Training
Had a fun day yesterday at an Opera on the Run training day. It was great to have all the various singers there and to have a laugh together. One of the acts we often do is singing waiters. we go in and pretend to be waiters, usually from a foreign country and mostly incompetent. Then we make some excuse to start singing and the audience usually goes nuts. Yesterday was about getting to know eachother and also getting to know exactly what they want in terms of a script. If ever you get to see these acts you will love them. I did a singing policemen gig recently at which I ended up doing a scene with David Jason, and then another one recently where I was a waiter at Coleen Nolan’s wedding. All the sisters were there, it was great fun. I know, it sounds like the sort of thing a serious opera singer shouldn’t be doing, but the truth is, it’s in these sorts of gigs that people really learn how to relax in performance and to communicate. Regular readers will know I’ve been restructuring my vocal technique and these gigs have really given me the chance to try things out and to really relax in a way that I’ve not been able to do fro a long time. I know for sure that the jeff Stewart who finally steps back on the operatic stage next year will be so much more technically assured and so much more relaxed and the result wll be that you will hear & see a far better musician and performer than you have seen in me previously. Thanks Ian Bloomfield and Tim Taylor for giving me exactly what I needed!