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How to manage an opera
Earlier this year Audition Oracle played a part in helping University Collage Opera source professional opera singers for thier forthcoming production 'Aroldo'. Here Florentina Harris talks of her transition from the student chorus to producer of this successful semi-professional company. UCOpera incorporates a cast and crew of both students and professionals. Impressively this will be thier 66th production.
How to manage an opera
It's hardly simple!
Managing a semi-professional production which incorporates both professionals and students is not a piece of cake. There's always a weekly drama involving me in the middle of a dispute between 2 members, both trying to do their job the best they can. I’m never without my phone. There’s constantly an issue or a question to be answered. Opera is such a complex art form. It never goes without complications.
Firstly the difficulty was getting the professionals on board.
I remember meeting the professional production manager. The first question I asked her: 'so what does your job involve?' She stared at me for a second and then laughed. The transformation from being a member of the student chorus to managing this enormous project has been staggering.
Design: Camilla Clarke
Once all the cast and crew were in place, it was time to meet with the designer for the first model meeting. This was really fun. I then got a sense of how the production will be set and from that could start creating promoting for the production. Whilst we're doing a Verdi opera set at the time of the crusades, the production is far from traditional.
Director: Pia Furtado
Everybody was there. Everybody had met. Room bookings and the rehearsal schedule was in place. Finally things seemed to be coming together. It was an absolute pleasure to introduce the student chorus to the professional principals. The look on their faces when they heard the principal soprano hit a top B for example! Below a quick snap shot of our student chorus throwing themselves into the rehearsal process.
Logistics in the theatre
How many vans will be needed to get everything in the theatre? Will the keyboard need to be amplified for the stage and piano? Who’s going to coordinate the surtitles? After countless production meetings I think we have it all worked out!
Now having done parts 1 to 4, there's 2 weeks to go
Scary thought! The one thing I need to do now is publicise. That’s the last and only thing that lies within my remit. We’re not just relying on students to be seduced by the opera production. So it’s time to print 5000 flyers and distribute them all. It's time to do a big thunderclap on social media. It will be an amazing production: we have a fantastic cast- Céline Forrest (soprano), Anthony Flaum (tenor), Richard Morrison (baritone) and Julian Debreuil (bass-baritone) have utterly massive vocal machines. Furthermore we have a UCL-alumnus who has come to direct. She has been overly enthusiastic to come back and work with us again. Fingers crossed it will be a sell out!