Florie Flourishes

Earlier this summer, I contacted Canadian soprano Florie Valiquette for an interview. At the time, she should have been at Glyndebourne making her debut there as Soeur Constance in a new Barrie Kosky production of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. Instead, I found her in her Parisian home near the Marché de la Bastille indulging happily in her passion for cooking. She was preparing a vegan gourmet dinner for a small group of friends, the first in months!

“Because of my lifestyle, I started creating my own healthy recipes,” said Valiquette. “I currently live…next to the Marché de la Bastille, where I go twice a week. In my neighbourhood there are many bio food stores and even a vegan baker… it’s almost too tempting. I started filming cooking videos…and I even do the editing myself!”

Valiquette’s spirits were still high even though she had experienced a spate of at the Opéra de Limoges. When the production was cancelled on the very day of the piano dress rehearsal, Florie posted a photo of Cendrillon’s beautiful glass slipper with a comment acknowledging the necessity of protecting the public but also wondering “what this will mean for freelance artists.”