The countdown to performances of BambinO at Home begins this week, as I prepare to go into our first day of rehearsals tomorrow. I will be taking part in five live-streamed performances of this wonderful opera between 9th to 11th December.
The shows last 45 minutes and take place on:
Thursday 9th December at 14:00
Friday 10th December at 11:00
Friday 10th December at 14:00
Saturday 11th December at 11:00
Saturday 11th December at 14:00
If you are thinking of joining our virtual world, from the comfort of your own home you can get your tickets by clicking HERE:
It is going to be a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see how this digital adaptation will effect the dramatic interpretation of the opera. Previously, the performances were held in front of a live audience of 20-30 babies with their carers. The babies are encouraged to react and express themselves freely.
This meant that babies would crawl, walk and explore the space and touch, move and even lie on the props. Their actions would inspire our performance, and often have an impact on dramatic choices made during the show. I felt like this gave the story-telling an improvisatory feel. I am glad that I can lean into my experience of performing this opera over 100 times, remembering reactions and special moments created by the babies so that I can use that to fuel my imagination.
This December we will be connecting with the audience through the lens of a camera. In the first few days I hope to experiment and learn how to interact with the cameras so that I can connect with you and the babies at home. I found that eye contact with the babies was particularly important during the previous shows, so I am hoping I can recreate that sensation. It will be challenging to achieve the correct balance. In the past, I worked with a film director as part of the digital adaptation of “Fire of Olympus” with Radius Opera. On this project we were encouraged to imagine that we were still addressing an auditorium and only look into the lens of the camera on specific moments, in order to break the 4th wall to make a dramatic point such as sarcasm, irony, or desperation. I think if I consider the camera as a variety of connections, it will help me create natural variety. For example, the eyes of a baby, the eyes of another bird who happens to be a neighbour to my nest, or the atmosphere around my world. I look forward to exploring this and letting you know some of my findings next week.
The line drawings used in my promotional posts were drawn by Viviane Schwarz. BambinO was originally created and co-produced with Scottish Opera, Improbable and The Manchester International Festival