Opera Family

This week in Stuttgart we were very fortunate to work with American Mezzo Soprano, Marianne Cornetti. Over three and a half intense days, five of us Opera studio members explored many aspects of being a singer. From stagecraft to audition technique, discussions about agents and career planning, ambitions and goals and also work on vocal technique, a lot was thrown at us and I had a great time. For me, Masterclasses like this, when time and emotion is invested in each student by the Master, are a hugely beneficial time and I hope to make the most of what Marianne told me both now and in the future.

Aside from the Masterclasses, this week I heard from ZAV, the German state agency or jobcentre for singers, who I had auditioned with last Friday in Cologne. I wasn’t in great voice last Friday, still experiencing the bug that has been travelling around the whole of Germany, and I wasn’t overly confident with the outcome. So I was very happy to receive a call from the Munich office inviting me to sing in the final concert in Potsdam on the 29^th of May.  This concert features the best ten singers from the nationwide auditions and will be attended by casting directors and intendant from many of the German Opera houses. I feel very fortunate to have made it through and I look forward to meeting some more new people at the end of May.

Flight 4U9525

I’m not really sure what else to write this week.  The event in the alps, and the extremely sad details which have emerged since, has left a sense of emptiness and confusion for many. For those in the Operatic world, the loss of two of our number on the Germanwings flight is being particularly keenly felt. In a career which relies heavily on air travel, there has been a feeling that it could have been any of us.

I didn’t know either Oleg Bryjak or Maria Radner personally, though did once see Maria perform at Covent Garden in 2012, meeting her briefly afterwards. The Opera family is a poorer place for their loss. It is small consolation that that same family feels tighter knit and more supportive than ever. We are all in this mad world together. May Oleg and Maria, and the 148 others lost Rest in Peace.