It has been a busy start to the term and I feel that I have hardly stopped. It has become quite normal for me to collapse in a heap when I return from school, and my (already fairly early) bedtime is moving even earlier!
There is much excitement however as the ‘Night at the Opera’ concert looms on the horizon. Last term at the Junior Academy all the first study singers collaborated to perform a staged version of the whole of Act 1 of Gilbert & Sullivan’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’. After the stress of trying to rehearse these singers over the course of a whole term, I should have known that tackling four different scenes, with four different casts in half a term was likely to be somewhat stressful!
Having said that, the girls are rising magnificently to the challenge, and I leave almost every rehearsal buzzing with inspiration and pride at their achievements.
Nearly half way through the rehearsal period, we have completed large sections of the blocking, have planned the sets and costumes and are well on the way to having all the music learned by heart. The girls have started to appreciate why I asked them to learn the notes over the summer holidays. Standing still and singing is all very well and good, but it’s amazing how much harder it is to move AND sing simultaneously! Some of the scenes require less movement, making it somewhat easier for the cast on a physical level, but all members are required to interact with others, respond to the action on stage and be involved in a much more significant way than when singing solo. The music is demanding and they have to use all their knowledge of technique as a primary concern, but this must not come at the cost of their dramatic engagement.
Part of the reason for doing this concert at all was to allow some of the more advanced singers in the school the opportunity to experience these challenges for the first time, so that they are prepared for the demands that are made on performers in the ‘real world’. Many of the girls perform regularly in the Musical Theatre Productions, as well as soloists, but have learned that the Opera requires another set of skills, in addition to those already ‘mastered’.
It’s great fun working with such a talented group, who are all so committed and excited by the project. The concert should provide real variety, and so there really is something for everyone – especially for people who don’t know much about opera, or think they don’t like it!
I certainly don’t want to wish my rehearsal time away (still lots to do!), but I am really looking forward to the end result of all this hard work. I think it’s going to be another fantastic night of music and drama.