Monday
Since I got married, I’ve always felt guilty about lying in bed in the morning. Since we met, my husband has got up for the 05.42 train into London. Even now when he’s on the slightly more respectable 06.47, I feel bad if I’m still lounging around. So, unless I’ve had a performance the night before, the alarm generally has a 6 at the beginning of it! That said, I’m not a great sleeper, and will no doubt have been mulling various projects or problems over during the night, so usually the first thing I do is write down a couple of thoughts I’ve had and send a few quick emails.
A good friend has introduced me to yoga, which I was thoroughly put off of when I lived in London. Every class I attended seemed to be full of stressed-out city bankers, and my beginner status only added to my discomfort. So, I do try to complete an online class before the day really gets going. If not, I’ll take our dog for a run, in an effort to kill two birds, and then I’m ready to go, think and rehearse. When I was younger, I definitely struggled with stamina in terms of practice, and I seem to have just about cracked that particular nut. Compared to most singers, my vocal repertoire is pretty broad, and I often find myself learning very different pieces within the same week. I tell my friends it’s like playing squash and tennis on the same day – doable, but it takes some serious thought to get good at both.
At the moment I’m juggling Mozart concert arias, Weir’s King Harold’s Saga, a new cabaret programme by Zoe Martlew, Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn – and that’s only the top of the list. My vocal warm up is pretty set, but I’ll tend to only work on one or two pieces in a session. The issue of over singing is a real bore and sometimes I wish I was a pianist and could just keep going. If you overdo it in terms of practice, then you can’t work well the following day – in fact, you’re physically making your instrument worse by continuing. It’s a hard line to tread to make sure you’re actively singing the repertoire into your muscles, but not tiring yourself out so you’re not ready to perform when you need to. Monday evening is reserved for tennis at our village court, with my super-patient husband, who is frustratingly naturally good at all sports.
Tuesday
A lot of my work is project-based and very collaborative. I’m often thinking up new ideas, looking at funding bodies or talking to other musicians about what we need to do next. Of course, many opera singers’ schedules are taken up purely with opera contracts, but I’ve always seemed to have a balance of stage work and concert performances, whether working with pianists, chamber ensembles or orchestras.
I was lucky at the beginning of my career to make some incredible links with conductor composers like Pierre Boulez, Oliver Knussen and George Benjamin, and so I’ve always had a healthy diet not only of concert repertoire, but of newly composed music. As it’s Arnold Schoenberg’s 150th anniversary this year I’ve just finished a recording project with the über-talented Christopher Glynn. Schoenberg is a composer whose music I’ve adored forever, and we dove deep into his relatively unknown songs. What with deciding on the final repertoire
list, the album concept, the recording team and sorting
finances, it’s amazing that this project has come to fruition! However, today I’m editing a recording of his Pierrot Lunaire,
an almost unique chamber piece for “sprechstimme” (literally “sing-speech”) where the singer has to declaim, without
singing, but somehow adhering to the notes, a series of poems about the multi- faceted figure of Pierrot. I recorded it back in December with Ensemble 360, and it’s due for release in September to tie in with his actual birthday. Going through the edits is a slow process. I tend to sit once and listen, listen again and make scribbles, then as I’m writing up the scribbles, listen again and realise all the things I forgot to say! I do feel for the producer, as I’ve written over 40 points, while the clarinettist only had four!
Someone once told me you can get vocally tired even when you’re simply reading music, as you can’t help your vocal chords somehow responding to what they see on the page, so I find it works well to have an admin or editing day after a day of practice, or before you’re away for a contract. When I was younger, I rowed for Oxford University in the lightweight women’s boat race, and I always remember how in the week leading up to the race, having done a huge session on the water, we did the absolute minimal amount of training in the last few days, so by the time of the race we were almost gagging to get going! I know it’s not quite the same but having a day or two off before a performance can make the world of difference.
Wednesday
As orchestral concerts are often towards the end of the week, if I’m travelling, it might well be on a Wednesday. By the time you get to the orchestral rehearsal, you’ve already done a vast amount of rehearsing and learning at home, and often you only get an hour or so with the orchestra before the pre-concert general rehearsal. This year I’ve debuted with quite a few new European orchestras, and there’s always a certain amount of “new girl in school” feeling about turning up. Most organisations are incredibly welcoming, but there’s always the odd one where you hardly even meet management backstage and just walk into the rehearsal alone, sing your stuff then go back to the hotel.
However, generally it’s a wonderful way to see new places, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be on tour in both Spain and Germany this season. I feel incredibly grateful to have had these opportunities, especially when you consider how Brexit has made it so much harder for British artists to be considered for European projects.
Hanging out in Bilbao or Saint Sebastian is definitely fun, but when you’re performing you have to balance sampling the local culture with being on point for the performance, even though the piece may be only 10 minutes long. So, apart from some sightseeing, I’m generally to be found with my head in a book.
I’m a voracious reader and will always take two or three with me in one go. I love anything from the Persephone publishing house; they focus on female writers from the late 19th and early 20th century, and regardless of the subject matter the writers they publish always have a fascinating insight. I’m also a bit obsessed with Ancient Rome, so anything by Tom Holland, Mary Beard or frankly Robert Harris is right up my street. Reading is good for me, as I tend to over-practice. It’s so easy to keep tweaking how you’re approaching a phrase or an idea, so to get lost in a book keeps me from thinking too much about the repertoire coming up.
Thursday
If I’m not performing, my working week generally continues along the lines of practice, project planning and promotion. This includes not only my own work, but also the sector in general. I recently completed an MA in Cultural Policy and Management at King’s College, London, trying to get a hold
on how the sector works from a non-practitioner perspective. The pandemic made it pretty clear where self-employed creatives sit in the pecking order, and rather than carp, I was keen to understand the issues from the other side of the table. It’s been fascinating, especially working on my dissertation, which explores opera’s continued predilection for presenting works in English translation despite the ubiquitous use of subtitles. I’ve been busy presenting my research findings to the Royal Opera House, English National Opera and other UK national companies.
Today I’ve been up at Opera North talking through my work with new CEO Laura Canning, but it took a rather extraordinary twist. This morning Ensemble 360 and I had a photo session for our upcoming Pierrot Lunaire album. The recording takes in numerous composers (from Schumann to Korngold and Musgrave) who’ve been influenced by the idea of Pierrot, and the concept was that we’d each get made up as Pierrot, indicating the different portrayals of the character by all these composers. I was the last one in the make-up chair. By the time I’d finished the photo session, the make-up artist had already cleared her station and left the building! I had
two hours to get to Opera North, and no make-up remover! I’ve therefore just finished the most memorable meeting I
think Laura has ever had, sitting opposite a fully made-up Pierrot for an hour and a half, discussing audience responses to opera in translation! This was only topped by the reaction of the checkout assistant at the petrol station! By the time I got home my face looked more like Alice Cooper than a picturesque clown!
Friday
Friday tends to be my other full practice day. I seem to have a very traditional view of the weekend as a time NOT to work! While at music college, I remember bumping into a friend during the Christmas holidays. When I asked where she was headed, she replied to college, to practise. I couldn’t fathom why she’d choose to work in the holidays! Luckily my work ethic is a bit stronger now. However, given that many of our friends aren’t musicians, it’s good to be able to socialise on weekends when there isn’t a performance. However, when there’s so many notes and words to learn, there’s always a lot to do, over and above actual singing. I’m spending most of today memorising a recital programme based round Cabaret songs. It ends with a monologue by Poulenc La Dame de Montecarlo, whose protagonist is a faded stalwart of the blackjack tables, reminiscing on her life’s struggles. I’ve been somewhat associated with Poulenc’s other monologue opera La Voix Humaine, and it’s such a treat to add this other work to my repertoire. I did perform it once in my 20s, but I fear my attempts at “jaded has-been” were not that authentic!
Another opera I’m learning currently is a new work by Joe Cutler Sonata for Broken Fingers. It explores the life of Russian pianist Maria Yudina who supposedly was forced to replay an entire concert because it hadn’t been recorded for Stalin. She fell foul of the authorities but was ultimately rehabilitated after the dictator’s death. I’m playing Yudina, and there are various moments in the score where she plays piano live. Luckily for the recording they’re using a professional pianist, but I do play, and am aiming to have all the notes under my fingers for the live performances. In the past I curated a
project where I sang and played Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben concurrently, and like many other musicians, it feels good to be something of a musical polymath. So, a bit of piano practice as well as learning the vocal score is keeping me busy at the moment.
Friday has also morphed into the day where I do some coaching. Almost a decade ago I was asked by Oliver Knussen to become a director on the Composition and Performance course he had set up with fellow composer Colin Matthews
at the Britten Pears Arts summer school at Aldeburgh. It’s
been an incredible journey, nurturing young singers to explore less-standard repertoire and find joy in working with instrumental ensembles. It’s led to teaching at many UK conservatoires, but from time to time I also see students privately. I’m sure all coaches would say this, but teaching is incredibly useful for forcing yourself to truly understand what it is that you do. If you don’t understand it yourself, you can hardly explain it to someone else.
Plus, there’s so much repertoire out there, that even with my broad canvas I’m always delighted to be exposed to new pieces that students bring along. If I’m in London already, I’ll try to get to a concert or play.While I love watching opera, if I’m not supporting a friend, I’d probably prefer to see some jazz or watch something at the theatre.
Saturday and Sunday
Often it’s concert day at the weekend. As such, life can feel a bit on hold till the performance is done. Apart from the general rehearsal, the day is generally spent reading or doing admin – anything to stop me from singing! Like many parents, I feel under pressure to get back home to the children post-concert. As a result, I often have a late-night drive home or a very early start. Last week I started my journey home from the Czech Republic at 11.30pm the night before, so as to make it back in time for breakfast.
However, if I’m simply at home, the weekend might be spent humming through some repertoire. More likely, it’s an opportunity for some sport, cooking or a bit of destructive gardening. I can’t say I’m particularly blessed with green fingers, but the vegetable patch is slowly coming to life this year, and the courgette seedlings are getting ready to plant on. My mum was a fantastic cook, and, perhaps as another distraction technique, I’m frequently in the kitchen baking something. In an effort to eat healthily,
I tell myself that as long as I’ve cooked it and not
bought it, it must be good for me. As a result, there’s basically always a cake ready to cut, hence the need for tennis on Monday!
