Christmas Time!

For as long as I can remember, singing at Christmas has been a major part of my life. 

As a choirboy at St. Paul's Cathedral, in London, the Christmas singing felt endless. From Advent sunday, a spectacular service attended by 2'000 people, to Christmas day, we would be singing in services, at concerts and at Christmas events around London every day. It was a highlight of my year, the annual Messiah, the annual Britten Ceremony of Carols, the annual Lloyds Carol concert and so on, all coming to a glorious end with Christmas Day evensong (Evening service) which ended with the opening chorus from Bach's Christmas Oratorio.  

In more recent years, December would either be singing at or travelling to carol services/concerts across the UK, numerous performances of Messiah (over 20 one Christmas!!) and trying to keep at arms length any of the colds half of my colleagues would be battling through. 

So you will understand me when I say this year feels a bit odd. 

German Christmas

Not that being in Germany is strange, by now living in Germany feels relatively normal. Singing in the lead up to Christmas and on Christmas day, when we will perform Ariadne auf Naxos,isn't odd either. 

It is what I am singing that is strange. I haven't sung Hark the Herald once this year, or Away in a Manger or, in fact, any carols. 

Earlier this week I sang Bach Magnificat for the Robert Bosch choir and Orchestra Christmas concert. An enjoyable evening which featured some of the slowest tempi I have ever experienced with Bach, helped in no small way by the Orchestra featuring three Double Basses. In addition to the Bach, the orchestra performed a few orchestral works by Vivaldi and then everyone, including childrens choir and the audience, sang some German Christmas carols. 

With the soloists sat almost on top of the front row of audience, I didn't attempt to sing the carols. Partly because I would have been guessing the tune and also because, where as guessing the tune might be OK, the idea of sight reading German text within ear shot of a few hundred Germans terrified me. 

Aside from this Christmas concert, the pattern of daily life continues like normal. The Opera house will only be closed for a couple of days between now and the beginning of January and the only sign of anything Christmas-y was the Opera studio Christmas get together yesterday afternoon, as hosted by Bettina Giese. Otherwise I have been having coachings as normal and more performances of the Mussorgsky and Strauss. 

Decorations

One aspect of being a choirboy at Christmas that I remember very fondly were the decorations. As we all lived at the school, it being a boarding school, each dormitory would compete in having the best Christmas decorations. It was quite astonishing sometimes, the amount of money some people had spent on tinsle was crazy. It meant, though, that while we were working hard singing all hours of the day we would get 'home' and be able to act like kids again.

This year, with the room in my WG (flat share), I came quite late to the decoration party but did buy a little tree and some candles which are lighting up the corner of my room. 

The Germans are very keen on the Christmas look too, with the stairwell of my block of flats having been decorated by someone and every other stall at the market selling various styles of Christmas decorations.

Family

Over the next week we have the final two performances of Khovanshchina and one more Ariadne, on Christmas day itself. 

Very happily, my wife and her parents arrive on Sunday and will attend the final Khovanshchina and the Christmas day show. If I wasn't sharing the week with my wife I think the idea of Christmas here would not have been such an attractive one. 

Then on the 27th we all go back to the UK, where I will be for 5 days in which I will see my whole family, including my sister who lives in Japan. I will have a singing lesson, catch up with some friends and have a few meetings and then fly back to Stuttgart to start work again on the 2nd of January.

Happy Christmas

I won't be blogging next friday, the 26th, but will instead next great you on the 2nd of January. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, whatever you are doing. 

Thank you all for keeping with me on this Opera Studio journey, thank you for those that continue to contact me directly and offer support or ask questions. 

All the best,  Bis Bald!!

Tom 

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