks in general.

Sounds Like GGS!: As a recent GGS alum (ADP '18), what would your advice be for graduating students? What can they be doing now to set themselves up for success?

Jonelle Sills: My best advice to current GGS students may seem simple but it’s so important – work hard and be kind to everyone you get the opportunity to work with. As a student at GGS we are super lucky to work with staff and guest faculty that are currently working in the arts. While I was at GGS, I was able to build relationships with working professionals. My transition from graduating at GGS to “the real world” was an easier transition because of the relationships that I made while I was a student. All the work that I had in the year out of school was directly linked to relationships that I made at GGS.

Jonelle will be featured as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor with Stewart Goodyear, the Penderecki String Quartet and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir on Saturday, November 27 at 8 p.m. in Koerner Hall.

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