helen medlyn & penny dodd
Helen's Postcards from London
Wouldn't you know it!! I had my FIRST coaching session yesterday and what did I get the day before? Pharyngitis! - strep throat for Africa, but I went into the Colisseum anyway and, as the Divine One would have it, Tony Legge had been called away on a personal matter so Tony Kraus was there instead.
He was not fazed at all with my having only half a voice and, in fact, noted it was joy to just talk through a role!
And when I went in today, he was not at all perturbed with me having even LESS voice. (Of course, as these little throat things do, they travel down, so what was on my pharynx yesterday has now moved lower to my larynx, hence less voice).
We marked my vocal score with the word changes which the 'real' Brangaene is now singing (not too many to alter and now re-commit to memory, thank goodness!) and he was very complimentary about the quality and timbre of my voice, such as he was able to hear under the circumstances, and wished me a speedy recovery so that he could hear me in full flight.
I'm feeling the cold, not only with my wee hair-do, but the wind is so cuttingly freezing when the sun's not around (and we haven't seen it for a few days now and it won't appear again for quite some time according to the weather gurus!) it makes your face ache.
The Brits are delightful. As soon as the sun is out - or should I say, as soon as it's not raining - whether the temperature be 0 or 20, they run around in t-shirts and opening the windows on the train! Me, I'm wrapped up in my winter coat, scarf, gloves and my hat!
Well, I don't have coaching until next Wednesday, so four days off and not talking I think is the go. I have been given three doctors' numbers by the ENO who are 'singer friendly', so if I'm still not feeling right by Monday I'll call one of them for an appointment. Who knows what it will cost if I have to do that! All Harley Street blokes - I hope I get over this in my usual way - resting the voice by writing notes all the time, gargling, taking anti-inflammatories... ah, the joys of being a professional singer!
Huge love...
Helen
I haven't had a coaching session yet as my coach, Helen Robertson-Barker, has been ill and because coaches are thin on the ground, you only get the one! So, I went into the ENO's West Hampstead studios anyway and used Helen's room to bash away on the piano in my inimitable fashion(read: "BADLY"!!!) and then sang along with the "Tristan and Isolde" CD of the Berlin Philharmonic (as you do)!!
I did that on Wednesday and again on Thursday. I saw Michael Lloyd (Senior Resident Conductor) in the canteen on Wednesday as I grabbed a hot water to slake my thirst and he asked me to come to the last performance of the season of Tosca which he was conducting the next night (Thursday).
So I went along and saw the astonishingly brilliant Cheryl Barker (who I sang with in Madam Butterfly) and her husband, Peter Colman-Wright play Tosca and Scarpia, respectively. They were FAB, FAB, FAB!!! We caught up briefly afterwards and Cheryl was so welcoming. Earlier, I had picked up my next weeks callsheet to find that I FINALLY have some coaching...and it's with Tony Legge, the Boss! I told Cheryl and she was kind enough to advise me not to get down-hearted if Tony, a demanding task-master, doesn't say too much good about my singing. So I love her for that - there's nothing worse than working your butt off then wondering about positive feedback! So, at least now, I know. And he's the best one to work with because he is who he is, and I feel so privileged if a little fearful of the up-coming experience!
On the Thursday morning, Michael had invited me to attend the sitzprobe (music rehearsal only, no staging, with orchestra) of Berlioz's The Trojans which was brill, and I met up with John Dazcak who was in NZ for Pearl Fishers not long ago, and that was a treat. John remembered coming to "hellbent" which he said he really enjoyed.
I also met Philip Thomas, who said he kew all about me from the wonderful Andrea Munro. This New Zealand singer (an NBR New Zealand Opera Circle 100 star if I remember correctly) is now well-established in London having been here for two years. Andrea, who is such a gem, has just been in Macbeth for a smaller London opera company. Philip said he would love to hear me sing, so I have his number and will organise a coaching session with him in the near future.
Michael also introduced me to the ENO Music Director Paul Daniel who kindly greeted me warmly and welcomed me.
Afterward, Michael took me to one of the many eateries in the Covent Garden precinct, Harry Brown's, where I had the most fab 'sandwich' the size of Africa of goats cheese and hot grilled vegetables - YUM!
That set me up for the afternoon when I went back up to West Hampstead. This is where the majority of the ENO's rehearsal rooms, coaching rooms, wardrobe, properties and set building facilities are. A marvellous building that has the LONGEST corridor in the WORLD with a million doors to get through until you finally reach Studio D, my practice room. I felt like Maxwell Smart (at the beginning of Get Smart) and fully expected there to be a telephone box at the end of the corridor into which I would step to be whisked into a secret basement!
Yesterday was a wonderful day: on the Thames with my gorgeous cousins on their fab gin palace of a 38 foot cruiser called the "Joli Roger" (my cousin Diane's husband is called Roger). Di and I were in charge the tying up to bollards in the locks while Rog did most of the helming. It was hard work and everything but HUGE fun - especially for the onlookers who sometimes were helpless with laughter at our(and I have to say, others') total and utter ineptitude at throwing lines (or warp ends, as they're called) over the side to lassoo the waiting and ever elusive bollards! But they all helped when we looked like we were really going to fail dismally. Good fun had by all!
The locks are huge and each time we went through, there were up to seven boats with us ranging from narrow boats (what I called canal boats) to big white launches like ours, to kayaks and runabouts. It was such a glorious day, it seemed everyone in London was on the water! Total heaven!
We holed up back at the Shepperton Marina for an overnight stay on the boat which was lovely and woke to a FREEZING cold morning, so I was very glad we had decided not to moor on the river upstream otherwise we would have had to brave the blustery and cold conditions this morning.
Now we are esconced in their centrally heated house in Harrow with the fire going, our knees up the chimney and the two cats, Benji and Buster for company...ah, bliss! Roger is making a mushroom risotto and I have great intentions of pouring myself a large red and issuing imperious orders on how to cook the risotto which, of course, will largely be ignored and I won't mind in the slightest!
Huge love
Helen.
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Updated Saturday 26 April 2003 E&OE