Winter is coming

As I look outside, the grey skies and light drizzle could place me anywhere in Northern Europe. The refreshing breeze that has finally arrived here in Stuttgart has replaced a warm and stuffy period which threatened to ridicule the wardrobe choices I made when packing my bags in England. Being in Central Europe, at least from the perspective of a Londoner, I’d been told that it will get cold and I am delighted to be able to start using the selection of jumpers (pullovers) at my disposal.

Rehearsal Costumes

Another reason for the relief at this weather is the use of rehearsal costumes, something I mentioned in my last blog.

This week, before I had even removed the last fleck of blue makeup stubbornly lingering on my eyelids from the previous night’s Freischütz, we started rehearsals on Mussorgsky’s epic Khovanshchina. This 5 act opera is being brought to Stuttgart in the production by Andrea Moses first seen in Dassau in 2011. Unlike the Freischutz rehearsal process, we have the best part of 7 weeks to put the show together. With so much time on our hands we were able to spend 12 hours over Tuesday and Wednesday on the opening scenes, time enough to really warm into the characters. Not that my character needs warming up at all. As the first person to sing I have been ‘on stage’ for all 12 of these hours and with the scene opening outside during the Russian winter my rehearsal costume has included a massive, heavy, thick Russian army coat. It has been a bit like being in a sauna whilst also singing, in Russian, and being pushed around. I am loving it!

The sauna coat aside, it is great to be involved in a rehearsal process like this. The director is able to give even my little character the time to discuss small details, character arches and back stories. These are aspects of theatre creation that I worked on in the past, including during John Ramster’s acting classes at the Royal Academy of Music, but never expected to have the time to discuss in rehearsals on the professional stage, particularly with a small role like mine and following my Freischütz whirlwind.

Small roles

Someone once said:

                ‘there is no such thing as a small part, only small actors’

I don’t think they were talking about Opera at the time but it is a little statement that opera studio members need reminding of, me included.

My role in the Mussorgsky is small, in terms of how much I sing. I probably sing enough music to fill 5 – 10 minutes of the piece. That is more than the Freischütz and significantly more than the role I have in Ariadne auf Naxos later in the season. I sing in the very first scene and then half way through act 3 and at the end of act 4. Including a little silent appearance in act 2 I am probably on stage for closer to an hour though and so the best part of 50 minutes will be spent reacting to the scene, being alert to the action and running the story in my head in order not to look like a spare part on stage. This is, of course, a difficult skill and it is a skill that I haven’t spent too much time trying to perfect.

The thing is (oh yes, I said ‘the thing is’) that there are very few young singers, if any, that prepare themselves to do small parts. We are all very ambitious, most of us want to be Rodolfo, Mimi, Tosca, Don Giovanni etc. Not 2^nd prisoner, iL Paggio, 14^th Lady or whatever other small roles there may be. I am the same as everyone else here. I am very ambitious. I want to be singing the Duke, Rodolfo, Nemorino, Romeo, Alfredo. I want to be singing them as soon as possible and in as prestigious an opera house as possible. I want a recital series at the Wigmore Hall and a recording contract with Decca/Sony. These things don’t happen overnight though, sadly, and 99% of singers leaving music colleges will, if they are performing anywhere at all, be performing small roles.

What is an opera studio?

This brings me nicely onto a topic I have been wanting to cover. What is an opera studio?

From the point of view of the young singer, an opera studio in an opportunity. An opportunity to be employed for a year, to make contacts, to perform on large stages in big operas with great singers. An opportunity to watch the proper pro singers, to see how they work, to ask questions and learn the ways of the profession. In many ways it is a half-way house between music college and the full profession.

Practically speaking, and I only know the full story here in Stuttgart, it is a very busy year performing any small roles that an Opera house needs you to do. You are treated in same way as the normal soloists, you may get a few more coaching’s and the odd Masterclass but you are treated like a young professional.

There are many reasons why Opera studios exist. They haven’t been around for ever and back in the good old days, apparently, opera houses would nurture singers without the label of a studio. For many opera companies, having an educational programme such as a studio allows the fundraising department to tap into new revenue streams. In the case of Stuttgart, the opera house was approached by a successful local businessman who wanted, as an opera lover, to see Stuttgart have an Opera studio like other big German houses. He agreed to fund it. This was only 6 years ago and, luckily for me, Stuttgart now has a great reputation as one of the best studios available. It allows the opera house to keep a pulse on young singers who may not otherwise be on their radar.  

One thing an Opera studio isn’t is a guarantee to future work.

I know for a fact that there isn’t currently a spare contract going as a tenor for 2015/16 in Stuttgart. If I impress them enough there may well be work in the future, even the consideration of an Ensemble contract in a few years or in 2015/16 if things change. There is no obligation though and as such I must always be looking to the future. Looking to auditions, competitions, at potential management and contacts. No time to sit back, as ever.

Here and now

At the same time as I look to the future I am also alert to the opportunities I have here.

On Sunday I made my debut here in Stuttgart, my first solo performance in a real Opera house. However brief it was I really enjoyed myself. I had the inevitable nerves but I was mostly excited by the prospect of performing in front of 1400 Germans. (1399 actually, my lovely wife was there, she isn’t German). The management of the house came up trumps, all coming to wish us well before the performance and being equally positive and supportive at the end of the night. My German dialogue was even good enough to be understood, so I am told.

Having my wife in the audience was wonderful. She arrived on Saturday morning during the final stage rehearsal, which went well btw. I was able to show her around Stuttgart, the town centre, the park, the bread and so on. Knowing she was in the audience at this important moment in my career made me feel great and I am so grateful that she flew over for the few days.

My second performance on Freischütz was last night, Thursday. A much calmer affair without the first night nerves yet still with the supportive opera house management and grateful audience. We don’t perform the show again for 8 days, long enough for the next show to feel a bit new again, so I will need to remind myself of the aria and dialogue over that time.

Colleagues

The pattern of daily life in an opera house has settled by now, four weeks into the season. I am delighted to say that my colleagues remain friendly and supportive and the opera studio singers, though we aren’t yet in shows together, and I feel like a good team.

Away from the opera, I am keen to give VFB Stuttgart, the football team, a try. In fact it would be a second try as the first experience wasn’t the best and I decided to leave that out of the blog. The Canstatter Wasen continues, though there seem to be fewer and fewer extremely drunk people around.

Having now settled into life I now have three focuses. Learn German, get fit, further my career. All three will aid each other and if you have any tips about any of those do please get in touch. Those of you on Nike Running + can challenge me (my username is Thomas Elwin I think) and we can all run together through the internet.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Speak soon.

Tom