Paris (AFP)

She sang with retirees, a family with children and even in front of shepherds in the Alps: in times of pandemic, the mezzo-soprano Fiona McGown decided to perform in private homes to "stay alive".

In the living room of the Girault family in Paris, the 32-year-old singer sings a cappella, "with no other instrument than the voice".

Sitting comfortably on armchairs and sofas, the couple, Geneviève and Jacques, their daughter Sophie, their granddaughter Marion and two priests who are friends of the family listen, moved, to the program: an extract from an opera by Rameau, melodies by Benjamin Britten or Ravel's Kaddish.

"It's like the recitals in the 19th century. We are doing + Schubertiades + in times of pandemic", smiles Fiona McGown.

"It's moving to hear singing at home ... and you can hear better than in concert," enthuses AFP Jacques, a 90-year-old former banker.

"It must be said that she also articulates very well, the lady!", Adds his 93-year-old wife, laughing.

"It changes everything to listen to singing with other people", comments Father Aldric de Bizemont.

- At an exhausted nurse -

The mezzo-soprano has imposed its own mini-health protocol: PCR test the day before, six people present, either masked or vaccinated.

"With my schedule emptying since October 30, I said to myself either stay on my sofa, or I build a program that I sing with people," said the singer who launched in April.

"It's amazing to be able to sing again in front of an audience, even a small one ... It reconnects with the essential, it's a gift", adds the Frenchwoman with Scottish origins.

This intermittent performer sang four concerts on average per month since the age of 12, but with this format, she sang seven in April and has already planned five in May, in Paris, Le Havre and Rennes.

"At first, it was mostly word of mouth (...) then I started to receive emails and requests via social networks, like this nurse exhausted by her job who told me that she would love that I come and sing for her and her children ”.

"Five concerts in April were voluntary but I received 300 euros per concert from people I did not know," she says.

- Dispute over Ravel -

Each house has its own acoustics.

"I discovered it when I got there. Here I can feel the carpets, I know that it is a sound absorber and that I must not force it", she specifies.

"In a room, we are dazzled by the lights, we do not see the faces. Here I see you, I can feel you", she explains to her hosts.

She sees in this experience an almost "existential" necessity, "to stay alive".

In Aubervilliers, in an artist's studio and home, she sang in front of the couple Luca Giacomoni and Nour Awada, their two children and ... their two cats.

"They weren't meowing, then they started fighting when I was singing Ravel ... I stayed focused," laughs the singer.

"It's accessible," comments Nour Awada, a 36-year-old visual artist.

"I don't know if that's what will make me want to go watch lyrical singers on stage and listen to them, I would almost want this tradition of singing at home to continue."

And after the reopening of theaters, scheduled for May 19?

"Maybe once a month," smiles the singer who already sees "the marathon" of commitments begin, including participation in the Festival of lyric art in Aix-en-Provence in July.

© 2021 AFP