Breault happy to sing opera without the travel

For Robert Breault, the opportunity of singing in an opera without having to travel is a godsend. "I can't tell you how great it is to be in an opera and be able to sleep in my own bed," Breault said.

The tenor will be appearing in Utah Opera's five-performance run of Leos Jancek's "Jenufa," which opens Saturday in the Capitol Theatre.

Breault is director of opera at the University of Utah. Besides teaching he has an active singing career in both opera and oratorio that takes him to both sides of the Atlantic, often for months at a time.

Last year was a particularly busy one for him. He made his long overdue New York City Opera debut as Alfredo in "La Traviata." While in New York, he commuted to Louisiana, where he also appeared in the same role at New Orleans Opera.

All that in addition to other performances, including Handel's "Messiah." "Out of seven months last year, starting in April, I was home about three or four weeks total," he said.

Breault will be singing the role of the ne'er-do-well Steva in "Jenufa." He admitted that it's difficult playing someone who is as detestable as this character. "I would love to do Laca one day."

This will be the first time that Breault has sung Steva. " 'Jenufa' is challenging in every single way," he said, "because Jancek explores the psychology of the characters in their music. You will have empathy with each character at every moment."

Breault said that people shouldn't be intimidated by Jancek's music. " 'Jenufa' is modern only because it is novel and new, not because the music is hard to comprehend. It's brittle at times when it needs to be, and it's dissonant when people are upset or something happens onstage, but it's all wonderful music."

Although Breault sings in many languages, he has never had to learn Czech until now. "This has been a huge challenge for me, never having sung Czech before."

To help, he bought a new diction book and took it with him to New York last year. "I translated it ('Jenufa') myself and wrote down the phonetic spelling." He didn't just translate his own role, however — he also translated the other characters. "I translated every part, so that I know what they say and think about me."

Breault said that he is always delighted when he has a chance to perform in Salt Lake City. "The ultimate way to be involved in the community is in something like this."

He said that some 40 or 50 years ago, it would have been impossible to find a production of "Jenufa," or any other opera not in the standard repertoire for that matter, outside of the principal opera houses in the United States. "You had to go to New York or wait until the Met or (New York City Opera) went on tour to see something like this."

Breault said that there is a renewed interest in opera in this country, and he praises people such as Utah Symphony & Opera CEO Anne Ewers for taking the risky step in venturing beyond Puccini and Verdi. "There is a renaissance of opera in America thanks to people like Anne."

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