Cherry Potts's Blog, page 25

Macbeth does Murder Sleep

Being part of an opera plays havoc with your sleep (and eating) patterns. I’m a bit of a homebody normally (although running a publishing venture has changed that a bit – schlepping about with a suitcase full of books to readings of an evening has meant my normal bedtime is now nearer midnight than it used to be) but during the opera run I find myself eating lunch at 4pm, supper at midnight (or later) go to bed still zinging with excitement, with the music roaring round my brain … not asleep before 2am … but come what may I’m awake again at 6am, which means not a lot of work gets done, because I need a bit of a lie down by 2pm which usually means I crash for a couple of hours. Of course today its a matinée so we are planning brunch for about 11, then there’s food at the after-party, so that’s sorted, but sleep … when will that happen?

Macbeth doth Murder sleep.

I’m not complaining: I’d rather sing than sleep, but there will definitely be a period of readjustment required, a diet of folk music (or anything really just not Opera) to calm me down, a gradual return to more normal meal times, support group meetings with fellow opera withdrawal sufferers … I suppose the words can come off the kitchen walls now. And the poster out of the window, oh dear!

How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!

but that’s a different play.

© Cherry Potts 2013

The performing bug

It’s the last performance of Macbeth on Sunday and from previous experience I know we will have withdrawal symptoms.  I think it was after Elixir of Love that we bumped into fellow chorus members at the maritime museum and practical had a keening session on the subject of how bereft we felt. Years ago I qas asked for my most unreachable ambition.  I said I wanted to sing on stage. I remember saying not a solo at the Met , just in a chorus in something amazing. Well thanks to Blackheath Halls community singing programme. The very first was the Township choir Mbuwala and that and the operas led to taking part in Re:Wind a very challenging piece which we sang at the Royal Festival Hall. So we are akready pencilling in the next project Elijah? Otello? In the meantime we aee singing next Saturday with Vocal Chords at St Saviour’s Church in Honor Oak in Love Songs to the Planet. 2pm-5pm. After that not sure but lots of readings to keep me performing including the Towersey Festival.

Unsung heroes

We’ve got a very good review for Macbeth in Opera Today, but I do have to take issue with one thing: While I’m sure the opera wouldn’t happen without Keith Murray’s support, the true heart, soul and backbone of the community opera projects reside in the main in one person: key go-to person and community outreach worker, Rose Ballantyne.

Rose co-ordinates with the schools, the volunteers, the orchestra and the community chorus, negotiates with the principals and funders (with help from Helma Zebregs), works silly hours on days the children are rehearsing as well as the adults, and even lets us use her garden for the after-party. Alongside all this she helps produce the practice CDs, hires scores, learns most of every chorus part, and sings alto in the chorus. Sometimes she even joins the orchestra to play percussion.

It is Rose (and Helma again) who organise fundraising galas, sweet-talk potential benefactors, and Rose who fields chorus queries about costume, photographs, rehearsal timings, lost property, box office opening hours and who knows what else that people fret about when they are gearing up to perform. On Wednesday at about 22:30 we found her tidying the refugees’ coats and boots, which have to live in the foyer because of a quick change.

Rose is an oasis of kindness, coherence, commonsense and calm (not always felt, but always displayed) in what can get to be a rather fevered atmosphere, her people-wrangling skills are a marvel to behold. She holds the entire process together, and it WOULD NOT HAPPEN without her.

Matthew Rose dived into the chorus and hauled Rose up onto the front of stage to take a bow on Wednesday night. She knows how much we in the chorus appreciate her, it was nice to see her getting her well deserved applause.

© Cherry Potts 2013

Musical storytelling

Last night, before the performance Chris Rolls (director) reminded us that it is easy at a second performance to think, right I’ve done that now, and to slacken off a bit.

Don’t let it get comfortable, he said. Good advice.  We didn’t. However the advantage of having done a full performance with audience was that this time round, I was more aware of what I was experiencing, and of when to rack it up a bit more – for example, the Hell is Gaping chorus, after the death of Duncan, I have always found very moving and upsetting, in dress rehearsal I had quite a lump in my throat. This time I was angry – fists clenched, I’m going to tear the throat out of the B*st*rd who did this, kind of thing. The joy of live music – you can (literally in our case) get inside it and explore. One of the most satisfying moments for me in the whole opera is the silence at the end of that chorus, when sixty plus people have worked their way, a semitone at a time, up to the third Strike him Dead, – and there is room for us to realise what we are saying before going into more ‘appropriate’ outcry to God. The echo is subtle but wonderful.

Alix, Suzanne and I are billeted in the men’s dressing room because we only have a couple of minutes to change from assassins to courtiers and can’t leg it up the stairs and back in the time. I have to admit it’s rather refreshing – only two people fighting for the mirror (and it isn’t any of the three of us) – and we are all sitting around reading scores, discussing performances we’ve been to or taken part in, other choirs we sing with, and how much of everyone else’s parts we know.  We agreed that we could probably take over the witches scenes if we had to, and portions of Lady Macbeth – we can hear Miriam perfectly through two walls and a corridor – there was much laughter at the idea of a minimalist version with only bass and tenor voices, singing all the parts, but only for the bits we know – I don’t think there are any serious contenders, though we might have a go at the after-party!

Another cracking moment last night, which I  really relished was our assassins’ scene. Standing on the main stage looking down the vast length of the performance space to the orchestra the far end (all fourteen of us) and thinking, right, let’s fill that, as we sing Tremble Banquo, meet your fate, and hearing our voices bounce off the back wall – very satisfying – another of those excellent little silences to fully appreciate both the music and the storytelling. I grow to appreciate Mr Verdi’s skill more with every rendition, and respect Nick Jenkins’ skill in interpreting and controlling the musical  juggernaut that is Macbeth. I spend a lot of time thinking, wow, that’s clever, as another little nuance is revealed to me. Again, LIVE music: I bought a recording when Macbeth was first announced as this year’s opera  and wasn’t terribly impressed, I’ve played it constantly since and I’m still not impressed, and these are people you’d have heard of singing it; by comparison, almost any live performance lifts my spirits, engages me, and makes me really think about what’s happening musically. It’s not just about sitting in a big dark room with nothing to distract; no, the difference is that even the best recording is only stereo (for people with two ears, as Kenny Everett used to say) whereas live music is three-dimensional, you can mentally explore the shapes and turn them upside down and inside out if you want to; and no two performances will ever be the same.

So those of you coming to Macbeth on Friday and Sunday, be prepared for something unique.

© Cherry Potts 2013

Macbeth first night shakes the walls

I don’t know how I didn’t notice in rehearsal, but when we are waiting in the dressing room, we can not only hear the overture, we can feel it, the drums and brass rumble through the floor and the walls shake slightly. I can only assume that they’d been holding back a bit until now! Not quite bringing the house down, but darn close. After a moment’s concern over the age and fragility of the building I settled in to enjoy the sound and feel of ‘hell gaping.’

If you haven’t got tickets for the rest of the run, sorry, you are too late – we are sold out.

Nick Jenkins (Musical Director) had a huge grin on his face each time I checked for a cue, so I think he was happy. And Chris Rolls (Director) was very free with his hugs afterwards, so I think he was happy too. We certainly were: I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed an evening of performing so much, this is right up there with Eugene Onegin three years ago.

One of the (many, many) best things about the BHH Community Opera is getting to know professional opera singers, directors and musicians on a personal level, so it was great to see in the audience (and speak to later) the lovely Wendy Dawn Thompson (Orpheus in our production of Orpheus and Eurydice four years ago), and the delightful John Flinders, (a regular repetiteur for BHH choral productions, who is already looking forward to Elijah with Edward Gardner OBE at BHH next year.) We make new friends every year, and it speaks volumes for the quality of the organisation of Rose Ballantyne and the real feel of community and team work the process engenders that we regularly see former principals and directors in the audience of the latest production.

Special thanks to Jill for the VERY WELCOME beer in the bar afterwards!

Reading at Brixton BookJam: Opera first night nerves

First night nerves not about the Book Jam, but about the Opera which starts tonight (there are a very few tickets left – you’ll be sorry you missed it!)

I was a bit uneasy about yet another night out in a week of performances, but thought, what the hell, I’ll ask to go on early. Which I did. I really wanted to stay and listen to the rest of the stories, but really, really needed one early night. A shame, I love being read to, and there was some really interesting work going on. People talking to angels in telephone boxes, unwilling May Queens, and monsters swimming through concrete, just my sort of thing! I read Cloud Island, in a carefully edited version that kept it to the five minutes allocated (unlike other people, who shall not be named, who royally took the p).

I’m not really nervous, excited more. I keep thinking I ought to go and have a lie down before we have to go (reminds me of the party at the beginning of Gone with the Wind, with all the ladies lying about in their underwear) but I’m too keyed up for it to do much good, which might be why I’m blogging! It’s going to be sweltering in the dressing rooms, and we have full battle dress for the first few scenes then a two-and-a-half-minute quick change into evening wear – getting the boots off is the hardest bit. I bet you thought being in an opera would be glamorous, didn’t you? We are pouring sweat and trying to look like an elegant crowd of courtiers. I did find myself singing the right thing while struggling with a vital prop in the dress rehearsal on Sunday, and thought, Right, we’re ready then! Up until then if anything other than straightforward happened I would forget to sing. To think I considered not doing the Opera this year. As IF.

Review, and a reading Today!

My story, Mirror, got a very nice mention in the Sabotage review of Lovers’ Lies.

Co-editor Cherry Potts provides a story with overtones of Tennyson and epic loves played out across a lifetime in the surprisingly small and closed world of neighbouring farming estates. ‘Mirror’ takes place with the First World War in the distance, but able to act only as a sideshow to the real conflicts and dramas playing out in rural England and in the hearts of two men.

You can hear me read something completely different at Brixton Book Jam at the Hootananny 95 Effra Road, Brixton tonight Monday 8th July from 7.30.

Spooky rehearsals

Chris Rolls (director) and Oliver Townsend (designer) have really gone for the supernatural and psychological in our production of Verdi’s Macbeth – lots of ghosts, spooks and blood.

An Act III cameo role for 5 children as the Masters of the Earth warning Macbeth against MacDuff and setting im up with the Birnham Wood nonsense. this is followed by the legion of Banquo’s descendent kings flitting ominously across stage staring out at Macbeth (Quentin Hayes) in contempt, who collapses in horror.

 

Our witches are looking suitably evil even before they get into their costumes and wigs (I think that might be a first for BHHCO, massed wigs, quite alarming coming across them spread all over the floor of the recital room).

The interestingly ghostly effect in these photos is due to using a phone camera – in the low light it couldn’t cope with focusing. I quite like it!

© Cherry Potts ( Soldier, Assassin, Courtier, Refugee, Spear carrier etc, etc.) 2013

The Scottish Opera

Things are hotting up for the cast of Macbeth (Verdi), the latest production from Blackheath Halls Opera. We’ve met and heard all the principals, and we’re firmly off the book and managing to move and sing at the same time, though getting up from kneeling (to various kings – we get through a few) and singing at the same time remains a challenge.

This year we are being directed by the talented Mr Chris Rolls, who has a wonderfully psychological interpretation of the action, which is as much surreal as supernatural.

I was very hesitant about doing the Opera this year – too busy – whole process over-shadowed by A’s broken leg last year – couldn’t get to grips with the music on the rather muddy recording I’ve got – but actually it’s a riot, the combination of Chris and our lovely Music Director Nick Jenkins is extremely harmonious and as always I’m enjoying myself hugely. And though I says it myself, we are going to be AWESOME.

Actually, with this opera – when you have jolly little parlour tunes for the assassins  (that would be us tenors and the basses), as we wait for Banquo, relishing our moment in the limelight (or darkness if you are going to be pedantic) you need to get psychological. Jeremy Sams’ translation of the Italian, which doesn’t bear much relation to the original Shakespeare anyway, is so delightfully bonkers that I actually laughed out loud the first time we sang through the assassins’ scene.

Tremble Banquo for your time is nigh

first you see a flash of steel – then you die.

…

Tremble Banquo, (meet your fate)

Tremble Banquo, (meet your fate)

Safe in silence we will wait…

So we have to work quite hard to find the inner callousness that would make us, as the assassins, think it was amusing – without the audience thinking so too.

On the subject of translation, Shakespeare’s version is magnificently pagan, whereas the Italian has everyone, especially the chorus, calling on god at every possible moment. I’m  not objecting particularly, as it’s a vengeful god we seem to have in mind, and the chorus get to sing some pretty powerful things (yes, he will be branded, branded as Cain was the first man to strike his brother dead). I seem to recall recounting a friend’s analysis of Verdi’s Requiem that it was church music as high opera, Macbeth seems to do the opposite, and bring religion to the dramatic performance. Most importantly we get to sing some absolutely cracking tunes, which after some of the fidgety bitty line here, line there, stuff we get to do as a chorus a lot of the time, is VERY welcome.

So final rehearsal before the Sitzprobe tonight, drop off costumes on Sunday on way to Sitzprobe, busy week of rehearsals next week finishing with two dress rehearsals at the weekend, then performances  Tuesday 9th, Wednesday 10th, Friday 12th and Sunday 14th July.

Well what are you waiting for?  Go and buy a ticket, we are waiting (in silence, safely) … with our knives…

© Cherry Potts 2013

Towersey countdown #SpreadtheWordThree

So, here’s the plan: Myself and two other hand chosen operatives will infiltrate the festival that has been held in Towersey, a small Oxfordshire village for years and years, and turn what has until now been a folk music event into a celebration of the spoken word.  Watches have been synchronised, and train timetables perused.  Our cover stories have been delivered to Paul “Shaz” Sherreard who will bamboozle the organisers with claims of earthiness and compellingness and other nessiness. The cunning plan involves Agent Rickshaw “David McGrath” going deep cover and actually camping, whilst I am considering fooling the late night audience by singing my stories. Oh yes, there is nothing we won’t stoop to in our mission to Spread the Word. (evil maniacal laughter).

Ah-hem. yes, so, what’s actually happening is that those nice people at Spread the Word have got us a gig at the Towersey Festival over the August Bank Holiday, where (a fellow Arachne Press author), Esther Poyer (a poet) and me, otherwise known as #SpreadtheWordThree (I wasn’t making that bit up) will perform on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday in various venues at various times, and also run workshops to recruit new agents… I mean explore the joys of writing with the festival audience.

Actually I’m an inveterate folkie so I’m looking forward to the music! I hope the timing of our performances and workshops will allow me to listen to The Unthanks, Show of Hands, The Poozies and The Home Service, The Spooky Mens Chorale, and maybe galumph about to a Ceilidh band at some point.