Yolande Dulude

She made her debut with the Variétés lyriques in Rigoletto in 1949 and sang with the company regularly until 1953. During these years she continued her studies under Sarah Fischer, and in 1950 she made her recital debut at the Sarah Fischer Concerts. She studied in London 1953-4 with Dino Borgioli, Ivor Newton, and Joan Cross. In Canada she appeared on CBC TV for the first time in 1954, singing Musetta in La Bohème, and other roles. In April 1955 she sang the title role in Offenbach's La Fille du tambour-major, the final presentation of the Variétés lyriques.

In 1956, Dulude joined the new opera class of the CMM. She sang with the MSO at the Mount Royal Chalet and the Mountain Playhouse in Menotti's operas The Old Maid and the Thief and The Telephone. In 1959 she studied in New York with Dick Marzollo. (The Quebec government assisted her with bursaries in 1953, 1955, and 1959.) On her return in 1960 she sang Frasquita in Carmen for the Opera Guild of Montreal. As soloist with the Disciples de Massenet she toured France, Belgium, and Luxembourg and, for the Montreal Festivals, sang in Vivaldi's Gloria and Bruckner's Te Deum. Awarded a Canada Council bursary in 1962 she returned to London, this time to study with Edward Downes of Covent Garden. In 1965 she became hostess for the program 'Les Grands Classiques' on radio station CJMS-FM and the same year sang Flora in La Traviata at the PDA with the MSO. She has appeared frequently in operetta productions - in 1968 as Simone in Louis Varney's Les Mousquetaires au couvent at the PDA, in 1969 as Lady Mary in Messager's Monsieur Beaucaire with the Théâtre lyrique du Québec, and in 1970 as Gabrielle in Offenbach's La Vie parisienne. For the Opéra du Québec she was the Duchess of Crakentorp in a 1972 production of Donizetti's La Fille du régiment and the Duchesse de Berry in a 1974 production of Maurice Yvain's Chanson gitane.

Dulude has sung on the CBC radio, and on the CBC TV programs 'Vedettes en direct' and 'Les Beaux Dimanches'. She also has appeared on the TVA network's 'Québec sait chanter' on several occasions. In 1981, after singing Flora in La Traviata with l'the Opéra de Montréal, she retired from the stage to teach privately. A perfectionist, Dulude was known during her performing career for the sensitivity of her expression and for the charm of her voice and personality.