February 2012

Don G and Rusalka

12th February 2012

Don Giovanni is well underway and I have covered six shows already but to my delight I was asked to sing at the Sitzprobe last Thursday for the second cast.  A sitzprobe is a rehearsal with the orchestra that gives the singers and conductor a chance to perfect the music.  I got to sing alongside Erwin Schrott, who is famous for his interpretation of Don Giovanni.  This cast is very different to the first and brings a different angle to this production. It opens on the 16th of February so if you are interested come along.  I will be covering all six shows again so watch this space.  You would think Don Giovanni would be enough for one month but I am also extrememly busy with a new production of Rusalka, playing a Wood Nymph. This production was originally done in

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December 2011

2011

23rd December 2011

Well if has been a mighty and exhausting year but full of wonderful opportunities.  I am coming to the end of my work for this year with one more concert to go tonight.  I have been on tour for the last week, singing 9 concerts in 8 days in 8 different cities, doing Carols by Candlelight.  It has been a lot of travelling but with this travelling has come the opportunity to sing in some of the best concert halls in the UK including the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and Usher Hall in Edinburgh being my favourites.  I have had the pleasure of working with the Mozart Festival Orchestra and conductor Stuart Stratford along with 3 choirs, all of us in 18th Century Costume, what fun.  It certainly has been a

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September 2011

Anna singing Lauretta at ROH - Radio Broadcast

17th September 2011

Hi All, I will be going on tonight to sing in Il Trittico but also to sing the role of Lauretta as the singer is indisposed.  It will be broadcast live on radio so anyone interested please listen in on  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b014m38n Anna

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August 2011

The joy of Puccini

31st August 2011

August has been an exciting month despite my summer holidays being cut short.  I have been busy working on Il Trittico with Antonio Pappano and Richard Jones and it has been a wonderful expierence.  Everyday is full of learning and I am trying my best to absorb it all for the future.  Richard's approach to the operas is extremely realistic and forces you to channel your inner thoughts, motivations and energy to give a truly real performance.  Along with this Tony has been teaching me about the inner details of Italian and the musicality of Puccini, no word is to be wasted and every detail is attended too.  Watching him work with all the other singers is fascinating.  A truly wonderful expierience.  Il Trittico will open the 2011/12 season on Monday 12th

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July 2011

Jette Parker Young Artist Summer Performance

6th July 2011

After a long season I have finally started my last project, which is our Jette Parker Young Artist Summer Performance.  We are doing scenes from Rossini, Offenbach, Britten and Donizetti and our wonderful director Rodula Gaitanou is busy in rehearsal putting together a spectacle.  I posted the details in my last blog, but if any of you would like to purchase tickets, follow this link. http://www.roh.org.uk/whatson/production.aspx?pid=16339 The last month has been filled with Peter Grimes which was a wonderful production.  I was singing along side Ben Heppner, Amanda Roocroft, Jonathan Summers, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Jane Henschel and Roderick Williams to name quite a few! It has been a wonderful experience working with so many established singers passing on their

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May 2011

Rolando Villazón

9th May 2011

Hello, it has been a little while since I last wrote but I have been wrapped up in Werther Rehearsals and bank holidays along with the rest of the nation.  It has been one of the most eye-opening months as I have been working alongside Rolando Villazón and Antonio Pappano. Werther In this production I have been singing the role of Kaethchen and covering Sophie.  The style of Massenet’s music is very different to anything else I have studied; it has a conversational quality and a lyricism, which flows from the orchestra.  Trying to get my head around this new style has taken a bit of time but has been helped massively by the amazing expertise of Tony Pappano.  As Music Director of the Royal Opera House, he is busy so it was great that I was able to watch his intricate

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February 2011

The Magic Flute is ending!

26th February 2011

February is nearing a close and so is Magic Flute.  I have had the most wonderful time playing Papagena and am going to miss her after the last show today.  It has been marvelous playing opposite Christopher Maltman and along side Kate Royal, Joseph Kaiser and Franz-Josef Selig to name a few.  The show has had its ups and downs, starting with the beloved Sir Colin Davis being ill for one of the shows, then to return and fall whilst mounting the podium.  It was a tense moment backstage as we feared the worse for him, but we were quickly informed he was fine and that David Syrus would conduct.  Along with this our Tamino was down with a cold but was replaced by Lothar Odinius, who did a tremendous job at such short notice.   Sadly we then lost our super

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January 2011

Die Zauberflöte

25th January 2011

I have spent January catching up for the New Year, doing an education workshop, a lunchtime recital and in rehearsals for Die Zauberflöte.  It has been a busy month! We have just started rehearsing Die Zauberflöte on stage this week and our dress rehearsal is coming up this Saturday.  I am having a ball, playing Papagena, the role is full of life.  I am singing alongside British Baritone Christopher Maltman which is a treat. He has sung Papageno in six different productions, so he knows the role inside out.  Along with Christopher, we have Joseph Kaiser playing Tamino and Kate Royal playing Pamina, making it a star-studded cast.  There is an article in the Independent from earlier this week that talks about the production so is worth a read.  Here is the link

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December 2010

Last minute Royal Opera House Debut

28th December 2010

On Thursday 23rd of December I made my debut at the Royal Opera House, what an evening! I am understudying Gretel, Sandman and Dew Fairy in the current production of Hansel and Gretel and I was ecstatic when I got a call on the 23rd to say they wanted me to play the Dew Fairy for opening night.  I must say it was the best Christmas present I could possible have been given as I have dreamed of singing on that stage since I was a little girl.  Proof that childhood dreams do come true.  The costume was a fairy princess, I felt like I was in a Disney movie, you can see from the photograph that even my hair was pink! That is not likely to happen very often.  My debut was supposed to be the role of Papagena in Die Zauberflöte in February, which will be starting rehearsals

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