The Bel Canto of
Chantal Braziel
Story: David Collins
In January 8th, 2023, the New York Times Wordle solution was “opera.” The term “storytelling,” on the other hand, has never been a Wordle solution due primarily to its length; however, the dissimilarities between the two terms trickle to scarcity in the aftermath of the Wordle eligibility friction. According to SVC alum and classically trained soprano Chantal Braziel, C’15, opera and storytelling are synonymous in the context of performance, a lesson learned on a musical peregrination with a purposeful stop at Saint Vincent College along the way.
After growing up in the Pittsburgh area, Braziel carried out her undergraduate studies at SVC before pursuing her master’s in vocal performance at Carnegie Mellon: “I think what really drew me to SVC was not only the excitement of going to college, but I loved the feel of the school. The support of the teachers, advisors, and monks made me feel at home,” remarks Braziel.
Since graduating from SVC in 2015 and making her way to CMU, Braziel has enjoyed an illustrious career brimming with esteemed appearances and performances. She is a national finalist in the Professional Opera and Art Song/Oratorio division of The American Prize Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award. In 2024, Braziel won 2nd Place in the Birmingham International Online Vocal Competition, and in 2021, she received the Special Mention Award in the Medici International Vocal Competition.
Braziel was also honored with the Women of Excellence Aspiring Artist Award from Grace City Opera Theatre and received the Encouragement Award in the 2020 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Auditions in the Pittsburgh District. Her performances have been lauded across the board, but one performance in particular Braziel crowns as particularly special.
“The most memorable performance I’ve had so far in my career was performing in the chorus of Grammy Award-winning productions of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2019-20 season, then at the revival in 2021. Since I pursued opera at SVC, my dream was always to perform onstage at the Met, and being at SVC definitely helped me get there.”
Another impactful project in which Braziel got to partake was The Summer King, explaining the story of Pittsburgh-based African American ballplayer Josh Gibson, whose career in pre-integration baseball has since earned him a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Braziel articulated the kinship between music and storytelling as it relates to The Summer King, stating: “The life and story of Josh Gibson made opera lovers see real life stories—only shaped through music. As a matter of fact, opera is all about storytelling; fictional, nonfictional, and historic in the shape of someone singing that story … music forms what words and history cannot, and the opera itself makes opera lovers get to know Josh Gibson on a personal level.”
The social implications and geographical proximity of Gibson’s story were also resonant for Braziel, who said that the rightful even if overdue recognition of Gibson inspired interest in similar erstwhile unsung stories of hometown heroes.
Josh Gibson with the Homestead Grays
Photo courtesy of Chantal Braziel
Photo courtesy of National Opera House
“There is another hero just like Josh Gibson who broke racial barriers, and she was an opera singer herself: her name was Madame Mary Cardwell Dawson, and she founded the National Opera House in Hometown, Pennsylvania. She opened the door to other Black opera artists and non-opera artists [when] doors were closed to them due to racial hate.”
For Gibson, Braziel could spread his story through the opera; for Dawson, Braziel took it upon herself to shed light on the trailblazing of the nineteenth century opera singer.
“[Dawson] is a pioneer who is slept on, but her National Opera House remains standing; to preserve it, I created a project called the Opera House Challenge to perform on the steps of the house and spread awareness to other artists to get involved in the preservation. Josh Gibson opened my love and knowledge for Black heroes in Pittsburgh.”
Braziel’s career is just getting started, with countless performances on the way at concerts, conventions, and recitals locally and across the states. And it all started at SVC, where Braziel’s vocal coach, Sonya Caceres, encouraged her to sing opera, igniting an already venerable but young and ongoing journey for Braziel.
“Being at SVC shaped me into the person and artist I am now. I became more confident, more prepared than I was ever before … SVC pushed me to the level of success that I never thought that I had; it helped me with my passion, determination and hard work. I've had many great performances at Saint Vincent that foreshadowed what I was going to do in my career.”