On stage, there is little room for amateurs. Sure, on the radio, one hit wonders and digitally enhanced voices are all too common. But in front of a live audience, especially a discerning one, only those singers who are equipped with a fierce talent, star presence, and well-oiled, sophisticated vocal cords will see their names lit up on Broadway.
One such singer who has spent years performing on some of New York’s greatest stages, and has enchanted audiences playing a variety of roles such as Maria in West Side Story and Grizabella in CATS, is Orange County’s own Janene Lovullo.
Since the days she listened to her grandfather’s transistor radio, Janene has been in love with music. “I shared my room with my sister. There, I would close my eyes, listen to all types of music like Andy Williams, The Supremes, Donny Osmond and would start discovering artists. By listening to them, especially when I got into classical music, my heart would soar to another world,” Janene said in a recent interview.
Coming from a long line of musicians in her family, the tall, stunning brunette has music in her blood, perhaps giving her vocal cords somewhat of a genetic edge. Her mother, Diane, was an entertainer and choreographer, her grandfather a Ragtime pianist, while her uncle, Sam Lovullo, was a producer of the legendary variety show, Hee Haw; a platform for some of Country music’s greatest superstars. “My uncle has a wonderful Italian household. They would have big parties with family and friends. I’d see and meet stars like George Lindsey and other cast members from Hee Haw.”
Born in Newport Beach, Janene began her training in musical theater, while in high school, she studied under her voice teacher, Maurice Allard. With Allard, she learned the fundamentals of singing. “[I learned how] to center my energy, focus on my breathing, and then sing softly on two octave vowel exercises, training up then down the scale, making sure the vocal muscle is balanced on my top, middle and lower registers, ” Janene explained.
With a natural talent, training, and a four octave range, the young singer set her sights on the Big Apple and moved to New York City when she was twenty-two. She could not have picked a better time for musical theater. During the eighties, Broadway was at its best-it was a time when some of the greatest musicals such as Cats, Phantom of the Opera and La Cage Aux Folles had just begun their long historic runs.
There, amidst all of this, the native Californian rented an apartment on the upper west side and began to audition. Her gumption and talent soon paid off, and she soon landed leading roles in some Broadway’s most celebrated productions: Pirates of Penzance, Cats and Les Miserables. Janene remembers the first time she walked on stage clearly.
“The first time on stage, I remember the clicking of my heals while taking special note of how I felt. As soon as I looked into the audience, I just knew that I had found home.” She would later perform in her own cabaret show, You’re my World, and eventually release her own album, This Moment, where she collaborated with some of the biggest names in the industry.
But after years of working on stage, and maintaining a grueling schedule on tour, Janene did what her heart had always desired for quite some time: marry, and start a family. She left the spotlight, bid addio to the stage, and semi-retired from showbiz to raise her three children. “Even when I was young, I knew that I would be a singer, mother and wife. The transition from singing to motherhood was easy. I was just stepping into a new role. The theater gave me my identity, but the children gave me my heart,” she explained with a smile. “Being a performer, you just think about yourself. Being a mom, you think about others.”
When her children were old enough, she longed to get back not only to her singing, but also to discover her family roots and travel to Italy. Janene’s family is from Sicily while her own favorite city in the world is Florence. “My husband asked me to marry him in Florence, and our ultimately goal is to settle in Tuscany. We want to learn how to be amazing cooks, and enjoy the countryside.” With Italy in her heart, she began to listen to her favorite singer, Andrea Boccelli, and hopes to one day meet and work with him.
Having enjoyed a flourishing career, she is still as passionate about her music as the days she listened to Andy Williams and Frank Sinatra on her grandfather’s radio. Along with her two CDs, Janene keeps herself busy performing and has also opened up her voice studio in Dana Point. There, she teaches musical theater, light classical and art song while passing along the techniques she once learned as a teen: proper breathing, pitch, strengthening the vocal cords…the rest- especially that courage to go after one’s dreams, well that…the students will have to muster up on their own.
For more information, go to www.JaneneLovullo.com or call her studio at 949-690-1575
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