I am excited to share with you that an opera that I was involved in, is now available to stream internationally online!
In 2019, I sang the role of Pandora in “The Fire of Olympus”, an opera composed by Tim Benjamin, alongside a wonderful cast of performers and creatives. The production toured across the North West of England, transforming theatres in Burnley, Huddersfield, Manchester, York, Stoke-On-Trent, and Todmorden into a bleak, totalitarian dystopia ruled by Zeus.
As part of his vision for the opera, Tim Benjamin, (The composer and director of “The Fire of Olympus”) organised for the opera to be professionally filmed in a Manchester studio. It premiered at the Leeds International Film Festival in 2019 and is now available to stream on Marquee TV. A streaming service that provides access to “the world’s best dance, opera, theatre, and music on demand.” I am so excited that this production is now available alongside performances from the Royal Opera House, Arena di Verona, Opera North, The Bolshoi, and many more.
The experience of filming the opera was great preparation for 2020. As the world adapted to the restrictions in place to save lives due to the Corona Virus, I and many performing artists had to learn how to present their skills and connect with audiences through the lens of a camera.
The opportunity of working to camera with Tim Benjamin, Adam Gill, and Tobias Marshall, helped me explore different skills such as acting and performing to camera, which is more intimate and requires your facial and physical expressions to be more emotional and minimal rather than energetic and exaggerated as would be the case for a live on-stage performance.
It could also be argued that the piece was ahead of its time, as it involved a digital chorus, which combined the voices of over 1000 volunteers from across the North. The aim was to create the effect of a large, disorderly crowd. At the time, the use of the digital chorus meant that the piece could travel easier and be presented to venues of different sizes. In 2020, the unseen chorus has become a staple in sharing large-scale music through digital media. I have no doubt that we will see more of this in the future.
All images have been reproduced with kind permission from East View Film and Radius Opera ( copyright East View Film & Radius Opera )
You can read more about the opera here:
Too bad we can’t get it in the US.
Sorry to hear that you can’t see The Fire of Olympus Don I thought it was international, thanks for letting me know if I can find a link for you I’ll let you know. I hope you have had a happy start to the New Year and that you and all the family are keeping well.
All my best wishes,
Charlotte
It is most likely a digital rights issue with whatever platform it is on. That happens a lot. I am pleased to know it is at least widely available overseas, as online gives all you artists a venue during these times when the audience cannot get to see you otherwise. If you do come up with a link, please let readers know.
Thanks Lavinia I must e-mail Tim Benjamin and ask him if he has a link for the USA. 🙋🏼♀️
Thank you for sharing all these wonderful photos and background on the “The Fire of Olympus”, Charlotte! These strange times we live in have helped bring forth more creativity and resourcefulness in keeping the Arts available to everyone. Congratulations to all of you!
I was lucky enough to see this in Manchester. If it’s any consolation to your American fans, there’s just not enough of you in it!
I am ever-so-faintly consoled.
Haha, more of me in the second half but I get the big solo at the end of the first half 😀.
All my best wishes Martin,
Charlotte
I agree we have had to become very resourceful. I’m busy recording right now.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Nice Post to start year. I hope more comes your way. I have a question or two; do you prefer the live stage or do you like the camera? Would you like to do a musical or go into acting?
Thank you, I was so pleased for Tim that he secured this, it was great fun filming this my first experience of that kind. I have always been versatile, I’ve been dancing from pre-primary age and acting from the age of six, my dreams are of opera and the big stage live but who knows what this crazy world will offer.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Such an ambitious and exciting project. I know you consider yourself blessed to have experiences such as this!!
This past year has taught me to count my blessings more as they’re happening because you never know when it can be snatched away. It was a fantastic experience filming The Fire of Olympus I loved every minute of it.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Charlotte, I am thrilled to have this link—both because of the opportunity to see you in performance, and also because this looks like a terrific Website. Thank you you so much for sharing this—and can hardly wait to find the time to see your performance. (It’s late Sunday here, and I have several appointments next week, but I will get to it!) Happy New Year, and please stay safe.
Happy New Year Peter, lovely to hear from you. It is a super website isn’t it? I hope that you do get a chance to see the opera, it was an interesting topic I enjoyed the research and developing the role.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Great !!! Nice and very interesting work. Congratulations Charlotte, all the best for you my friend !!!
Merci Pascal. I hope that your New Year has started well. I’m keeping busy and I hope that you are too.
All my best wishes
Charlotte
There’s no holding you back, Charlotte!
I’m constantly looking for things to do and opportunities to perform. If I keep shouting it out to the world hopefully someone will hear me.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I would be distracted by everything around me. I’m not sure how actresses/actors perform so well. I tried my hand at a few Acting Classes several years ago, yet found that I’m most comfortable behind the camera with Photography and I really enjoy screenwriting. I simply have to make more time for it.
I’ve had to stretch the day to accommodate a day job to pay the bills and keep my practice up at the right level but I am making ground and have had to work smarter as you suggested a while ago. Make it happen For yourself Eric.
All my best wishes
Charlotte
Blonde Pandora! Acteur exacte!!
Anyhow the theater is gone, even the town the theater was staged in is gone. Remember how the papers were abuzz!
Anyhow, what were they thinking??
Anyhow miraculously the actress who played her survived with nary a scratch.
Rumor has it she’s in the country trimming hedges and working the farm at her family’s place recovering from the ordeal. Anyhow dirt under the fingernails just might keep one of those artsy intellectual types from flying away if you ask me. I wish her the best!
Good thing they salvaged the video. So many lives lost… that is one unirony I could do without.
Seriously Charlotte-
Such a sophisticated and intelligent production.
Thank you very much, I’m pleased you enjoyed it. As you say it is very ironic considering events in the world right now. Wish the family did have a farm I never did get more than a couple of horse riding lessons hehe. My Dad hates gardening that’s why he ropes the rest of us in to help when my green fingered Grandad is in lockdown.
Hope your New Year has got off to a good start.
All my best wishes
Charlotte
You catch every drift insofar you might have wondered about the intellectual. Yes, totally agree
There’s no end to creativity… more opportunities to expand one’s skills! All the best for an inspiring 2021!
Yes exactly Iris, I managed to do projects in 2020 that I hadn’t had time to do before, taking lots of online lessons in all sorts. I wish you an inspiring 2021 too.
All my very best wishes
Charlotte
Hooray and congratulations on this wonderful performance! Here’s to a new year where you can continue to adapt your creativity to changing circumstances.
Thank you 😊. How are you coping without your travel adventures, have you had time to catalogue more of your photos? Or did you still get away in 2020?
Best wishes
Charlotte
I was able to do some travels to remoter national parks in the earlier days for which I’m thankful. Now, I consider myself lucky to be able to have a lot of wilderness terrain to hike and explore closer to my current home. But, organizing and cataloguing photos and stories is always an ongoing process. 😊
I somehow missed this post. Anyway, very cool! The photos from the performance are great. I’ll try to make it over to watch in the next couple of days.
I do like the story of the Fire of Olympus and the Pandora role was very different and a good challenge for me. I hope that you enjoy it if you do get a chance to watch.
How exciting! You must be thrilled. I like what you say about playing to the camera & how it differs from live performance!
CHEERS!
Its so nice to actually have some work to share. The cameraman and the whole team were fantastic. It is actually a lot harder filming than just doing a live performance. We’d already done about six live shows.
Cheers 🍻 Resa xx
I’ll try to watch this soon. I really need a larger monitor for viewing streaming. My laptop doesn’t cut it!
We used to watch stuff through my laptop, but recently used an HDMI cable from laptop to TV and it is wonderful. We watched Charlotte and George’s Mahler concert that way – very impressive.
This sounds wonderful, Charlotte, and we plan to subscribe (and watch The Fire of Olympus) as soon as our three-month Christmas present sub to the National Theatre expires. There are only so many hours in the week! It makes a lot of difference no that we can watch through our TV.
⭐️🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶⭐️