Last Wednesday I was asked to take over the Instagram Story for Waterperry Opera Festival on behalf of the Mansfield Park Cast and Creatives. This was all a little new to me as my experience of Instagram was limited to my once a week post linked to my blog.
But undaunted I roped in the help of my good friend Hanah Crerar who is a whiz with Instagram Stories and she explained how they worked and what works best. For those of you unfamiliar with Instagram and their Story feature it allows the user to post short video segments which are only available for 24 hours.
As the day progressed everyone on the team got involved and we managed to get several little snippets recorded. Here are some of the ones that I managed to save, a little bit of cheesy fun to share with you all. All in our very best Jane Austin accents of course.
We have sold out on the 25th and 28th August but there a still a few tickets left for the 26th and 27th August if you are able to join us
Today saw the start of rehearsals for Waterperry Opera Festival’s production of MansfieldPark which we will be performing between 25th and 28th July at 2:30 pm. The performances are to be held in the Waterperry Ballroom which provides an absolutely amazing backdrop to this wonderful immersive opera by Jonathan Dove.
This year we welcome two new members to the original cast, Eleanor Garside who plays the part of Aunt Norris, and Damian Arnold who will perform the role of Henry Crawford. I am looking forward to working alongside both of them, and all my old friend from last year’s production. The cast and creatives are an amazing group of people and I can’t wait to see how this year’s rehearsal develop.
The performance on the 25th July is already sold out but there are still a few tickets left for the remaining days if you want to come along I would recommend booking quickly to avoid disappointment. The Opera Festival is hosted in Waterperry House and Gardens, Waterperry, Oxford, OX33 1LA and you book tickets HERE.
The production will be directed again by Rebecca Meltzer with musical direction by Ashley Beauchamp, and Bradley Wood will be providing the additional piano accompaniment.
Last Tuesday Night as I walked on to the main Pavilion stage at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod I had to pinch myself to make sure that it wasn’t all just a wonderful dream.
Photo Credit – Spirit Of Wales Photography
To be opening the evening’s Opera Gala was a huge honour for me and knowing that I would be sharing the stage with Rolando Villazón and Rhian Lois brought a tingle to my spine.
Photo Credit – Spirit Of Wales Photography
My
first two arias of the evening were O Luce Di Quest’anima from Linda
di Chamounix, by Gaetano Donizetti followed by Je Veux Vivre from Romeo
et Juliette, by Charles Gounod.
Photo Credit – Spirit Of Wales Photography
Rhian Lois then performed Quando M’en Vo from La Boheme, and O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicchi, both by Giacomo Puccini
Photo Credit – Spirit Of Wales Photography
Rolando Villazón then treated us to a lovely rendition of L’esule by Giuseppe Verdi .
Photo Credit – Spirit Of Wales Photography
I then sang my first duet with Rolando Villazón to close the first half of the Gala, Non Ti Scordar Di Me by Ernesto di Curtis & Domenico Furnò. This was so special for me, especially when he produced a rose from inside his jacket and gave it to me during the performance after our little waltz.
Photo Credit – Spirit Of Wales Photography
For the second half of the evening, I again sang two arias, the first was Qui La Voce Sua Soave from I Puritani, by Vincenzo Bellini followed by Glitter and Be Gay from Candide, by Bernstein. The Gala was brought to an end with the three of us performing Brindisi from La Traviata, by Giuseppe Verdi which was so much fun.
Photo Credit – Spirit Of Wales Photography
Photo Credit – Mandy Jones
I had a wonderful evening and was thrilled to have so many
people in the audience to support my first Opera Gala including my parents, my
Nana and Grandad, Gill and Terry, and my wonderful blog friends Hilary and
Edwin, and I feel blessed to have shared this experience with them.
Rhian Lois, Rolando Villazón , Me, and James Hendry backstage after the Opera Gala
I also want to thank James Hendry, the Conductor and the British Sinfonietta for their amazing performances throughout the Opera Gala and for making my evening so special.
Yesterday we closed our tour at the Haddington show and it was extra special for me as my parents made the trip North to come and watch.
The Haddington show is an agricultural show filled with horse jumping, pig racing, pedigree competitions across farmyard animals and lots of good food! I caught my Dad checking out the tractors, it’s such a good job we never lived on a farm, otherwise, he would have bankrupted us, wanting the biggest and newest gadget every year.
Our shows were packed across all ages and it was a brilliant way to finish our tour. I had a lovely time working with the Scottish Opera team, the two months have flown by unlike the journey home to Cheshire which took twice as long as it should have done. Everyone must have been out enjoying the sun and returning home at the same time.
I’ve been working on my next opera projects, researching characters, storylines, learning the music and words. I have watched the movie version of the play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and bought a couple of books on how to interpret Shakespeare’s words correctly.
This year Northern Opera Group will host the Leeds Opera Festival from 23rd to 27th August 2019 at venues across the city. The Leeds Opera Festival will include A Feast of Falstaff, where the audience will be treated to a sumptuous feast accompanied by music from three Falstaff operas – by Verdi, Salieri and Balfe – followed by a screening of Orson Welles’ masterpiece, ‘Chimes at Midnight’.
Another new performance to be savoured at the Festival is the aptly titled Musical Confusion. This captivating performance will imaginatively weave together text and song to seamlessly bring together Shakespeare’s original plays with many of the operas inspired by his works.
Headlining this year’s Leeds Opera Festival will be a full production of Stanford’s comic gem, Much Ado About Nothing, transported to 1950s small-town America, where the makings of a cultural revolution are just getting started …
There will be two performances in the fabulous setting of Morley Townhall on the 23rd and 24th August at 7:30pm. I am thrilled to share with you that I will be performing the role of Hero in this wonderful production and I can’t wait to meet everyone involved. This will be the second production of the summer that I will take to the stage with the fabulous Phil Wilcox who plays the role of Benedick in this production and he will also be reprising the role of Sir Thomas Bertram when we both return to Waterperry Opera Festival in July to perform in Mansfield Park.
Cast & Creatives
Much Ado About Nothing was a comedy by William Shakespeare, written in 1598 (the middle of Shakespeare’s career). In Shakespeare’s day, ‘Nothing’ or ‘Noting’ as he wrote meant gossip, rumour or overhearing and we all know how much misunderstanding and confusion can be created by a little gossip or Chinese whispers.
Largely unperformed since its premiere at the Royal Opera House in 1901, Stanford’s opera is a hilarious, moving and hugely entertaining adaptation of Shakespeare’s play.
In the story Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, Claudio is tricked into rejecting Hero at the altar on the erroneous belief that she has been unfaithful. But in the end, Benedick and Beatrice join forces to set things right, and the others join in a dance celebrating the marriages of the two couples.
I’ve sung several songs that have used Shakespeare’s words before but this is my first full operatic adaptation of one of his plays. Do you have a favourite play, book or another Shakespeare play that you think would work well set to music?
On Friday I joined the Pop-Up Opera team to participate in the Borders Book Festival, which took place in the heart of Melrose, which is south of Edinburgh.
Just off St Mary’s road, Harmony Garden was home to marquees
filled with events for both adults and children, a pop-up bookshop with some
authors present to sign the books bought by visitors to the festival, and the
ticket booth.
We were parked in a great spot between Harmony Garden and
the Orchard where a delightful collection of Food and Drink trucks were
situated decorated in bunting and festive twinkly lights. As well as delicious
and artisanal food to nibble on, there were stretch tents and tipis for shaded
cover – on what turned out to be a miraculously sunny day!
I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the festival and between shows, I took time to explore the stands and enjoying hunting for treats and oddities.
Then on Saturday and Sunday, we set up the trailer at the tranquil Archerfield Walled Garden in North Berwick. The beautiful grounds host a Garden Cafe where the chefs in the kitchen use local produce to create scrumptious dishes for all tastes. Not only was there a soup of the day, but also a scone of the day.
On Sunday it was Father’s Day (Love you Dad) and the cafe celebrated by offering a deal to Dad’s, a burger and a locally brewed beer! Yum! On-site there is also a farm shop, Knops microbrewery, and amazing trails to walk peacefully alone or with your friends, family, and dogs.
One walk that enticed the company, in particular, was the fairy walk! So we decided to treat our stage management and instrumental crew to fairy wings from the shop and prance around the grounds in our Iolanthe costumes. The setting was so beautiful and we had a great time.
Ali Biggs with her new wings
Ross Stenhouse was on the bike.
Robbie Fraser, Me, Laura Cioffi, Ali Biggs, Sharron Griffiths, and Aiden Edwards
I’ve got four days off work in a row which is great because I’ve got to finalise my preparations for The Llangollen International Eisteddfod Classical Gala on the 2nd July at 19:30. I’ve been offered the wonderful opportunity to be part of a Classical Gala with French/Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón as part of my prize for winning the Pendine Voice of the Future competition last July.
Rolando is one of the leading tenors
of our day he is frequently seen in Europe’s leading opera houses and sings
with orchestras and opera houses all around the World.
Llangollen International Eisteddfod
Good news if you’re in the North West
of England you don’t have to go to London to the Royal Opera House to hear
Rolando he is coming to Llangollen in North Wales for the first time,
Llangollen is one hour’s drive from Liverpool, 45 minutes from Chester (one
hour by train), one and a half hours for my friends and family from Manchester
and Stoke on Trent they’re staying overnight in some of the lovely bed and
breakfast accommodation and hotels in Llangollen, I told them they could even
glamp this year.
James Hendry
We will be accompanied in the Gala by the British Sinfonietta under the baton of British conductor James Hendry. James joined the prestigious ‘Jette Parker Young Artists Programme’ for emerging talent at London’s Royal Opera House in 2016. Hendry promises his Tuesday night concert to be an ‘opera pick and mix’, offering guests an exclusive repertoire through opera, classical and even musical theatre. He adds, “It will be a passionate performance that offers an inspiring tour for opera fans and newcomers alike.”
“In recent years the orchestra has performed extensively in England, Scotland and Wales as well as visiting Western Europe. Highlights include the London Welsh Festival of Male Choirs at a sold-out Royal Albert Hall in London, a performance of Berlioz’ Requiem at Cheltenham Festival, screenings of Casablanca at the Royal Opera House in London, screenings of Home Alone in Denmark, and the televised world premiere of ‘Adiemus Colores’ by Sir Karl Jenkins at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in 2014. “
I wish that you could all be there with me, got my dress ready, got my shoes, feeling prepared, can’t wait to get started.
Say Hi To The Whole Team, including Keith the driver of our amazing Trailer!
Me and Aidan Edwards. Credit Julie Howden
Ross Stenhouse, Aidan Edwards, and Me. Credit Julie Howden
Laura Cioffi. Credit Julie Howden
Part of the joy of this production is the way it reaches so
many different people in places and venues that you would not normally
associate with opera. It is such a
thrill to share our love of the artform with young and old alike, with the
added benefit of traveling to some amazing parts of Scotland.
All of this would be so much harder if it were not for the lorry that Scottish Opera had purpose-built to put on these shows. The design of the lorry allows us to be self-sufficient. If needed we have a generator for electricity, (which we’ve not had to use yet).
If there are no changing facilities available to us then we
can get changed on the stage behind the curtain like a large shopping changing
room.
We have coat hooks on the sides of the trailers to hang out costumes and personal items which can then be hidden behind the black cloth background surrounding the performance space.
All in all, it is an ingenious design and makes the best use of every inch of space, for example, the stools, used by the audience, also double up as storage when the show is traveling to the next venue.
This week we commenced the start of our Pop-Up Opera tour!
This year Scottish Opera’s Pop-Up Opera provides three
different 30-minute performances of specially arranged Operas, selecting top
hits, arias and duets and ensemble numbers to be sung by a small chamber music ensemble.
Ross Stenhouse, Sharron Griffiths, Jessica Leary, Laura Cioffi, Aiden Edwards, and Me
Our chamber ensemble consists of a soprano, (I share the
role with the delightful Jessica Leary), baritone (Aidan Edwards), Flute (Laura
Cioffi), Harp (Gwen Yorke Sinclair & Sharron Griffiths) and for our
children’s show accordion (Lizy Stirrat), with Ross Stenhouse (Storyteller)
binding them together with his own inimitable style.
I’ve never worked with these instruments alone before, so I
was excited to hear how supportive and resonant the accompaniment is.
Our three shows are :
A Little Bit of The Magic Flute
A Little Bit of Iolanthe
Puffy McPuffer and the Crabbit Canals
What makes these productions so special is that they are performed in a specially converted articulated trailer. It has been fitted out with a raised stage at the back, fitted with windows for natural light whilst rehearsing and blackout blinds for during the performances. There are spotlights and even a chandelier to add a touch of elegance to the internal surroundings.
The inside is painted to match the auditorium of the Theatre Royal, Scottish Opera’s Homebase theatre in Glasgow, even down to the carpet which is exactly the same as the carpet used in the actual theatre.
By putting on these productions in the trailer it means that Scottish Opera can take their fabulous shows on the road to all corners of Scotland and reach a much wider audience across all age groups.
This week we arrived in the City of Perth and explored the area around where we were staying. We all enjoyed eating together at the end of each day and I can heartily recommend the great restaurants that we found in Perth.
North Port Restaurant
They have a great a la carte menu with food exquisitely cooked and celebrates British cuisine. I had a mouthwatering chicken supreme.
The Post Box
Has a Michelin star and a pre-theatre menu that lasts until
10pm!
The meals were scrumptious and deliciously plated up. I felt
like I was on MasterChef
Brothers 3
A family run Italian restaurant with well priced and delicious food. Plenty of variety and good quality food.
Aiden and Laura Made Ross Wait Whilst They Took Pictures For Their Instagram
In Iolanthe, I play a Fairy and if you have ever wondered what a Fairy eats when there are no Fairy cakes, well it has to be Rainbow Unicorn Cake!!
This week’s post is in celebration of the marriage of my
dear friend Ellie to her kind-hearted Husband Rory. The ceremony took place
yesterday, 18th May 2019 in Criccieth, which is a beautiful part of
North Wales.
Criccieth, North Wales
For me the day started with a mad dash mammoth drive all the way down to the venue, it was like a scene from a romcom, I literally abandoned my car in the car park and ran across the lawn to where the ceremony was taking place arriving with only minutes to spare. But I wasn’t going to miss it for anything and was so proud to be a part of her big day. It was an honour to sing as part of their wedding celebrations and I wish them both many happy years to come.
Rory & Ellie
I’ve known Ellie from childhood when we used to be sparring partners at Karate together. Over the years we entered and won national Karate competitions together and completed both our 1st and 2nd Dan Black Belts before I had to leave to take up my training at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. It took over ten years of hard work, determination, and perseverance to complete all of our gradings (exams) but we had lots of fun along the way.
Ellie and Me
She was my rock, in and outside of the dojo. A friend to turn to at times in need and continues to be! She has time for everyone and always thinks of others before herself as her father said in his heart-warming speech during the celebrations.
Jess, Ellie’s sister & Me. Jess is also a Karate Queen
To close tonight I would like to ask if you have any words of wisdom or sound advice that the happy couple may like to read here on my blog post?
