Cover Up!

I started the week back in England to perform a concert, at the Leith Hill Festival, and also to celebrate my wife’s Birthday. I have ended the week covering Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte rehearsals here in Stuttgart.

Life

Being away from family and friends is part of the job of an Opera singer. As I have said to people who ask why I can’t work at home, there isn’t an Opera house in Hertfordshire, to my knowledge, opera houses aren’t going to move for me!

It is, though, an aspect of the job that I realised would be difficult, particularly this year with such a defined long time away.

I decided before I came to Stuttgart that I would go home when I can, if possible, and would try to fit ‘life’ time around any work I got in England, as to soften the financial blow of travelling. Happily this concert came through and meant I could fit in a few days to celebrate the birthday, see friends and family. It also allowed me to have a singing lesson and doubled up as an opportunity for an agent to hear me.

Agents

The getting of an agent/artist manager has been in my thoughts for most of the last 5 years. A few friends of mine have been represented by good agencies since they were in music college and there has often been a sense that not having the agent might be holding me back. This year in Stuttgart has been a good tonic to that thought, with audition opportunities and work coming my way without an agency signed up to my cause. I do, though, feel that now is an ideal time to be starting career development planning with an artist manager, so I was particularly happy to be able to have such a person in the audience of last Fridays concert, and have since had good feedback and the initial signs of a developing relationship have emerged.

Of course this may lead to nothing….. But it’s a good start.

Cosi Fan Tutte

Back I went to Stuttgart on Sunday and on Monday I attended another conzeptiongesprach, which in the UK would be known as the model showing but is in fact a bit more than that. Here in Stuttgart we start with all the main people involved being introduced, then the Dramaturge introduces the opera and concept, then the Director speaks more about the concept followed by the designer and then costume designer introducing their designs. (All in German)

 As I have mentioned before, I am covering Ferrando, the only tenor part in the opera. Initially it was decided that three of us opera studio members would be Musical covers, with this being a new production and there being an importance placed on the main 6 singers creating the piece together. This would mean singing from the side of the stage, with a score, whilst the main singer acted the role. Like many well thought out plans, things have changed quickly. By Tuesday one of the main cast was unwell and at home, so her musical cover was asked to rehearse the scenes, by Wednesday evening a second cast member was unwell and a second cover was asked to sing in a rehearsal. Then yesterday morning, 45 minutes before the rehearsal was to start, I was called to step in for the next three days of rehearsal. Fortunately I am relatively well prepared, but I had been given the morning off and was tired and not really mentally ready to sing and stage Ferrando…..

I very much wish my colleagues a speedy recovery….. but the last two days, as Ferrando in rehearsals, including singing the act 1 aria ‘Un aura amorosa’ 5 times this morning, have been two of the best days since I arrived in Stuttgart. Having the chance to rehearse a role I love, a role I know well and a role I feel I can bring a lot to has been really great. Of course I wish my tenor colleague no harm, far from it, I very much like his singing and will no doubt enjoy watching him as Ferrando, but I will be ready to step in if I am ever needed, and will enjoy and thrive in it if I am.

Next

The next week has Cosi written all over it. The change in status from Musical to Scenic cover means I will be spending my Sunday making sure I have everything memorised.

At the end of the week I return to London, not for singing but wedding anniversary reasons.

Now, I sleep…. Its been a tiring couple of days!

Until next time!