ROH Student Ambassador position and... ballet?

Something I didn't expect when I applied for the Royal Opera House Student Ambassador position was to be introduced to ballet. 

I've only ever been to see one ballet and that was in 2011 to see the Matthew Bourne production of 'Swan Lake' in Milton Keynes- hardly 'traditional' ballet. It was a brilliant production and being in the front row watching several athletic young men running across the stage was thrilling enough; you could almost feel the sweat pouring off them.  

However, since then I haven't seen any ballet out of choice. 

It isn't that I haven't wanted to see any ballet, it's just I wouldn't know who to go with. Being a singer, most of my friends are singers and would rather go to the opera than the ballet. Also, knowing very little about ballet, it is difficult to just 'throw' yourself in there and pick something at random. 

Since then, the only ballet I've really seen has been through my lectures at university; the slow introduction to Stravinsky's 'Les Noces' (hehe, noses) and 'The Rite of Spring'. Very few clips were shown and as a result, I was shielded again from ballet. 

It wasn't until I was invited to see a triple-bill of ballet at the Royal Opera House that it actually clicked for me. 

The second of the three ballets was a piece called 'Infra' and the music was by Max Richter. It was an interesting combination of minimalist music and electroacoustic sound; a combination that I had never really experienced before. 

It was incredibly moving- the loneliness you can feel, even though you are surrounded by people. 

Since then I have tried to watch a bit more and I'm slowly increasing my understanding of the art. My current fancy is the pas de deux from the Nutcracker; the music and the dancing really compliment each other so well. 

In the next few weeks I'll be travelling back to London to see 'Onegin'. 

Who knows. If this is good as well, I might actually have to buy my own tickets to see ballet. 

Hitting a wall.

I have one new years resolution this year and it is one that I never thought I would have to make.  In 2013, I need to find my passion for music again. 

For some reason, second year at university is sucking the life out of me. I know that I am not the only one who feels like this on my course, a number of my course mates have said they feel exactly the same. Last year I felt excited about the number of operatunities there were in Birmingham and I got the usual buzz from performing in these different shows. 
Now it feels like I've done it all before and it's a job rather than anything else. 

It doesn't help that during Turandot and The Gondoliers I was really ill during the performance week. Whilst Turandot was manageable, for The Gondoliers I was finding myself warming up in the morning for two hours just to produce a sound. Although it couldn't be helped, I was upset by my performance. 
At the beginning of this term I have started with a new teacher who is very good. However, after starting with a new teacher for the third time, I'm fed up that I'm starting from scratch. Even though I know she is very good, my mind is doubting everything - why should this time be any different?
I love singing and I can't understand this feeling.  

I don't know. 

All I know is that I need to find my passion again.

Any suggestions are welcome. 

Robert di Diable, Royal Opera House

Being home for the holidays, I was delighted to receive an email from the Royal Opera House offering student standby tickets for the last performance of Robert di Diable. 

Accompanied by my friend Matt (who had made the effort to come from the Devonshire countryside to see something at the opera house for the first time) we were rather amused when we realised that the last tickets I had bought were in fact standing in the stalls. This wasn't quite so amusing when we discovered that the opera was in fact six acts long; totalling four and a half hours. 

Luckily during the interval between acts 2 and 3, Matt managed to fight the other standing audience members for two empty seats. 

I was very unsure how I felt about the production.
It was certainly the best visual production I've ever seen. The set was extravagant and colourful, a real feast for the eyes and it was something that I've never seen a director create before. I am keen to see more of Laurent Pelly's work in the future, even if it is to marvel at his set design. 

As expected, the orchestra and singers were fantastic, especially the mezzo-soprano Marina Poplavskaya who played the character of Alice in the production. Even though the opera was full vocal acrobatics with the stratospheric, coloratura soprano role and the ridiculously low bass notes, something just didn't click for me. 

I think the fault mostly fell with the opera itself. The opera is overly long and some sections could reasonably be cut and it wouldn't deter the plot. The plot itself is complicated; the first two acts almost seem disjointed to the rest of the opera. The music is a strange combination of Rossini arias, Gilbert and Sullivan chorus numbers and Wagnerian drama. 

I think Laurent Pelly did a fantastic job with this opera regardless, but I do believe if this production is done again, some numbers should be considered for the chopping board.