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 change from the stage at the Royal Opera House and really great to get back on the concert platform, which I always enjoy so much.
Looking back on this year has opened my eyes to how much you can achieve and learn in one year. It has been a huge learning curve for me, learning 11 operatic roles, along with audition arias and concert repertoire ranging from Bach to Brahms. Along with this I have made my debut singing for the Royal Ballet Company in Faure’s Requiem and Poulenc’s Gloria. What a treat, watching dancers like Carlos Acosta, Ed Watson, Rupert Pennefather, Leanne Benjamin, Lauren Cuthbertson, Sarah Lamb, Melissa Hamilton to name a few too many and my favourite Marianela Nunez who I think lights up the stage when she enters. It is an extraordinary discipline that they have over their bodies. Watching them while I sing feeds into my expression and makes me question the music from a different perspective.
It is hard to pick the highlights but I have a few I must share with you. The first being making my Royal Opera House Debut as Pappagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberfloete with the wonderful Christopher Maltman as my love interest Pappageno. Performing opposite a man who has sung his role all over the world was a little scary but also very exciting. In this production I was lucky enough to sing for Sir Colin Davis as he conducted, one of the great Mozartian conductors of our time, what a privilege. Second, had to be singing on stage with Rolando Villazon in Werther, he has an enigmatic energy that he gives off when he is singing that is completely inspiring, you cannot help but sympathize with the character he is playing. Lastly has to be working with Antonio Pappano and Richard Jones in the production of Il Trittico. I was singing in both Il Tabarro and Suor Angelica as well as covering Lauretta in Gianni Schicci. Working in a rehearsal room with both Richard and Tony was inspiring and I learnt something new everyday but the highlight had to be the night I got to go on as Lauretta which meant I sang in all three operas, being broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. Tony encourages singers to give the best performance possible and I feel privileged to have had such a wonderful opportunity as well as getting to singing “O Mio Babbino Caro’ on stage at the ROH.
A Truly Exciting Year!
