The last few months have been quiet for everyone in the performing arts sector. When we finished our run of La Cenerentola back in February, COVID-19 was in other parts of the world, and none of us could have possibly imagined that within weeks every stage in the UK would have fallen silent. I was extremely disappointed when two recitals as part of the Cambridge Brahms festival and another for the Brockenhurst music society were cancelled. I am very lucky that I was able to move all of the private teaching online, and that I was able to continue my work with the Women of Note choir via zoom. I was sad not to be able to meet with the choir of Lucy Cavendish College Cambridge at all this term, but the university has been entirely closed and the choir’s members are dispersed across the world.
This is an extract from our livestreamed version (with subtitles). I’m singing ‘Meine Rose’ by Robert Schumann. Here Eugenie Schumann is pining after her beloved, Marie Fillunger, who has had to move away to England, because her mother and sister do not approve of their relationship. She has just received a letter from Fillu saying how well her singing career is taking off, and is desperately trying to be happy for her. The pianist is Richard Gowers.
After weeks and weeks with only my practice room for company, we were very lucky to be able to livestream Green Opera’s ‘Fillu’ as part of the SouthWest Fest on the 8th of July, and then to take a trip down to Hythe in Kent to record the project for the John Armitage Memorial Foundation Virtual Festival. If you did not manage to catch our livestream, the filmed version will be available for a month from Tuesday the 11th of August on the JAM website (https://jamconcert.org/). We greatly missed having a live audience, but the challenge of reshaping our staging to increase the distance between us was enjoyable and artistcally rewarding. Thank you so much to the JAM team for having us as part of the festival and making the whole experience so enjoyable!
