First night politics

I am not going to patronise you all with a potted history of German culture over the last 100 years, I am not qualified to do so for one, aside from a very interesting course entitled ‘Music between the World Wars’ I took whilst at University. I was particularly interested, though, to read Peter Brathwaite’s article in the Guardian yesterday (Guardian Classical Music article), about the suppression of culture under the Nazi’s, in the same week as our production of Khovanshchina opened at Oper Stuttgart.

This production is directed by Andrea Moses (in the English sense of Director, ie. Regie auf Deutsch), a child of the GDR, or East Germany, and her show highlights the conflicts between East and West, capitalism and communism, and, as Andrea has us observe, Coca –Cola and Spirituality. Whether Khovanshchina is an ideal fit for Andrea’s political message or not, the sense of her own conflict, as someone driven to create art for arts sake yet who finds herself battling the economic forces of our current situation, shines through. Her respect for the writings and practises of Bertold Brecht is also quite evident here. It is also quite evident in her production of La Boheme which I saw here earlier in the week, a production which has a Christmas tree with the Mercedes badge as its star….

Andrea’s situation intrigues me. Unaware that there was still a sense of divide some 25 years after the reunification of Germany, I have instead been delighted by the openness and engagement with culture that occurs here. There doesn’t seem to be that sense of reverse snobbery that high art in the UK suffers from. Yet for Andrea, Stuttgart feels conservative, unengaged, lacking the liberal edge of Berlin or Leipzig (the new Berlin apparently).

I look forward to learning more about the politics and culture of contemporary Germany in the next few months……

First night

As mentioned, this was the week Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina premiered. A show we have been rehearsing for almost 7 weeks and Andrea Moses’s last production in Stuttgart, having been here as full time Regie for three seasons.

I always find first nights strange. The closer one gets to the opening night the more people tend to be around. As I listed in a previous blog, there are hundreds of people working on this show and it is only in ones dressing room that a moment of quiet can be found. That is until opening night. On opening night, particularly for a ‘new’ production, the dressing rooms are like Piccadilly Circus (that’s very busy for the non-English who don’t get the reference). Every two minutes another person knocks on the door to offer their best wishes for the performance. Fortunately I don’t have a set routine pre-show, not yet anyway, but if I did such disturbances would be a nuisance.

The show went well, I think. I enjoyed myself, partly due to the fact that I knew we wouldn’t have to rehearse the piece any more, but mostly because I am an Opera singer and I love performing on stage. All the performers received positive curtain calls, I even got a few cheers which was nice.

The production team, Regie (director), designer and two other guys, I have no idea what they did, took a bow and received a mixed response including a few boos which was exciting.

First night party

The show, lasting just under 3 ½ hours, was followed by the premier party. Taking place in the first floor foyer of the Opera house, it seemed like most of the audience were in attendance.  Here Jossi Wieler, the Intendent or Big Boss, talked about the performance, thanked people and introduced Andrea to the stage. Andrea then talk about the performance and show, about her time in Stuttgart, and then introduced each member of her production team who, one by one, came up to the stage and took a bow. Then Eva Kleinitz, the Director of Opera, introduced each of the Soloists, one by one, each of us heading up to the stage and taking an individual bow and applause.

If I have learnt anything over the 12 weeks here, which I hope I have, taking a gracious bow and kind words of audience members is something. I no longer bow like a shy, embarrassed Englishman. I don’t yet bow like a proper Tenor, hand to heart slowly leaning forward, the nod of the head, slowly back up etc. That may come, one day.

Once the formalities had finished it was then lovely to have a drink with colleagues from the cast, orchestra, chorus and those who had attended the show. To be able to finally relax after what had not been the easiest of rehearsal processes was great.

Take care

An aspect of my performance in Khovanshchina I need to improve on is falling over. Not randomly falling over I might add. Without wanting to ruin the excitement for you all, I get pushed or thrown to the ground three times in the show. Each time I am pushed harder than the last time and the third fall is meant to be quite dramatic, with my gun flying across the stage and there being quite a loud bang.

I have been taught how to fall on stage, there is a technique to it and for the first two falls I do that quite well. Unfortunately, the third fall has become an issue. In the pre-dress rehearsal I fell awkwardly on my left elbow, lightly bruised, it is now fine. As a result, on the dress rehearsal I tried not to fall on my left elbow but instead fell heavily (I am getting thinner but am not light-weight yet) on my right forearm and elbow with an immediate sharp pain following. Of course for the opening night this was a worry so I put a pad onto my right elbow and landed square on it, making it worse again. Will I ever learn….

Four shows – easy week

Despite having four performances this week, two Ariadne’s, two Khovanshchina’s, it has felt like an easy one. The KBB, or administrative core of the Opera House, tend not to give you anything else to do on a show day and often leave the day before a show free. This has meant time to myself for the first time in a while.

I have been able to go on a few nice runs through the big park, started to learn some music for future concerts and also caught up on sleep.

As I mentioned last week, lack of sleep and dehydration are the major voice killers for me. So, stupidly, I arranged to record some arias last Friday night, at the end of a busy week when I was suffering from ‘Opera-lag’, a term I will continue to use.  Not surprisingly the session didn’t go very well and I cancelled it 15 minutes.

Importantly, with the time and space this week ,I have been able to get back to doing my daily vocal exercises. These vary day to day but are based on the work I do with Gary Coward. For me they are just like the training sessions professional sportspeople do every day, they are that important. Shock horror, a few days in and I feel a hundred times better vocally and in myself (there is always a correlation between the two).  

Busy Stuttgart

The massive Weihnachtmarkt, or Christmas Market, finally opened in the middle of Stuttgart this week. I was expecting it to be big but not quite as big as it is. This means the centre of Stuttgart is heaving with people, all walking very slowly. I haven’t yet spent any money in the market, being in the opera studio I don’t actually have much money to spend (that topic is for another week) but my parents  visit next week and I will no doubt share a Gluhwein with them at some point.

With no production rehearsals until early January I now have some space to learn German better, exercise well, learn music and continue to build my voice. I really enjoy the process of working on my voice, most of the time, and will enjoy getting fit and being able to speak German too, so it should be a good month or so.

Wishing you all a great week.

Tom

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Opera-lag

It was a pretty mad start to my week. 

Having enjoyed a post show bier, or two, on Saturday night, followed by some light dancing at the ShauspielHaus's  opening night party, I arrived home sometime after midnight. Struggling to then get to sleep, I was awoken at 1030 the next morning with an SMS alert:

               'Have you heard from the Bach Akademie Tom'

From Bettina Giese, my opera studio boss in Stuttgart. I hadn't heard from them, so I thought, but I plugged in my phone, an iPhone 5 which I had forgotten to charge over night so was diving towards zero % battery. I then checked my emails and sure enough had two emails from the Bach Akademie Stuttgart, in German, with a phone number. I rang the number and was greeted by a friendly voice, excited to hear from me, who asked me immediately whether I might sing Messiah solo's, that evening, in the Liederhalle, in Stuttgart. 

My initial thoughts are not transferable to a family blog like this, but after minimal consideration, and having heard that my rehearsal would be at 1700 and the fee would be the most I have ever been paid for a concert, I said yes. 'Of course I'll do it, I'd love to, I have sung it 100 times'

Following the phone call I slept again. There being two real voice killers: Alcohol (dehydrates) and Lack of Sleep, I was now on a mission to drink plenty of water and get some proper sleep. 

I succeeded!

The rehearsal went really well, I was given a lovely dressing room, the concert was a big success and the conductor is keen to work with me again. The chance to sing in the Liederhalle, the main concert hall in Stuttgart, was great. The opportunity to sing with a wonderful choir, orchestra and some top soloists was a lot of fun. Most of all, having been singing the odd bar here and there on stage in Stuttgart, it was just a relief to be able to sing a few arias and recitatives, to really warm into an evening singing and be treated like a real soloist as apposed to being the 'opera studio' Tenor. It was also lovely to have two of my opera studio colleagues in the audience, supporting me. 

Appreciative audience

After the concert, all the soloists were invited to a post-concert dinner club, in the restaurant at the Liederhalle. Here a selection of paying audience members could eat and drink with the soloists and conductor, ask questions about the performance and listen to a brief talk from the conductor himself. Despite taking place in German, I quite enjoyed the event. It is often nice to meet an audience after concerts but on this occasion they were not just appreciative, they were given a chance to actively discuss the concert. To engage in the musical decisions, the choice of counter-tenor over Mezzo soprano, the cuts, the use of modern instruments and so on.

This sort of thing is not unique to the Liederhalle. At the Opera house there are numerous events which act as an introduction to each show. The public really is given a great chance to appreciate and engage with the culture on offer. As a result they care about it, a lot, and they make the most of it. From old to new, from the almost sold out 1980's production of Der Freischutz I was in to the equally popular Wolfgang Rihm opera, 'Jakob Lenz', to 'Messiah' at the Liederhalle, the public here attend, appreciate and engage with what is on offer. I really like that about Stuttgart.

Khovanshchina final week

Following the whirlwind sunday-Messiah jump in, I again got to bed quite late. With the concert done at 10/1030, and then the dinner and talk, I was in bed after midnight. This was the final week of rehearsals for Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina, and our third stage and orchestra started at 10 am, Monday morning. 

Inevitably I was quite tired. The weekend aside, 7 weeks into a rehearsal process can breed mental fatigue and it must be hard for the director when the principal soloists are in this way. By this stage there can be a sense that one is going through the motions, saving yourself for the dress rehearsal a few days later and then the first night at the end of the week. Particularly for some of the larger roles, where conserving as much energy during the week leading up to the premier is vital. 

After the rehearsal I had an afternoon nap, which turned into a long sleep, waking up around 6, the dark of night having descended on Stuttgart. As a result, when I eventually tried to sleep I couldn't until quite early in the morning.

The next day was the same, a 10 am rehearsal. An afternoon kip. An evening wander. Another late night trying to sleep, aided by YouTube, iPlayer and AmazonPrime. 

Fortunately Wednesday and Thursday were evening rehearsals. Wednesday was the HPO, or House Dress rehearsal, rehearsing all aspects of the performance, including the ushers and front of house staff. Then yesterday was the GP, 'General Probe' or General rehearsal ie. dress rehearsal. The first time with a audience and the last rehearsal before the first night.

Whereas a monday morning stage and orchestra can be tough work for the director, the final rehearsal must be a bit of a gift. Most singers seem to suddenly raise their game for such an occasion. With full costume and make up, and it being so close to the first night, the energy among the cast always seems to increase at this stage. I gave by far my best account of 'Kuska' and now I just can't wait for first night, this sunday.

I will tell you all about it next week

Opera-lag

Thankfully I have a free day today. The mixture of late nights and early mornings means I almost feel jet-lagged. My body clock is a bit scrambled and a couple of days to settle it back down are well needed. The hours for singers can be odd and this is something I will always have to deal with.

In my early 20's, when I was working on the pro-choral singer circuit and also doing the odd oratorio solo gig, I found this aspect quite difficult. It was highlighted more by the fact that I was living with my parents in East London and that my fathers office is in the house. One never wants to seem lazy, getting out of bed late and seemingly wasting the early hours of the day. Yet when work was often 2 to 5 rehearsal then 730 to 930 concert and home after midnight it is difficult to then be a morning person too. I often felt bad walking down the stairs to grab breakfast whilst my father was already onto his third meeting of the day. 

Fortunately, here in Stuttgart where I almost never see my flat mates anyway, I don't have that sense of guilt when waking up late following a show. 

Changing season

With the nights closing in and a definite chill in the air, we are well on our way to my first German winter.

As many of you will know, Christmas markets are a big feature over here and any pedestrian space you can think of seems to be being filled with wooden huts as we speak. I have always enjoyed advent, and the lead up to Christmas. As a choirboy at St. Paul's Cathedral, December was filled with special concerts, services and carol singing events. Being at the centre of London always felt exciting and sharing the experience with 30 other choirboys was always fun.

Now in Stuttgart, I am looking forward to sharing the time with my Opera colleagues. Having the occasional gluwein and performing on Christmas day.

I am also excited to show Stuttgart to my family at this time of year, with my parents visiting in early December and then my wife and her parents popping over a few weeks later. Almost three months in, their visits will be very much appreciated!!

Questions

Some of you have been sending me questions on Facebook/Twitter/Email. I am very happy to answer anything that you have to ask, though I am no fountain of knowledge. I hope you all continue to enjoy reading and sharing my experiences in Stuttgart.

Until next week.

Tom



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Let's go outside

I am just back from a lovely walk in Degaloch, up hill in the South Eastern part of Stuttgart, Three colleagues of mine, from the Opera Studio, and I spent an hour or trying to get away from the traffic noise filled centre.

Despite the traffic, Stuttgart is growing on me as a town. The relatively small nature of Stuttgart means that the surrounding forests are easily accessible, and 15 minutes after Dominic, Eric, Karin and I (check us out on the Opera Studio website.. http://www.oper-stuttgart.de/musiktheater/opernstudio/ ) had left the Opera House canteen we were already strolling amongst the trees. 

LONG rehearsal

The idea of going for a walk together was mine. I have always enjoyed walking, it helps me relax and if I had a dog here I would be even happier doing so. It is also obviously great to get outside for a bit, particularly this week when we had the technical and lighting rehearsal for Khovanshchina, Wednesday afternoon/evening.

My initial call was at 1530, for make up. So as one is expected to be in costume for the make up I was getting ready at 1515. I was released from the rehearsal after receiving some notes just before 2300, almost 8 hours later. During that time we of course had a break and I wasn't on stage the whole time, but it was tiring. Waiting, like a coiled spring, to jump into action is quite draining. Also, however nice a theatre is, being stuck inside for 8 hours can turn you a bit crazy.

The scale of the rehearsal was quite remarkable. With all the chorus, extras, childrens choir, principals, the director and her many assistants and assistant-assistants. The conductor, chorus master, assistant chorus master, repetiteur, head of props, costume supervisor and assistant, the dressers and make up artists, stage manager and assistants, the stage crew, the designer, the lighting guys and more people I can't think of. It really is a huge team and that is before the orchestra have turned up. One can see why Opera isn't cheap to put on. 

Orchestral boost

Earlier in the week, on Monday and Tuesday, we had the Sitzprobe for Khovanshchina. Literally translated as seated rehearsal, this is the first time the singers and orchestra meet and work through the piece, having to this point relied on the skills of a repetiteur to accompany us in rehearsals. I love these sitzprobe, and I get the feeling most singers do. Any chance to sing with an orchestra is enjoyable and, six weeks into rehearsing a piece, the change in musical colours and textures always tends to bring out the best me. 

One is also nervous on these occasions, of course. Being faced with a huge hall filled with orchestra, chorus and fellow soloists can be a daunting time. Not only for me. I had a momentary lack of consideration for a colleague when I complained about the apparent change in tempo for one of my sections. I should have remembered that it is also a daunting task for a conductor, to bring all these musicians together for the first time and, in this case, to get through a 5 act opera in a couple of rehearsals. 

This morning it was all change again as the orchestra accompanied us for the first stage and orchestra rehearsal. The moment of tempo change had happily settled down and I am fortunate enough to be stood down stage centre (middle at the front) for the whole overture, which sounded stunning.

Chalk and Cheese

The orchestra we have here is extremely good. In addition to the Mussorgsky, I am very lucky to hear them during Ariadne auf Naxos, which I wrote about last week and for which we had the opening night on Sunday. Having enjoyed so much my experience in the dress rehearsal the opening night was even better. Some of the singing on show was truly world class, I can say that since I only sing one line, and the audience lapped it up. 

In stark contrast to the Strauss, I attended a performance of 'Jakob Lenz' by Wolfgang Rihm the night before on Saturday. Written between 1977 and 1978, the opera focuses on the mental struggles of German Poet, Jakob Lenz, played by Georg Nigl. In addition to Lenz there are 6 solo voices and only two other named roles, performed by fellow British singers Henry Waddington and John Graham-Hall. Having got to know both Henry and John over the last couple of months it was great to be able to watch them on stage. It goes without saying that they both sing extremely well, but more than anything they are both top class singing-actors, inviting the audience into their characters worlds as any great actor does. Such performances are a masterclass for young singers.

'Jakob Lenz' is not really an enjoyable opera to watch, it is intense and challenging, not just in subject matter. The music is difficult to access at times and the moments of beauty are more so because of that. I was glad to be able to watch it. If we only allow opera to be music written hundreds of years ago the art form will die and it is great that a house like Stuttgart are performing Lenz.

The future

This week I have started to plan properly for aspects of my time beyond Stuttgart. I have some exciting plans for a potential debut solo CD, which I will keep you all informed about as they develop. I continue to knock on doors both here and further afield and am assessing the various options that I have as I look to establish my career properly. The ever allusive  'artist manager/agent' is still to be nailed down properly and I look forward to, once an artist manager is in place, developing my career as a team. 

My German is improving. Helped in no small part by colleagues who have put up with my slow sentence composition. I have been challenged by one of these people to only speak German here from January onwards. It is a good aim to have, though I will miss having almost every single one of my terrible English jokes being laughed at...... Better learn some jokes in German, if there are any.

This next week brings the Dress Rehearsal for Khovanshchina, more performances of Ariadne, and some space in the schedule to go on some more walks I hope.

In the meantime, hope you all have a good week!

Tom  

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Inspiration

Please excuse the delay in getting this online. You see, I was buzzing with excitement this morning. I really couldn’t wait to get back into work and onto the stage.

It was my third rehearsal for Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, in which I sing the Officer (all 9 words: ‘Laß er das sein und geh er zum Teufel’). Not the most inspiring role but in this production, where the prologue takes place AFTER the opera, I get the chance to sit on stage and listen to some of the most glorious singing I have ever heard live, for about 30 minutes. It is truly inspirational stuff. The marriage of Strauss’s romantic writing with some world class singers makes for numerous spine tingling moments, I almost have to stop myself laughing with joy.

Healthy inspiration

Such moments as this mornings on stage act as a healthy inspiration to keep working, keep striving to be better, keep aiming to be the person who is having such an effect on an audience. I say healthy inspiration because I have had to be careful about my inspiration in the past.

As a young Tenor in my second year at University I knew I wanted to be singer, in fact ever since I was a Choirboy at St. Paul’s Cathedral I had some sense that I wanted to sing as an adult. I didn’t really know in what capacity though and for me the world of professional choral music was very easy to access. By the age of 20, having just left University, I was singing with some of the top professional choirs in the UK. My singing heroes were the English Tenor school, Bostridge, John Mark Ainsley, Gilchrist, Padmore and of course Anthony Rolfe Johnson. I tried to sing like them, I tried to sing the music they sang and I hoped to one day emulate them. I also found young singers a few steps up the ladder from me to be inspired by, namely Allan Clayton and my good friend Thomas Hobbs, both successful soloists at a young age. The problem with this, though, is that I am not any of these singers. It is easy with hindsight to realise this, but at the time I was trying to crowbar my voice into a sound world that it doesn’t naturally sit in. For Tom Hobbs in particular, it seemed to me that he could sing so easily in a small consort setting like the Cardinals Musik or Tallis Scholars and also be able to develop a strong concert soloist career. It wasn’t until I had got a place at the Royal Academy of Music that I realised this wasn’t going to work for me, that despite being so keen for it to work out, the path to my career was not going to be the same. When I got to music college I was the same though. I saw other singers doing well and wanted to copy them, I saw them impress people I wanted to do the same. To an extent I got lost in trying to be someone else because I thought that was the only way I was going to succeed.

As I sit here now, with a burgeoning career, and so much wiser (?!?) I am still inspired by Thomas Hobbs (Tom), and other singers, but no longer do I want his career. I want my career. I don’t want to be the next Rolfe Johnson, Clayton of Hobbs, I want to be the first Thomas Elwin (though I also want to be the next Pavarotti, Wunderlich and Gedda). Tom is now one of my best friends, was my best man and we speak regularly. I trust his opinions and ears, we share a singing teacher, a love of cars and curry, and I am proud of the success he has. If anything, I am inspired to be the best I can be more because he strives to be the best he can be.

The Week

One singer Tom introduced me to early on in our friendship was Fritz Wunderlich, the great German tenor. Fritz has been a constant throughout the last 8 years of my singing life. It is a rare week that doesn’t include me listening to him singing something, usually Mozart. I was delighted on Sunday, therefore, to find myself in the dressing room here in Stuttgart which has Fritz’s picture on it’s wall.

It was in Stuttgart that Fritz was in the soloists Ensemble, and as I left the dressing room, to go onto the stage and sing Ferrando in a Sextet from Mozart’s ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’, I pictured myself following in his footsteps.

The Cosi sextet was the first item in Oper Stuttgarts 5 year Opera Studio Anniversary concert and was sung by the six of us who are in this years studio. It was the first chance that the six of us have had to sing together and I had a great time. The concert also featured about 20 other singers from the 5 years of the studio and they sang various arias and ensembles in a what was a great evening for everyone involved.

Inevitably there were drinks and photos afterwards, I met numerous supporters of Oper Stuttgart and the odd agent/artist manager. I couldn’t stay too long though because on Monday I was on stage again at 10 am for a Khovanshchina rehearsal and then in the evening was the final performance of Der Freischütz.

Careful what you say

Probably because I was so tired after a crazy 9 days, the last show of Freischütz was by far the worst I did. Though this was not helped by a member of the music staff warning me, before the show, to be careful because often the last show is the worst. Suddenly all I could think of was what I was going to do wrong and in a self-fulfilling prophesy I scrambled the words of each verse in my song, virtually making up the last line. Though I know she was only trying to be helpful, there is something to be said for getting yourself into a zone and virtually ignoring the people around you before a show. The other six shows were absolutely fine and there really was no need to worry about it.  

With Freischütz finished the rest of the week has been a mixture of Khovanshchina and Ariadne rehearsals. The Mussorgsky continues to use up it’s luxurious 6 week rehearsal process with little urgency, which can be frustrating, but I think it will be a great show. In contrast, I was only introduced into the Prologue of Ariadne on Wednesday morning 4 days and 3 rehearsals before the opening night, this Sunday.

Settling in

I feel pretty settled here now. I have finally started to eat more healthily, despite being keen to experience the local kebabs and ice cream, and have been running a few times through the big park. The weather has been changeable, one day it was like Manchester in February but today it is clear and crisp. My colleagues continue to be kind and supportive. In this sense I feel very lucky to have landed in Stuttgart.

I have managed to work out how to watch UK sport on my laptop so I have caught up with West Ham United’s quite remarkable start to the season and this weekend I can’t wait to watch England beat the All Blacks at Twickenham.

Thanks

Thank you again for you who read this, who have commented or contacted me. Without that I doubt I would have reached 9 weeks of blogging and I will endeavour to reach the end of my time in Stuttgart with this blog.

Those of you so inclined to do so check out my new Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ThomasElwinTenor where you will be able to read little posts and see photos of my day to day singing life.

I’ll leave you with this link to some great new tracks from The Wealden, featuring a friend and former colleague of mine on Vocals, Tim Dickinson. Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/the-wealden

Hope you all have a wonderful week,

Tom