Dennis Jesse
The Heart of Our Art
The purpose of this project is to provide a collection of transcriptions from the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. This project seeks to give a platform to all parts of the vocal performing arts to better understand the lived experiences and mentality of those professionals. In collecting stories from the COVID-19 pandemic Dennis Jesse, baritone and Associate Professor of Voice at Louisiana State University, discussed how the pandemic impacted a performance he was preparing for and the fallout that he has witnessed for his students.
Dennis Jesse, baritone and Associate Professor of Voice at Louisiana State University
Interviewed March 20, 2020
TB: Just shortly before the pandemic appeared in the US, we were performing HMS Pinafore.
DJ: We had a lot of fun!
TB: We did indeed. So, let's start with something along those lines, what is the best thing that has happened to you in the last week?
DJ: Oh! I got a gig for the fall. I was already going to be with the New Orleans Opera, and they gave me a release to go to Shreveport to sing Beethoven's Ninth for two days. I am very happy because I actually got a gig in the midst of many gigs being cancelled.
TB: That is wonderful news. Would you mind talking about your background and where you are in your career now?
DJ: Sure, I have been performing for 30 years. I have performed in all genres; operetta, musical theater, secco recitative operas, number operas, all the way through to Turandot and a reduction of the Ring Cycle. Currently, I am a tenured professor at LSU and have been here for 14 years.
TB: Can you tell me about where you were and what you were doing when you realized that this pandemic would affect your life both as a performer and teacher?
DJ: I had some suspicions as I was preparing to go to Florida to sing Il Trovatore as Count di Luna. But I was prepared, and off I went. I was already going to be away from my students for a while because I had a gig right after Florida singing the four villains in The Tales of Hoffman, though it was here in town. So, they were already prepared for some time away from me.
I was in Pensacola for a week in a host situation where they didn't have cable television. So I was getting my news from the internet. About three days in, I started to think that this did not look good for us. But they had already said to us that if the pandemic became a problem, we would still do the show and stream it. I thought that was a great idea and would be fantastic. I just didn't think that that was where we were going to end up.
We were there a little over a week when it just became painfully obvious that we would not do the production at this point. Other companies were starting to close down, and with the age level of people who come to the operas there, I just put two and two together. We didn't want to put anyone in danger.
TB: That was then postponed, so what were some logistical effects of this? You mentioned that you were staying with a patron or a homestay.
DJ: Yes, I would actually say that the homestay made it a little worse for me because I wasn't in control of my environment, and I had to share spaces. I tried to be very disciplined about how I was using spaces like the kitchen. I would clean it before I used it and after. Travel was not a problem for me because I had driven to Florida. I knew I could get out, but really it was so hard because I was so mentally aware of sharing a space with someone and their children. That caused me a little bit of anguish.
TB: What effect did you notice on the teaching aspect of your life at LSU?
DJ: When I got back to LSU, we still had not closed the campus down, and I was even back earlier than people had expected me to be. They had already cancelled classes the week before Spring Break. But I still taught on the day that I came back. So, I had some lessons, but I could see that some of the pianists were very nervous about being around singers during those lessons. So I had the singers position themselves away from the pianist, and then I got wipes for them to clean the piano.
That got me thinking, "If this is going to be the way that it is, maybe I can come up with a way of dividing the space." At that point, I still had people who were giving recitals this semester, and they needed to meet with a pianist. So, I went out to Home Depot and bought some plastic sheeting to hang between the pianist and singer. They could see through the sheeting for cues, and I would even block it off so that the sheeting could surround them. That way, we could all be in the same room with everybody in their own little cocoon.
TB: Could you talk about how this situation has impacted your financial health? I know that there is both your work as a performer and as a teacher.
DJ: I am very lucky that Pensacola Opera paid us for our time while we were there. As far as I know, they were the first company that people posted about that. That started a cavalcade of smaller regional companies really being and showing themselves to be the heart of our art right now as they are paying as much as they possibly can to their singers and artists.
Of course, it is a big financial hit for me. This period is the first time in 20 years I actually don't have a summer gig. And so, I was planning on my gig money getting me through the summer. I still have a couple of pay periods through LSU at this point, so I'll have to plan for the summer because LSU does not pay on a 12-month schedule, just for nine months.
TB: How do you think that this will or is affecting your students?
DJ: I haven't seen any of them yet because we aren't allowed to contact them this week. Although, I have emailed and asked if anybody needs some emotional support.
That said, I suspect there is going to be some lack of practicing. I suspect that I will have to come up with more ingenious ways of getting them to practice. And I suspect that there will be financial hardships, like the fact that most of their church jobs have been cancelled at this point. Some of them are very worried about summer work being cancelled, but I know that LSU is paying their graduate student through the rest of the semester. But I have students who work in the restaurant industry, and I am sure they are suffering right now.
TB: How are you keeping yourself engaged and creative in this transition?
DJ: Four days ago, there was an email at 10:00 am letting me know that I couldn't go to my studio anymore. So I rushed across town to grab all the stuff out of my studio. But I haven't gotten to the place where I am creative yet. I am just working on a backlog of things around my house.
In the next week or so, I will actually go back to coaching, as fortunately, I live with a pianist. I will be back coaching Trovatore and Tales of Hoffman, even though Hoffman won't be for some time. I may even start on Butterfly. And I may start some recording projects that have been on the shelf for several years.
TB: What about your students?
DJ: I haven't focused on it yet because it is still so new for us. This week was the first week out of classes, and next week they are off again for Spring Break. So I have a whole other week before I get up and running with them. But I have contacted them to ask what their needs are. Do they have a piano? Do they have a keyboard? Do they need recordings of their songs? What platform do they prefer I contact them on? I will try to have an online studio class through Zoom; do they want to participate in that?
Last night, I realized that one of my students who has stayed in his apartment in Baton Rouge has an Android phone, but his laptop is so old he doesn't feel like Zoom would work on it. We are trying to download Zoom to his phone, but he has no technology that he can use if that doesn't work. So, I will have to reach out to LSU to see if we can help this student.
TB: How was your life different six weeks ago?
DJ: Well, I was super busy. I was preparing two shows simultaneously, and now sometimes I don't know how to fill my day. I assume that my students are in the same place that I am, sometimes finding themselves wandering around the house and watching too much news. If I am doing that, they have to be doing that, which is another reason for me not to put more expectations on them.
TB: What is something you are most grateful for through this experience?
DJ: More time for myself. Like doing the little things in life that I breeze past constantly. As soon as I catch up on all my personal paperwork, I anticipate some time actually to sit down and read. And I don't know if I have read for pleasure since I took this job 14 years ago. I have always read because I had to read a paper, a dissertation, or an article that I needed for work. Now that could be me because I am a child of the TV era and I love good TV, but I anticipate that I will get tired of that and want to read.
TB: How has this experience changed your outlook on the professional world of singing?
DJ: It makes me think about the fragility of our business and how it sits on a fragile platform. I wish that this country would allow arts organizations a different status versus a 501(c)(3). Or that arts organizations would start to actually operate with a foundational account, not always trying to get the next paycheck. There are organizations that have been trying to do that over the last several years, but it is now more important than ever for us to focus on society and legislation.
TB: Do you have any thoughts on how this will affect the long-term side of academia?
DJ: What I fear is that academia is going to turn more and more online. Even in music history, theory, biology, or chemistry, you are never fully served by just being online and being alone, no matter the class. Another human being's interaction and being taught is way more substantive than just an online experience and receiving information. That's not always what academia is about, but I fear that is where we are going.
TB: What is a surprising thing that has affected you as an individual going through the pandemic experience?
DJ: People think that it is easy to shelter-in-place. I'm in a profession that requires constant human contact, so there is a slight depressive feeling when that gets taken away. And I am assuming that my students are feeling that or will start to feel that as well.
TB: Do you have any advice for young professionals who have to deal with this crisis or what they can do for their students at this point?
DJ: I never advise playing armchair therapist, but you have to think of yourself as an influential force in their lives. Sometimes, the best teaching has nothing to do with the subject you are about to teach. Instead, you may need to help someone deal with the path of life in front of them and help them see the pros and cons of their choices, but recognize when it's time to step outside your bounds and help them seek something else more professional.
TB: How do you feel that the pandemic will change the musical landscape?
DJ: I think a lot of smaller companies will start to think about live streaming their performances because if that had been an immediate option, we would have done that in Pensacola. They already had an audience who was ready to view it.
In terms of academia, I already said that I think online courses will become more prevalent. But, in our industry, we have to balance the need to be in the room with somebody. There is face-to-face and one-on-one teaching that must happen in our business. Even if a song literature course is online, there needs to be face-to-face interaction with the performance of the song; computer speakers are never going to do it for us.
TB: How does that translate into advice for the next generation? Do you think they will have to become more tech-savvy in their worlds?
DJ: I do, and I think I am going to have to as well. I am already thinking of taking some online courses in video production next week. I am definitely seeking out what LSU is offering right now. I am sure that it is not enough for what I would need. I used to teach song literature here and moving that online. I don't think it would be interesting enough for a student to watch me standing in front of the camera reading a lecture. There has to be more production value because that is what students are getting in their everyday lives. I am going to have to learn how to do that.
TB: You noted earlier that you are of the TV generation, and I am sure that we are running out of binge-worthy productions. What is your recommendation?
DJ: I've actually tried to stay away from the television. I stay busy with paperwork that has been backloaded for me and digitizing some of my performance materials. That and doing small projects around the house while I can still go to Lowe's.
TB: It has been such a pleasure speaking with you today. Thank you for sharing your story and your time.
“Eri tu che macchiavi” from Un Ballo in Maschera by Verdi
Dennis Jesse, baritone
Michael Borowitz, conductor
“Dunque io son” from Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini
Dennis Jesse, baritone
Daniela Mack, mezzo-soprano
Opera Louisiane
About Dennis Jesse
Dennis Jesse, baritone has performed in a variety of genres for over thirty. He began his career on the musical theater stage, moved to operetta and ultimately to grand opera. He continues to perform in all of these styles. He frequents the stages of many of America’s regional opera houses, most recently with Central City Opera in their celebrated production of Billy Budd. He has appeared many times with New Orleans Opera, Opéra Louisiane, Orlando Opera, Jefferson Performing Arts Society, Pensacola Opera, and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. During the pandemic he has been seen in on-line offerings from Gianni in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Ithaca, Bartolo, in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opéra Louisane, an opera concert with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s Orpheum Series and as Mr. Gobineau in the Medium with New Orleans Opera. He sang a reduced version of Dulacamara in L’Elisir d’amore with Pensacola Opera as their return to in-person offerings in 2021. He will return to Opêra Louisiane in 2022 as the four villains in their production of The Tales of Hoffmann. Mr. Jesse is an Associate Professor at LSU, and he is the General and Artistic Director of Opera Festival di Roma, a summer abroad program sponsored by LSU in Orvieto and Rome, Italy. Over the past eight years he has served on the international faculty of intensive summer abroad programs for young opera singers both in Italy and in Brazil.
