We have now confirmed the final opera in the 2008 season (Tchaikovsky's gorgeous Iolanta)so James can get to work on the season in earnest. He is also, of course, getting close to the real gubbins of the 2007 season - rehearsals begin very soon. We'll need as much time as possible to get the 2008 season into shape - there are at least two monumental operas to get on stage (Il trovatore and La Gioconda for starters).
Trepidation, too, about the new theatre. Paper drawings, computer graphics and any amount of imagination will not, I suspect, prepare us for the impact of seeing that vast new roof being raised into position for the first time. I'm also getting sleepless nights about how it will perform as a space. I shouldn't worry, but I am. I suppose we shall know more about how people will behave, space allocations, comfort and acoustic performance etc once we have carried out the test night on 30th May. We are inviting 1000 Friends and supporters for a free night at the theatre to enjoy some excerpts from Nabucco and Jenufa. We'll all be standing around with clipboards taking notes. Ideally, it will be pouring with rain on that evening so we can also see if our covered spaces are sufficient. It will possibly be the most nerve-wracking evening of our lives.
Saturday, 31 March 2007
Saturday, 24 March 2007
Goodness gracious
April is knocking on the door. Over 1100 Friends' forms have gone through the system and there are a few hundred more to go. The high demand for L'amore is gratifying of course but so too the excitement that obviously surrounds Lakme.
Phone systems for the box office have occupied time this week. We had some problems last season so the technical teams are keen to avoid a repeat performance (their eardrums cannot take it). So I need to write some scripts for the hold and queuing messages. I guess the lovely dulcet tones of Kate will once again be the voice of OHP.
Monday sees another ex-Kings graduate start work as our Friends administrator. Very bright, very motivated, I am sure she will be a big hit.
The holes in the ground proliferate. I cannot speak anymore of it. I want it done. Then I will eulogise until the peacocks roost.
Phone systems for the box office have occupied time this week. We had some problems last season so the technical teams are keen to avoid a repeat performance (their eardrums cannot take it). So I need to write some scripts for the hold and queuing messages. I guess the lovely dulcet tones of Kate will once again be the voice of OHP.
Monday sees another ex-Kings graduate start work as our Friends administrator. Very bright, very motivated, I am sure she will be a big hit.
The holes in the ground proliferate. I cannot speak anymore of it. I want it done. Then I will eulogise until the peacocks roost.
Saturday, 10 March 2007
Questions
A blizzard of questions from the Planners about the canopy characterised the week- questions we thought had been answered. If they had been answered, more detail was required along with drawings we already thought had been supplied. If they had been supplied, more detail was required. You get the idea. Mike Harth, our operations manager got busy on his CAD program. His wife has just had their first baby so he had better get used to doing things over and over and over again.
Chelsea were drawn against Valencia in the Champions League. I'd like to see Valencia but the day of the match coincides with the day the box office opens to the public. Since there is a crazy deluge of calls on that day, I need to be around to help solve any problems (which invariably means shouting down the phone at a technician about how, since MY life is flashing before my eyes, his ought to be doing the same etc etc). Flights to Valencia rose to ridiculous levels on the announcement of the match so I think it would involve a circuitous route featuring Madrid and a train (only 12 Euros for a long journey - UK train companies take note). This Sunday, Chelsea play Tottenham in the FA Cup. Since James is a life-long Spurs fan, Monday morning might be tinged with tension.
Tonight I am probably off to see a friend in Gubbay's Butterfly at the Albert Hall. I'm not a great fan of the piece since I think it features some of Puccini's dullest "filler". It does, though, feature one of his most exquisite musical phrases (bimba dagli occhi etc). I might not last the course.
Chelsea were drawn against Valencia in the Champions League. I'd like to see Valencia but the day of the match coincides with the day the box office opens to the public. Since there is a crazy deluge of calls on that day, I need to be around to help solve any problems (which invariably means shouting down the phone at a technician about how, since MY life is flashing before my eyes, his ought to be doing the same etc etc). Flights to Valencia rose to ridiculous levels on the announcement of the match so I think it would involve a circuitous route featuring Madrid and a train (only 12 Euros for a long journey - UK train companies take note). This Sunday, Chelsea play Tottenham in the FA Cup. Since James is a life-long Spurs fan, Monday morning might be tinged with tension.
Tonight I am probably off to see a friend in Gubbay's Butterfly at the Albert Hall. I'm not a great fan of the piece since I think it features some of Puccini's dullest "filler". It does, though, feature one of his most exquisite musical phrases (bimba dagli occhi etc). I might not last the course.
Wednesday, 7 March 2007
Spring arrival
From the rain and wind of the early week emerged a day that put a bounce in the step. I had reason to see the woodland carpet of daffodils in Holland Park and although the air began to bite when the sun descended, the smack of Spring was unmistakeable.
It has been a week for celebrating our decision to produce L’amore. Although Barry Jobling made a good fist of rubbishing my assertion that it was a post-verismo masterpiece in his lecture(it’s post-symbolist-proto-Wagner apparently) he nevertheless presented s a superb distillation of the piece. A packed Leighton House listened to him play samples on the piano and broadcast – loudly – passages from the RCA CD. It was an odd experience hearing amplified music in that setting but fascinating to hear the shuffle and murmur of pleasure from the audience when a particularly glorious extract had finished. Knowing that what was a first listen for the vast majority of those present had hit the spot left me with a grin the size of the Thames Barrier. All who attended (and there is another one soon) were urged to book for the opera and would all have no doubt rushed for their cheque books if they hadn’t already done so before attending the lecture; for L’amore, as things currently stand, has sold a higher percentage of its capacity than any other opera in the season.
Things are at the holes in the ground stage with the canopy. Concrete. Even culture relies upon it.
The Friends have recently advertised for an administrator (who works amid the ever-growing throng in our office). They had a remarkable 170 applications for the job and there are many of an extremely high calibre. Naturally, as one left the interview room, Clarinda recognised an old friend from, yes, you guessed it, Kings College London. Apparently this mighty number will be distilled down to what must be a genius–like final 16, at which point James and I will also get to run the rule over them, so to speak (what’s the collective noun for a group of geniuses?) Whatever, it bodes well for the chances of engaging someone very good and a testament to the appeal of the company. It is an important role too – the Friends' contribution to the season has grown exponentially in the past three years and will continue to do so.
Sarah showed me a photograph taken at a first night that featured me talking to Kate. I laughed at how drunken Kate looked in the photo, only to be met with perplexed faces. “Oh,” Sarah said, not really bending over backwards to be tactful, “I sent it because I thought you looked particularly bad in it”.
It has been a week for celebrating our decision to produce L’amore. Although Barry Jobling made a good fist of rubbishing my assertion that it was a post-verismo masterpiece in his lecture(it’s post-symbolist-proto-Wagner apparently) he nevertheless presented s a superb distillation of the piece. A packed Leighton House listened to him play samples on the piano and broadcast – loudly – passages from the RCA CD. It was an odd experience hearing amplified music in that setting but fascinating to hear the shuffle and murmur of pleasure from the audience when a particularly glorious extract had finished. Knowing that what was a first listen for the vast majority of those present had hit the spot left me with a grin the size of the Thames Barrier. All who attended (and there is another one soon) were urged to book for the opera and would all have no doubt rushed for their cheque books if they hadn’t already done so before attending the lecture; for L’amore, as things currently stand, has sold a higher percentage of its capacity than any other opera in the season.
Things are at the holes in the ground stage with the canopy. Concrete. Even culture relies upon it.
The Friends have recently advertised for an administrator (who works amid the ever-growing throng in our office). They had a remarkable 170 applications for the job and there are many of an extremely high calibre. Naturally, as one left the interview room, Clarinda recognised an old friend from, yes, you guessed it, Kings College London. Apparently this mighty number will be distilled down to what must be a genius–like final 16, at which point James and I will also get to run the rule over them, so to speak (what’s the collective noun for a group of geniuses?) Whatever, it bodes well for the chances of engaging someone very good and a testament to the appeal of the company. It is an important role too – the Friends' contribution to the season has grown exponentially in the past three years and will continue to do so.
Sarah showed me a photograph taken at a first night that featured me talking to Kate. I laughed at how drunken Kate looked in the photo, only to be met with perplexed faces. “Oh,” Sarah said, not really bending over backwards to be tactful, “I sent it because I thought you looked particularly bad in it”.
Saturday, 3 March 2007
Bursting at the seams
Walking into the office these days is akin to arriving at Terminal one at Heathrow. The door opens and the sight of a sea of people milling about greets you. I don't know where they all came from! They could be working for us or they could be the artistic team of a production showing a model, as was the case yesterday when it was lovely to see the latest Peter Rice model (complete with cardboard version of the new steel gantry/proscenium). He was in along with Tom Hawkes and Jenny Weston (choreographer) to show the designs and ideas for Lakme. As ever with Peter, the drawings were beautifully rendered and I am sure Lakme will have the sumptuous oriental elegance it deserves. Indeed, he is off to India shortly for a trip he has wanted to do for many years and whilst there will be doing some fabric shopping so authenticity is assured too.
It is obvious that the expansion will make demands upon us across the business but as is the way, those demands don’t arrive at equal intervals; like London buses, they all arrive at once and suddenly one is faced with getting things done in short order. Since we don’t have endless resources in order to employ outside agencies or recruit lots of new staff, we have to be a little more creative. In recent times we have been rather successful at find talented graduates looking for experience. Indeed, Clarinda and Kate both began as volunteers (or Interns if you are American) and ended up in full time employment. Kings College London seems to be our university of choice since there are many music students there and Clarinda has been sifting through a number of CVs and interviewing possible graduates who we would want to come and work with us. I had a look at some of the CVs and was confronted by lists of academic and music attainment that embarrassed me. How does a person find the time to get Grade 8 in about four instruments before they pass 18 years of age? All seemed to have columns of exam passes at A* too. In fact so prevalent was this last fact that when I saw one who had only attained an A, I scoffed. It was hard to escape the truth of how utterly misspent was my youth. I suspect that not only will we have a problem finding space and computers for these mini-Einsteins, we might also have difficulty in supplying work that is challenging enough to keep them from falling asleep. I am reassured, however, by the undoubted fact that they are unlikely to make good coffee.
It is obvious that the expansion will make demands upon us across the business but as is the way, those demands don’t arrive at equal intervals; like London buses, they all arrive at once and suddenly one is faced with getting things done in short order. Since we don’t have endless resources in order to employ outside agencies or recruit lots of new staff, we have to be a little more creative. In recent times we have been rather successful at find talented graduates looking for experience. Indeed, Clarinda and Kate both began as volunteers (or Interns if you are American) and ended up in full time employment. Kings College London seems to be our university of choice since there are many music students there and Clarinda has been sifting through a number of CVs and interviewing possible graduates who we would want to come and work with us. I had a look at some of the CVs and was confronted by lists of academic and music attainment that embarrassed me. How does a person find the time to get Grade 8 in about four instruments before they pass 18 years of age? All seemed to have columns of exam passes at A* too. In fact so prevalent was this last fact that when I saw one who had only attained an A, I scoffed. It was hard to escape the truth of how utterly misspent was my youth. I suspect that not only will we have a problem finding space and computers for these mini-Einsteins, we might also have difficulty in supplying work that is challenging enough to keep them from falling asleep. I am reassured, however, by the undoubted fact that they are unlikely to make good coffee.
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Queasy
Sitting down to formulate the next two months work, Clarinda and I began to feel a little ill at the length of the ‘to do’ list. Minute by inexorable minute, as each and every issue came up for discussion a line was added to the list. It’s nothing new really. It just feels like a lot more this year because of the other well documented matters that we all have to incorporate into our schedules. Events are sprinting towards us every day – next week, the first of the L’amore lectures for example – and it is now even time to discuss invitations and lists of guests for the first night. It’s March. It’s mental.
Friends continue to flood the box office with booking forms and from those processed the average number of tickets per member is very healthy. Exciting, too, to see how well Lakme and L’amore are doing. It is a weird time of year now that people are actually parting with their hard-earned because essentially, that which they are buying does not yet exist in anything but name alone. Productions are not settled, designs not finalised etc. Casts are done of course but nothing tangible really exists until the shows go into rehearsal and things begin to be made and built. There’s no going back now though!
The company did anther visit to a day centre for a group of elderly people. Everyone came back feeling very moved and excited by it all. These people took the time to speak with James and quite a few expressed their feelings about the singers they had heard. It was very rewarding.
Friends continue to flood the box office with booking forms and from those processed the average number of tickets per member is very healthy. Exciting, too, to see how well Lakme and L’amore are doing. It is a weird time of year now that people are actually parting with their hard-earned because essentially, that which they are buying does not yet exist in anything but name alone. Productions are not settled, designs not finalised etc. Casts are done of course but nothing tangible really exists until the shows go into rehearsal and things begin to be made and built. There’s no going back now though!
The company did anther visit to a day centre for a group of elderly people. Everyone came back feeling very moved and excited by it all. These people took the time to speak with James and quite a few expressed their feelings about the singers they had heard. It was very rewarding.
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