This client wanted our performance to be a total surprise on the night for his many guests. We had to arrive early for our sound check and rehearsal with the musicians in the orchestra/band, so that no one would hear us before the main dinner. The client was absolutely delighted. To quote him from a post he put out on social media after the event:
"LOVE IT WHEN YOU GET GOOSEBUMPS!! £2,118,531 raised and voices like this. Trying to keep a secret from 350 people attending a Ball is not easy, especially when the gift of the surprise is for your boss and his wife... ...How can such beautiful powerful sounds come from these two lovely ladies?" With the post he shared a video from our sound check, but I hope to get some professional videos from the event in the very near future, and I will share those as soon as they come through! I can't wait for you to hear how it sounded! A happy client makes me a very happy soprano. It's part of why I love what I do. x
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The night before I ran the London marathon I had a choral concert in Antwerp. The travel to the start line is a whole other story in itself that involves driving through the night to get there. It was a very unique and special concert, with many rarely performed pieces of music. Here is a little bit of more information from the OBV website, and a little clip from one of our rehearsal's. In the clip you can hear a piece of Faure's Les Berceaux. "Choral music by Johannes Brahms, Arnold Schönberg, Fauré, and Hugo Wolf e.a. by the chorus of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen "It is perfectly possible to compose a peace hymn without believing in eternal peace," Arnold Schönberg reported about 'Friede auf Erden' in 1906. This spellbinding choral work, in which peace figures like a hard-won dream, is accompanied by Johannes Brahms' 'Vier Gesänge, opus 17', in which the women's choir is enveloped in a gloriously romantic sound with horns and harps. Other gems from the German romantic repertoire also make an appearance." Handel's Dixit Dominus - Solo Soprano - King's Lynn Festival Chorus and Orchestra - 24th July 202211/8/2022
I was asked at very short notice to learn this beautiful piece of music as a last minute stand in; Handel's Dixit Dominus. I felt very honoured to be asked, but I only had a few days to learn the entire of the 2nd soprano part - two duets and the alto solo. I know - ALTO - you did read that correctly. Normally I am singing top E flats or the soprano 1 part. I decided it was a fun challenge for myself, and that it would probably also be quite good for my technique to work on my middle and lower notes for little while.
It was great fun. I did have to spend a few late nights really trying to get the notes into my head, but then I could spend a day or two really getting the placement into my voice. A challenge it was, but great fun all the same! My duet partner way the glorious soprano Louise Fuller whom I met while we studied at the Royal College of Music together. Her soprano solo was simple stunning. I was in awe of her artistry and vocal beauty (Brava Louise!). I didn't remember to take a photo with her in our posh frocks unfortunately. We were having too much fun chatting and catching up. I did manage to get a great photo of the two of us at a service station somewhere on the way home. The photo is of us ordering Macdonalds as a midnight road snack (In this heat we've been having, I am a little bit obsessed with McFlurries). Anyway, the gig was a triumph. The orchestra sounded amazing, and I managed to fool everyone that I was not in fact a soprano, but instead a mezzo. One gentleman looked very puzzled when he asked me what roles I have done, and I said Pamina. He certainly wasn't expecting that. But now I am very glad to be back in my own fach and singing high soprano repertoire again. It suits my personality better, well I think so anyway. Best wishes, Jennifer x Finding inspiration at the O2 Arena: Alanis Morisette's Jagged Little Pill Tour - 29th June 20227/7/2022
Have you ever done research for a project? Well, I am currently trying to school myself on what great performing looks like. Alanis Morisette is an incredible performer. She totally blew me away recently at her arena tour in London. It was really interesting to study how she presents her songs in front of such a big crowd. She doesn't need fact costumes, or a group of backing dancers, or a big production show. It was just her and her band on stage rocking out. But yet, I didn't feel short changed at all. She was amazing. She had everyone up and singing along with her. She uses the full stage.
The lessons that I learned from watching this concert are: 1) Walk around. Be physically present in the full stage. She would often run to one side of the stage and sing to the crowd on that side for a while before running across the stage and doing the same thing to the opposite side. 2) Get down on your knees. Obviously choose your moments wisely, but use lots of levels. At one point she spun around in circles on the spot until she got so dizzy that she ended up lying on the floor. It was a very high energy performance! 3) Bounce off the other musicians in the band. Interact with them. Often she would face a guitarist on the stage with her and they would have a moment together just rocking out together. They looked like they really got into he music during these moments and were really enjoying performing together. It was really nice to watch. 4) Have fabulous hair. Especially in a big arena like the O2. I couldn't make out her face from where I was sat, but her big blonde hair was visible and a great marker for me when watching. 5) Interact with the crowd. Get them clapping along too. Use hand gestures and speak to them directly. There is no 4th wall here. Get the audience involved. 6) Swarovski crystals for everything. She had these sparkly trousers and an oversized baseball or American Football top on. A very American Indie grunge look, and totally on brand for her. But then when she later was given a guitar to play, it had sparkles all over it and matched her trousers completely. It totally completed the look and I loved it. 7) The right songs, chosen well and sung gloriously will send the audience home singing. As I left the stadium, other audience members were still singing loudly to "Ironic" and "You oughtta know" as they marched to the nearest tube station. The gig experience for them was continuing on their journey home. Choose songs the crowd can sing along to. Verdi: "Libera me" from Requiem
Soprano Jennifer Coleman with the orchestra and chorus of OBV at the premiere in Lille Opera House - June 2022 From a fully staged performance of C(h)oeurs 2022. Recorded on my iPhone from the wings of the stage, so the sound varies dependent upon where I am standing on the stage when singing, and in which direction I am facing. You can hear the dancers stamping, shouting and yelling, which all added to the drama of the staging. The device was on the jardin (stage right) wing far away from where I was standing, and closest to the sopranos, so the balance of the chorus will sound a little soprano heavy. This was the production that we were just about to open in 2020 when everything was shut down due to the pandemic. It feels somehow defiant to have resurrected it 2 years on. I still have to pinch myself that we are again able to sing and dance with full chorus, ballet and orchestra - and even better, in front of a full house audience. No more social distancing, and no more having to sing whilst wearing a mouth covering, and the concert is not being live-streamed because the audience are not attending via their computer screens!
The music is a collection of some of the best chorus music by Wagner and Verdi, as well as some orchestral music. The team of dancers often highlight the silence in-between pieces through dancing only to the rhythm of their breath. I can't explain the dancing, but it is an impassioned contemporary choreography style that evokes emotion to the watching audience. I am enjoying being a part of this production immensely. I am proud of this work. It is very poignant in the current political climate that we find ourselves in. Although mostly the same direction from Alain Patel as two years ago, everything takes on new meaning with the significance of the conflict in Ukraine currently, and the challenges and sadness during the pandemic. I was also thrilled to be asked not only to sing in the chorus, but also to cover the soprano solo in Verdi's Requiem "Libera me". More information and photos (nl) : https://operaballet.be/nl/programma/2021-2022/choeurs-2022 More information (en): https://operaballet.be/en/programme/2021-2022/choeurs-2022 I am writing this blog post to capture a moment in time. A sort of diary so that hopefully I never forget (once things go back to normal again) how things were at one time. How things changed, and evolved into whatever they are going to become...
It is January 2021. The world is not as we know it. There is a pandemic going on. It has been going on since March 2020. That is 10 months without a live concert. For someone who would normally be performing several times a week, that is a very weird thing to experience. I have been on "standby" the whole year. Ready to go back to work. Maybe by next week, next month, by Christmas everything will go back to normal. But that never happened. When you are poised in one moment of time, waiting to go back to work, you can not commit yourself to any new projects (personal or professional) because you are never fully free and able to switch off. And yet, amidst all this madness, during a severely restrictive lockdown in Belgium (whilst things are even stricter in the UK currently), Opera Ballet Vlaanderen were able to safely put together a physically distanced concert and live stream it. There was hand sanitiser everywhere. They even gave each of us a bottle of the stuff so that any germs on our hands could be killed regularly. The orchestra were only permitted into the backstage areas of the opera house. The choir were only allowed into the audience areas of the opera house. This helped to space us out and prevent to many people in one area. We were all allocated specific seats that had been measured, for the choir at least 3 meters apart from the next person. We were given specific face masks that had been designed for singers, so that they would hold their shape when we inhaled. The masks were to catch any water droplets that might be emitted from our mouths while performing. You have to assume that anyone could be infected and shelter all individuals from each other. We had designated "covid safety officers" who's entire purpose was to monitor that everyone was at all times at least 1.5m away from each other, and correctly following all the new rules. Safety first. You can see from the stills in this blog post, that these measures were in force. This was not our usual concert layout. There was no audience in the room. It is not permitted. Unless it is your job and you are being paid, you were not allowed to even enter the building. Instead for a small fee of 10 euros, you could buy a ticket to the concert and watch it from the comfort of your own home. This meant that the choir had to clap after each piece, and even clap after their own singing. It is very strange to perform a piece of music and to be greeted by silence afterwards. Very strange. Despite all this, we triumphed in putting together the first concert of 2021. We hope for many more, and pray that one day we will laugh when we think back to this time; the lessons we learned, and the gratitude for those lessons. Concept and choreography: Kyle Abraham
Music: Gioachino Rossini - "Assisa a' piè d'un salice" from Otello Arrangement and harp: Arielle Valibouse Soprano: Jennifer Coleman Dance: Claudio Cangialosi, Mikio Kato, Ruka Nakagawa, Lateef Williams This has to be my creative highlight for 2020. I thoroughly enjoyed singing the solo in this video for Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. Such a gorgeous and melancholic piece of Rossini music. This collaboration was so wonderful to be apart of after being unable to collaborate at all since March. This was a total dream team to work with. Bravi Tutti! I am one proud soprano. It was fun to be back at work after 6 months away. What can I say, only that I feel incredibly privileged to have the job that I do. That I had the chance to sing with the choir and orchestra at OBV in Gent Opera House during the corona crisis in 2020. Very few performers will have had any opportunities this year, which made me savour this small project even more. It was strange having to adapt to all the safety measures, but I did feel very safe while working. The orchestra were spread out from each other on the theatre stage, while us chorus members were sat in the stalls 3-5 meters apart from the next nearest colleague. We also had to sing with face masks on, which, I doubt I will ever get used to.
Repertoire: Franz Joseph Haydn: "Sie raises herauf, die Sonne" from Die Jahreszeiten Henry Purcell: "When I am laid in earth" & With drooping winds "from Dido and Aeneas Giacomo Puccini: "Zoemkoor" from Madama Butterfly Claudio Monteverdi: opening bars from Orfeo (only for parade orchestra: adaptation by Steven Prengels) The idea of the project was to record a backing track that can be used later for live musicians to be able to perform along to for the parade performances planned for October. These performances will be open air, and moving through the streets in Antwerp and Gent. So it would be very easy for the live musicians to lose contact with each other in these circumstances, but with the recordings, it will make it easier for the performers, and also for the audience to hear a pre-mixed balance of audio. I actually started this blog post on the 23rd March 2020. But I never got round to finishing it, because well, things just kept on changing. It's interesting how this year every week there seemed to be a whole new set of rules to follow.
So you may have heard about this global Pandemic thingy that's been going on this year, something to do with a virus called Covid-19. Well, it has right royally ruined the arts, music, performances and sport - as well as basically everything (apart from Amazon, they seem to be doing well). Anyway, this year I was supposed to be busy in the chorus at Opera Vlaanderen. We were one week away from the public dress rehearsal and opening night of our next production 'Choeur 2020'; a fusion of the best chorus anthems by Wagner and Verdi. Until one night at 10:30pm on the 11th March, when we received an email instructing us not to go back in to work in the morning. At the time I just thought that it would be for one week, then maybe a month, but it continues, and it's currently been over 6 months already... Do I think that the Arts are going to change forever because of Covid-19? Yes and No. Yes, I think we will have to start making adjustments to our way of life as a whole. Hopefully people will have better personal hygiene now, hand sanitiser will be more readily available, and face masks will become a much more normal everyday accessory in everyday life. I can't imagine people wanting to wear masks all the time when the laws and restrictions are lifted. We may adopt a more Asian cultural approach to covering our face; in that if people are feeling unwell, out of respect to others, it may become standard practice to cover your mouth and nose when out in public. It also may mean that some people choose to stay at home if they are feeling unwell, when previously they may have continued about their daily lives. However, the main point I want to make is that NO, I don't think the arts are going to change forever. Performers are hungrier than ever to perform after months and months of quiet time, and audiences are thirsty to be entertained. Nothing beats the thrill of live performance. They can film 'Hamilton' the musical and put it onto Disney+ for people to watch on their TV's at home, but it will be nothing like the experience of going to see the show live in London or New York, when, hopefully it returns. There has been plenty of sad news about shows and theatres that have prematurely had to close for financial reasons due to covid. I was very shocked and saddened when I learned that The Phantom of the Opera would be ending as we know it. But then I read on their website, that they have just signed a new 50-year lease on the theatre, and that they will come back with new sets, costumes, direction and a new life for the show. Maybe it will be even better once it returns. Maybe somehow, Covid will shake up the industry, and have given creatives some time to re-coupe and replan their next creative projects, or (in the case of Phantom) their past projects too. I am deeply saddened and concerned for my colleagues and fellow creatives. Financially, 2020 has taken a huge burden on people I know. Many of my opera singing friends across the world have had to abandon their regular performing contracts completely and find new ways to earn a living. But that's ok. When the world is ready, they will still have all the skills that they had before (plus some new ones), and they can go back to their past creative lives should they want to. Some performers may not return to the arts after this. But, if that is the case, then maybe 2020 just provided them with the necessary thinking time to reflect on their lives, values and make new decisions. Like a catalyst. Good luck to everyone right now. I hope that you can find the courage to stay strong. I wish you good health and I can't wait to see you all creating and performing in the near future. I will sing again, and I will be in an audience many many more times - I'm sure of it. Opera will be returning at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. They have assured us many times of their plans to start putting on productions again in 2021. I am fortunate to have such a thoughtful and supportive company in these challenging times. We are adapting, but the show must go on! This is not the end of the Arts. See you soon in a theatre or opera house, Jennifer x |
AuthorJennifer Coleman - is a classical / opera singer, and vocal coach, performing across the UK and internationally. Archives
January 2024
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