The pleasure of getting together with family and friends, gathered around large tables that stretch out all day, is what characterizes tenor Marc Hervieux’s Sundays. Director General of the Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art of Quebec since the end of August, he spends a good part of the week in Quebec, so he enjoys his weekends in the Laurentians, by the lake, with his girlfriend and their three daughters.
A childhood memory
When we talk to him about Sunday, Marc Hervieux evokes a childhood memory. “We were going for a family ride, in my father’s huge car, a forest green 1977 Mercury Grand Marquis with a white vinyl roof! We would all leave together, my two sisters, my brother and I in the back seat, and my parents in the front, who were smoking during our Sunday drive. We stopped to eat a potato chip on Broadway Street in Montreal East. It is a vivid memory. A tradition that we had on Sunday lunchtimes when I was a child, in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, was roast beef with mashed potatoes, mixed with carrots and peas, which my mother used to prepare! In the evening, as we had had a big lunch, we had lunch! We ate a bowl of cereal or toast, and once in a while my mother made club sandwiches, and there, it was as if we were at the restaurant! »
On the edge of the lake
There are Sundays when there is nothing at all on Marc Hervieux’s programme. “I like waking up at the chalet in La Conception, in the Laurentians, by the lake, with the smell of coffee, and I do almost nothing at all! I will cook, prepare a lunch with my daughters who are 16, 18 and 21 years old. We are a tightly knit little clan, they come to spend the weekend with their lovers, the family is growing, there are friends too. We like when the house is full, it’s chalet life, and it’s a great pleasure! My youngest daughter plays volleyball, so there may be Sundays when there are games or a tournament, so I’ll go with her and cheer on the team! »
The day at the table!
“What I like the most is brunch, which becomes a late lunch, then dinner! Everyone is chatting and having fun putting the world together, then we have a little craving again, because we’ve been talking for a few hours, so we’re having a little something to eat and then finally, it’s supper time! I love that. I like stews, because it’s easy, but also because of the smell in the house. We put the cauldron in the middle of the table, everyone helps themselves, it’s friendly. I like to prepare a beef bourguignon, with a camembert that has melted quietly, there is also my cassoulet which has become a tradition. Friends call me and claim it! There are weekends when it can be very crowded, up to 30 people! My girlfriend and I get on well in the kitchen, so we each launch stews, three or four different recipes that cook quietly while we go outside! We’re lighting a wood fire! We also have a skating rink on the lake, we play hockey, we skate and when we come home, it smells of happiness! There is nothing that beats that! Absolutely nothing ! »
A little bit of work
On Sunday mornings, Marc Hervieux is on the air on Ici Musique from 10 a.m. to noon, but he is not live. “I take the time to respond to listeners on social media because radio is such an intimate medium that I feel like I’m with them live. People write to me spontaneously, they tell me about the effect that music gives them, how much a certain song makes them happy or brings back memories. There are Sundays when I’m in concert, so I can be in rehearsal in the morning if I have a show in the afternoon. I don’t work the majority of Sundays, far from it, but it’s very rewarding to sing and to receive the love of the public. »
Day off
“When I sang in opera houses all over the world, Sunday was always a day off. There was no concert or rehearsal. Sunday is sacred, it’s a day off and I confess that I completely agree with this principle. Sunday is made to provoke meetings between friends and family. The stores could close, we could adapt and plan so that, on Sundays, we don’t have to go shopping. We must reconnect with this precious time, rediscover the pleasure of communicating together. Communication has been done for too long from one screen to another, and we must reconnect with the pleasure of meeting in person, discussing, thinking, during this downtime. »