Last Weekend’s Review

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On Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th October I sang with the Tideswell Male Voice Choir at The Plaza Theatre and The Buxton Opera House alongside seven young vocalists and the original Military Wives Choir.

I had to manage my final practice sessions whilst feeling a little under the weather and on the Saturday afternoon I attempted to sing, perform and manage the rehearsals full voice.

I learnt later that evening that I should have taken Dame Jones advice from earlier in the week to sing half voice in rehearsal to preserve my voice as I was exhausted at the end and had to rely on the microphone more than I normally would.

You have to ‘construct your own learning and not be dictated to’ said Mr J Simon Van Der Walt a lecturer at the RCS in the week.  So what did I learn?

The first half finale was ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ with the whole cast, I could not see Dennis conducting and that was a mistake, I made a note to ensure I could see him at Buxton.

I read more about Eponine following my Gasworth Hall performance in preparation for the Les Mis Spectacular in the second half so that I could get the emotion right, I had great audience feedback after the show and several people told me it brought a tear to their eye.  On reflection if I had a head microphone I’d like to sing ‘A Little Fall of Rain’  lying down with with my shoulders propped up against Marius (Matthew) who would be kneeling, I think it would be even more moving that way, its hard to die standing up 😉 .

I used some of the comments my blogger friends had said about my performances of ‘Art is Calling for Me’, that Dennis had asked me to sing in the Saturday program, to improve my vocals including crisper consonants.  I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, my Dad video recorded it for me to review – I must say the tiara adds a special something.  I sang this song for my Grade 8 vocal exam and I really love it I just hope that comes over.  I have written a full review in my notebook so that when I look back at my performances I can remember what I need to work on to improve them further.

The finale was ‘Do you hear the people sing’ its a fabulous song to sing with a full stage of vocalists it really makes your blood pump and heart lift.

I had a lie in on the Sunday morning and my parents cooked me Sunday roast for Noon which gave me loads of new energy as the days rehearsals were to start at 1:30 pm about 1 hour from home.  I sang more quietly on the Sunday afternoon to preserve my voice.  The acoustics in the Opera House were fabulous.

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Marcus Kitchen and I sang “Time To Say Goodbye” at the Buxton Opera House.

That evening I was singing ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ and a duet with Marcus Kitchen also a vocalist from the RCS our first public outing of ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ unfortunately we could not record any of the songs at Buxton.

There was a lovely review in the Derbyshire times :

“Charlotte Hoather, a vocal music student of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, gave a dazzling performance of Time To Say Goodbye, sung in Italian and English, before an equally powerful and moving rendition of O Mio Babbino Caro.”

“Top solos came from Charlotte Hoather who gave an emotionally-charged performance as Eponine, singing On My Own and A Little Fall Of Rain”

Here is a copy of my performance with Matthew Mellor of “A Little Fall of Rain” from the Stockport Plaza.

Following the concert at the Stockport Plaza I went to talk to some of the Army Medical reservists who had been so supportive of the event.  With their help it was a great success the charities they support all benefited from the amazing evening with the help of the Tideswell Male Voice choir, the Military Wives choir and these wonderful volunteers.

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52 thoughts on “Last Weekend’s Review”

    1. Thank you I had a fabulous weekend, a great experience, its the first time I’ve performed in two different venues in two days which was a thoroughly good thing to do.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  4. Hi Charlotte

    I did promise, when you first followed my blog, that I would try to get to see you in Stockport, and I kept my promise last Saturday and was very glad I did.

    It’s still not my music of choice and I’m not about to go mad for more, but I really did enjoy myself (notwithstanding that an awful lot of the song choices in the first half hour, from the Wives and the Men, roused powerful and difficult emotions for me). Your first half solo was sung and acted perfectly, and I thought your performances in the ‘Les Mis’ suite were outstanding.

    I’d have liked to have said hello afterwards, but on seeing the number of soldiers (quite understandably!) surrounding you, an old sod like me would never have gotten through!

    Do let us know when you’re playing Stockport again, as I could be persuaded to return.

    Reply

    1. Hi Martin, first of all its lovely that you came to the concert and its the first time that one of my new blog friends have let me know they’ve come to see me live 😉

      I’m so happy you enjoyed the whole event, I only wish you had come over and introduced yourself I could have blogged our photo – a definite first for me 😉

      Very happy 😉 thank you I’ll let you know if I’m nearby.

      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  5. Beautiful performance – it gave me chills! You sing with such feeling! You are amazing, Charlotte! I am a fan! I going to Italy next year. Will you be there in May? Thank you so much for sharing!! God Bless!

    Reply

    1. Hi Janice, sadly no I won’t be in Italy, unless someone wants to invite me to sing lol ;). I hope you have a wonderful time.
      I’ve just put ‘One Voice’ on my Facebook page if you’d like to take a look, it’s the song we start the show with.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

      1. Thank you I will check it out. So sad – maybe one day I will get to see you perform. Best regards to you to Charlotte!
        Janice

    1. How lovely thank you, if I’d have had the time I’d have put on a boys cap to mark the passing of time and scene change and a gun shot ringing out would have been dramatic! I have these ideas after the event 😉
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

    1. I’m happy you enjoyed my post 😉
      Thank you very much for my lovely Facebook and twitter banner they are so unique, I like to be different and you have helped with that.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

    1. Hi Don, I’m his only daughter he spoils me rotten, in fact I’ve just had a text off him to say he’s been converting videos all evening for the choir and me 😉
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

    1. 😉 I hope it was worth it. ‘One Voice’ is now on my Facebook its more uplifting, I’m hoping to load a copy of it in my performances section by the weekend. Now the season of these productions are over I can share a couple of them.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  11. Charlotte, you make me cry…
    We haven’t even met!
    … and I’ve not even seen the video!
    You have so much life and are taking it by the horns and creating something very special. Very proud of you…
    Come visit when you’re in NZ and I’ll have to find you when I finally make Scotland!
    You give me a real look into a world I’ve never entered… I sing, but haven’t made a career of it as you have.
    Hugs from NZ,
    Keep on going, miss!!
    L

    Reply

    1. Thanks Andy, there’s part of me that used to hate writing down negatives but I’m learning that it really helps me to focus my training. I often get out previous adjudication reports to ensure I’ve ironed out suggested improvements.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

      1. You’re very welcome and thanks for your visits and wishes, too, and for supporting my fb page, also! Take care of that amazing voice, too! It all brings back memories of when I had my time in the spotlight in school ( a much smaller scale), but so much fun! 🙂

    1. My Grandpa lives in Kent and would love to see me live on stage instead of just belting out my tunes in his living room. If you ever do make a performance you must tell me you’re coming 😉
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  20. You’re singing all my favorite songs! It’s a great blessing to have a loving and supportive family. Always heartwarming to read your posts. 😉

    Reply

    1. Singing in the USA is definitely on my wish list 😉
      I’ve been to Florida and New York on holiday and I made great friends with a pianist from San Francisco, so I’d love to see and learn more about America.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  24. I loved “A Little Fall of Rain.” I agree with you that it must have been really hard to die standing up, but I thought you carried it off magnificently; it was so touching.

    Are you planning to go into regular opera or more musical theatre, or crossover? I’m more into operetta myself–Gilbert and Sullivan and The Merry Widow and so forth, but I do love some of the grander Broadway musicals–Eponine is a role I’ve always dreamed of doing, but so far I haven’t even sung any of her songs in concert. So you’re ahead of me. 🙂

    So you live in Scotland? I’m planning to move to England next year. Perhaps we will end up working together someday!

    Reply

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