Friday 12 September 2014

Wilkommen nach Stuttgart - Hi I'm Tom

Good afternoon world. I'm Tom. Thomas Elwin to some, Tom Elwin to others, Cockett to a minority. I am a 28 year old British Tenor, currently residing in the pleasant East/Central area of Stuttgart in a WG (German flat share). This season (14-15) I am the tenor in the Opera Studio at Oper Stuttgart. As I have explained to many of my friends in the lead up to moving here, this opportunity is a fantastic one and will hopefully act as a finishing school and springboard to a career in this crazy Operatic world. This blog, which I aim to make weekly, will record and discuss my year in the Opera Studio.
This first post will tell you a bit about my past, my 'journey' to this point and the first 5 days settling into this new country.

2013 - annus horribilis 

My journey to Stuttgart starts in January 2013. Following an invitation from a German agent who had heard me perform at the Royal Academy of Music, London. I auditioned to Hannover Opera, in Hannover. The audition was pretty poor really but they offered me a place in their Studio/YAP. I thought about it carefully, very carefully. Discussed it with my wife and family, my teacher and coaches. The idea of going to an Opera studio abroad hadn't really crossed my mind before that point. I may have thought about it before but never considered it seriously. So I decided to put my hat in for other studios too. I ended up getting an audition in Munich, which I was much more enthusiastic about. Being an honest chap I told Hannover the situation and said could I let them know. They then told me to give them an answer on the day before my Munich audition. Great. What to do. Well, I rejected Hannover, sang ok to Munich, didn't get a place there, spent 24 hours with food poisoning in Munich and flew home lighter, poorer and without a place in Germany anyway. So the next step in the plan was to get a place at NOS, the National Opera Studio, London. Auditions split, Feb 1st round, April Final round. I still had a few months left at the RAM before I joined the Chorus at Glyndebourne for the summer. I wasn't particularly happy at the RAM at this point. 3 1/2 years in and I felt claustrophobic, shackled by some of the structures in place. This was made worse by having to sing a role I didn't want to do in the spring production. All in all I wasn't happy.

April comes, I've been unhappy for a few months at RAM. I'm still upset by the Germany episode. I'm now worried by the prospect of having nothing to go into following Glyndebourne and my wife is now looking for a new post having quit her job of 4 years. If you remember April 2013 at all you'll remember it was cold, there was snow and ice and wind. Not ideal healthy singer weather. I take part in the Ferrier competition, so keen to do well that I talk myself out of singing well. Then I sing to the final round panel at the National Opera Studio. Infamously large, the panel on this occasion consisted of 6 Opera company representatives and their assistants, 4 staff from NOS and 3 others. So just the 19 people. I was nervous, I put a huge amount of pressure on myself to succeed and...... surprise surprise I didn't. I chose bad rep and I froze. 5 days later, having a bit of a cold, I did a concert in a old peoples home. I felt my voice slowly cease up. I couldn't sing high without feeling strangled, none of my low notes were working and I was a mess. I was meant to sing Messiah the next day, 7th April 2013, yet when I woke up I couldn't sing more than a 5th. Now hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing and now I can see the events that lead up to me losing my voice. At the time though, I thought it was a virus that it would pass. I had to pull out of a couple of concerts but I would be well for the start of Glyndebourne rehearsals at the end of April.      I wasn't. Far from it. I couldn't make a noise at all. I sat through 50 + hours of French baroque music rehearsals just listening. I performed on stage in Figaro and the French baroque basically miming, hired to sing but not being able to so just being a bad dancer.   The staff at Glyndebourne were great, the administrative staff were understanding and organised a visit to an ENT specialist in Brighton. I went to see another ENT too. Nothing helped. My chords were fine, my throat was fine. In truth my muscles and body were stopping me sing.

Eventually I decided to see an Osteopath who had rescued my neck following a car crash a few years back, a Speech Therapist who was recommended by a family friend, and start working properly with a new teacher, Gary Coward, who I had had a consultation with before my voice went.

The Osteopath, an amazing man called Michael Mehtha at Hermes Health spent hours helping release my significant tensions. With the speech therapist, Maggie Griffith in Stevenage, I re-learned how to speak, how to breath, how to support my voice properly and how to look after it.

With Gary we went back to basics. Similar to the speech therapy work, but also vocal exercises to free me up, enable me to phonate freely and naturally. I had stayed away from seeing him for more lessons until I got my voice back, ideally, but decided that he might be able to help and went to see him mid-July and he was great.

Eventually, by mid August, yes - 4 months later - I had some voice back and could sing on stage for the last few shows of the season. I had spent a lot of money trying to get it back, into the thousands of pounds probably all in all. But it was back. It needed a lot of work though.

2013 - bleak outlook

A consequence of losing my voice was having to cancel auditions. I cancelled lots of them. Any potential work for post Glyndebourne disappeared. Glyndebourne were never going to take me on tour following the summer I'd had and no one else would give me work having not heard me.
In the meantime my wife got a job, in Hertfordshire. We moved to the area. My diary was blank. The money I had earned from the summer had gone on ENT, Osteo, Voice Release Massage etc. I can't remember being in such a low place. Initially I didn't consider quitting singing, I gave myself time to have lessons with Gary, really get back on track and hope that work would come my way maybe try and succeed in competitions. I did the Hampshire competition, just 1 month after getting my voice back. I got to the semi - final. A little personal victory.   I decided to apply to Opera studios again. Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Covent Garden and NOS once more. I got a few concerts and sang at weddings and funerals in choirs (a world I had tried to move away from).
Then rejections came once more. Not even a 1st round audition at Covent Garden, no audition in Berlin and no 2nd chance in Munich. I sang to Hamburg in December, it went ok. I wasn't who they were looking for. Then I got given an audition by Stuttgart! Exciting times.

2014 - All change

Away from the singing, my wife was loving her new job, we liked the area, but I had little or no money coming into an already bleak financial situation. I got a job at a local restaurant and worked shifts there but by January I was skint. I faced a cross roads. Could I continue struggling to make ends meet in order to continue training vocally for a potential future career, or did I need to get a job, a proper job. Jack it in and change direction.

I applied for lots of jobs, I had interviews for recruitment consultancy and for a full time restaurant post in Leon (fast food chain I love). I was happy to do anything that paid me. In the back of my mind though was an audition in Stuttgart, 21st January 2014. I was extremely lucky to get help from a previous sponsor to pay for me to continue with Gary, so I saw him a lot. We really went about trying to give me the best technique possible and fulfilling any potential I might have. I also had sessions with two of my other great teachers,vocal coach extraordinaire Audrey Hyland and Director and acting guru John Ramster,  and I went to Stuttgart confident I couldn't have done anymore to this point.

To my surprise I got through the 1st round, up against 20 other tenors, whittled down to 4 on the day. I sang Mozart and I sang it nicely. It had only been 4 1/2 months since I got my voice back, but I felt good.

I got home and heard nothing, I managed to get some individual music teaching work in my local area, teaching mostly young children Piano and Singing. I continued at the Restaurant, including singing to the punters on the odd occasion and I felt happier in life. This had been the first time my wife and I had lived together properly in the 9 years we had been together as a couple and I love being with her (which is good) and living with her.

The weekend after my audition, Bettina Giese, in charge of the Opera Studio in Stuttgart, called me. ''We liked you a lot, this is what we thought, go talk to your teachers about it, we'll let you know......''
WOW! This was super-positive, exciting stuff. I arranged lessons and coaching sessions to discuss what they said and tried not to tell the world that Stuttgart might be interested in me (I failed, I basically told everyone). And I waited, and waited, and waited. I heard of other tenors going over to audition, I checked my emails every 3 mins. I tried to think of reasons to have to email Stuttgart about things. It felt like a life time.

In the meantime, one of the coaches I went to see, Jonathan Papp offered me a place on his Solti Accademia Bel Canto course in Tuscany in July, a course I had always wanted to do, and as a singer on the reps course in Venice in April. I also did my first day of auditions for the National Opera Studio. This was very positive, they liked me again and invited me to the final round of doom once more.

The life time of waiting went on and on. Eventually Stuttgart asked me to return to sing to them once more, at the end of March. So off I went, armed with similar repertoire. Now 7 months since I got my voice back, I was on an upward curve. I sang with confidence. They obviously liked me enough to want to hear me again, and a few days after I got back Bettina rang to offer me the place.

Phew!! What a contrast 7 months can have.


2014 - Exciting things to come

With a place in Stuttgart in the bag I contacted NOS (National Opera Studio). They agreed that I shouldn't do my final round audition and wished me luck. I now had 5 months to continue work with Gary, enjoy life with Mrs Elwin, go on some courses and FIND SOME MONEY.

Yes, find some money. As any musician will tell you, particularly Opera singers, funding is always needed. The Opera studio doesn't pay massive wages and life in England doesn't stop because I have moved away. Funding was needed. So I put together a funding pack, wrote to 100 people from various supporters lists. I did some recitals and invited people and eventually raised quite a bit of money to ease my lot.

Solti courses were amazing btw. I would recommend them to any and everyone......


The move and first week

Having set the date to move at 8th of September I was grateful to two of my friends who got married on the 6th and 7th so I was able to see friends before I left.
I finally moved to Stuttgart on 8th September 2014. With a bit of support in place I didn't have to worry about being able to afford the flight with so much luggage. I brought my father with me and we visited the Mercedes Museum, explored the centre of stuttgart and had a few bier. A very nice way to start my time here.

I have got myself a room in a WG (Flat share) near both Neckator and Stockach U Bahn stations. Sharing with three others. I had looked at this place on Google maps but wasn't really aware of how convenient it was. Stuttgart isn't a big place and to live somewhere so central is great. I'm 15 mins walk to the Opera House, or 8 mins on the U Bahn ( 4 mins walk and 4 mins U Bahn). Yesterday I bought a month ticket for 2 zones travel which will take me everywhere I ever need to go. It cost me 70 EURO. I also went to the cinema and had popcorn and a drink, all together it came to 11 EURO. So cheap compared to London.

It's taking me time to get used to the U Bahn. I have got on trains going the wrong way a couple of times and the stations all have loads of Exits and I am not yet sure where they all lead.

I've had a false starts with the Bank and registering my address. These are now done and I have a travelcard and registered for Health Insurance. I have tried to speak German as much as I can and lots of the time people are responding in German which is a good sign.

I am able to use the Opera house to practise, which is nice, and my flat is 5 minutes from a massive park so I am looking forward to exploring some running routes. It's been a good 5 days.

Work starts in earnest on Monday morning, from which point I will be on a salary for the first time in my life, at least for one year. I'm sure there will be many trials and tribulations to come as there will also be some amazing experiences and opportunities. Not all my blogs will be this longs, but I hope to give you a flavour of life for an English singer heading abroad.

One thing I will say is that it is very easy to look at other people and be jealous or lustful of their success. I have often hoped to have opportunities that others have and complained about my poor luck. What my last 18 months show, though, is that luck can change, everyone goes through bad times but hard work and focus does pay. More on this soon.

For now, Tschuss!!

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