Curtains For Madama Butterfly

 

I was excited as the time approached for the evening’s performance, outside the church I could hear the gentle chatter of the audience as they started to arrive on what was a beautiful summer evening.

The lights dimmed and then the performance began.  It was a lovely venue to perform in and to see such a large audience made the evening even more special.

The instrumental accompaniment was provided by members of the Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tom Newall and the beautiful melodies composed by Puccini and played by these gifted musicians filled the evening air.

The evening progressed and the cast brought the characters to life as the story of Madama Butterfly unfolded to the delight of an enthusiastic audience.

Following the dramatic final scene as Butterfly lay dying and Sharpless carried off Butterfly’s child the lights dimmed and audience rose to show their appreciation.  It was a wonderful evening and Bowdon Festival should be proud of their achievement in producing this beautiful opera and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

Then this afternoon I was back on the train to Glasgow to spend a few days there before travelling back to Manchester for the Greater Manchester Chief Constable’s Charity Ball on Friday 3^rd July.  Then on Sunday I am off to Italy for 5 weeks on an opera summer school.  The school is to take place in a small town called Fiera di Primiero in Trentino region of Italy.

I will be with a group of students that have been selected from all over the world to take part in a series of workshops and master-classes culminating with the performances of several operas during the local music festival.  I hope to build on my experiences from this year and to both develop existing skills and learn new ones.