Violaine Cousineau cannot stare at her screen for long, which hurts her eyes. She also has trouble following conversations.
A literature teacher, she has not been able to read a single book for 18 months. She also can’t talk for very long without getting exhausted. Yet, when she sings, her voice is surprisingly accurate and powerful.
Suffering from long-term COVID since October 2020, she is part of a group of patients who have registered for the Breathe program, led by the Opéra de Montréal in collaboration with the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM).
On her screen, women and a few men with long-term COVID carefully follow the instructions given by Catherine Gagnon, opera singer and yoga teacher.
The first part of the workshop consists of making them breathe long and calmly, sometimes placing their hands on their ribs, like Carmen in the opera of the same name.
Then, through this breathing, the participants repeat a few notes, until the end of the workshop, where they sing a few stanzas from the famous opera.
At the start of the workshop, however, they were warned of the risks of dizziness, shortness of breath and hyperventilation.
“It really feels good,” says Violaine Cousineau, who hasn’t had many opportunities to rejoice for 18 months. “For relaxation alone, I’m sure stress has an impact on inflammation. Forced to stop working and unable to move for very long, she had just slept all afternoon.
Breathing, the basis of lyrical art
Himself required to put a brake on almost all of its activities due to the pandemic, the Opéra de Montréal had the idea of using the training of its singers in the fight against the disease.
“The idea was for the Opéra de Montréal to contribute to the fight against COVID, in addition to helping opera singers to be active,” says the director of community and educational action at the institution, Pierre Vachon.
People with long-term COVID have problems breathing, “and breathing is the basis of our art,” he says. “We use the techniques of opera singers, relaxation and stress management. »
The workshops are currently taking the form of a pilot project. The Opéra de Montréal is working with the IRCM’s post-COVID-19 research clinic and its director, Dr.D Emilia Liana Falcone, who hopes to set up a research protocol on the question this fall.
Singer Catherine Gagnon developed the program. “The idea for the thing came about a little over a year ago. Other opera houses around the world, including the English National Opera, have created similar programmes. And Pierre Vachon thought we should do the same,” she said. A singer for 16 years, she had set out to qualify as a yoga teacher just before COVID-19 hit.
“I was looking to supplement my income as a singer,” she says. I did a lot of yoga, and in yoga, the main concept is to combine gesture and breathing. And singing is exactly the same thing: you coordinate the breath with a gesture. »
Aphone for three months
The workshops also have the benefit of virtually bringing together people experiencing the same kind of problems, and who often have difficulty getting around. “It makes them feel good to sing, but also to get together and talk about their symptoms. »
At the start of her illness, Violaine Cousineau was completely speechless for three months. It was thanks to the extreme cold of winter that she regained her voice — and her ability to sing.
“But I can’t read a score,” says the one who was in great shape before the pandemic and who studied music as a child.
Another mystery of the disease that affects him: the examinations of his lungs and his heart do not reveal anything. As for the neurological symptoms, she attributes them to myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, linked to COVID-19.
“It’s a hypothesis”, says the DD Thao Huynh, who also specializes in the study and treatment of long-term COVID. “We think it may be a connection between the brain and the lungs. »
Although she is not involved in the Respirer project, the DD Huynh has no doubt that singing is beneficial for sufferers. “It creates relaxation, and it can allow the lungs to expand,” she says.
Being called “crazy”
We have already noticed: the long-term COVID seems to affect women more. “The luckiest were not treated as crazy by their doctor,” says Violaine Cousineau. “People don’t believe them. This is the case with almost all my patients, not only with doctors, but also with employers and even CLSCs, says Dr.D Huynh. They are motivated people who want to work. But they do a lot of relapses. »
When she contemplates her library full of books she cannot read, Violaine Cousineau has tears in her eyes. After 18 months, some of his symptoms are getting worse, and his chances of recovering without sequelae now seem to be dwindling.
For its part, after almost two years of forced break, the Opéra de Montréal plans to return to the stage in May to deliver The Magic Flute, by Mozart. If COVID wants it, of course.