I am thrilled to announce that I finally got my letter to go to Hogwarts (a.k.a The Royal Opera House)! I knew it would happen eventually if I didn’t give up faith. I will be performing as a soprano in the chorus of Bizet’s Carmen at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in April and May 2024. Come and watch if you can get hold of tickets and are in Laaaaaandan. Otherwise you can check your local cinemas across the world to see if you can watch a live screening, or a replay. I will be a little blob in the corner of a crowd somewhere having the best time of my life, but also pinching myself as my lifetime dreams come true!
This will be my third production of Carmen in my life. The last time I sang this opera, I played the role of Frasquita and thoroughly enjoyed all the trios and quintet that she gets to vocally skip above the other voices. The first time I performed this opera was in 2010 - yes the same year as instagram was born. It was my third year as an undergraduate at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and I remember having huge amounts of fun with the other cast members whilst the curtain was down and the overture was playing. Here are a couple of photos of my costumes from 14 years ago. I wonder what I will wear this time around... I will update my blog again once rehearsals get more into motion!
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Nurse Jenny is back again after 5 years since she last made an appearance in this production of Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles. All the performances have long been sold out. We are now coming towards the end of the run, but I can’t express how immensely I adore Bizet’s music. When I am hiding inside of the stage while it is rotating, or in the wings preparing for my next entrance, or during my quick changes backstage, I seem to always find myself dancing to this music. I just can’t help but move my body when I listen to these beautiful romantic melodies being played by the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen Orchestra. It is a sublime experience every show, and I am so grateful that I get to do this as my job. I will be sad when the run of 14 shows comes to an end. Last time we had 16 performances because we also took it to Luxembourg, so that is a total of 30 performances of the same opera - I think this is my record for the most performances of the same production!
It was like one massive street party out there! I was high-fiving the crowds all the way round. What a perfect end to a perfect week in the city where dreams are made of. I am so blessed that we got to share this experience together. I will never forget crossing the finish line hand in hand and the feeling of complete awe and wonder that was so poignant and overwhelming throughout the entire experience. Thank you New York City for coming out and supporting us. These memories will stay with me forever.
I would like to say a huge thank you to my coach and mentor Tom for putting my training plan together for me and for inspiring me to keep going throughout the long training block in every possible type of weather. I couldn't have achieved any of my running triumphs without him. I never thought that I would ever run 4 marathons in my life. But I am totally addicted now and looking forward to the next one. I am quite happy that I can take a few weeks off from hard interval training sessions, but I know that I will be back and have already booked on to do marathon no. 5 in the new year! It just goes to prove what a little bit of practice every day can achieve. Small habits don't add up, they compound. |
AuthorJennifer Coleman - is a classical / opera singer, and vocal coach, performing across the UK and internationally. Archives
January 2024
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