How Do They Do It In Hastings?

When I first arrived in Hastings I was impressed to see Opera SouthEast perform here and see other touring opera and ballet appear at the White Rock Theatre.  As a cultural centre, I thought,  surely Hastings ‘punches above its weight’? This did not prepare me for the wonderful performances of my favourite (Mozart) operas being performed over the last four years by the ‘Complete Singer Advanced Course‘ at St Mary in the Castle, writes HOT’s Chris Cormack. 

The operas served as ‘coming out’ ceremonies for some of Britain’s best young opera talent, as they reached the final stages of their degree courses.  I was determined to seek out the organiser of these Summer courses in St Leonards, Jenny Miller – who is also a great singer in her own right – and find out how she does it.  Jenny and some distinguished guests will perform for us in St Leonards, in a combination of Debussy (another favourite of mine) and dance, which promises to be a unique experience. Jenny kindly answered a few of my questions:

How long have you lived in Hastings and what brought you here?

Alan (husband Alan Privett) and I moved down to Hastings 23 years ago and have never regretted it.  We were looking for fresh air, open spaces and a happy place to raise our children.  We also found a developing arts community that we are happy to continue exploring.

What does it take to make a singer “complete”?

When I founded ‘The Complete Singer’, I chose the name for two reasons.  Firstly, singing is an art that you can practice and strive to perfect all your life, whether you are a top professional or an enthusiastic amateur.  However- and this is my second reason- we are all ‘complete singers’ in that we are each unique, have our own distinctive voices – no successful cloning yet – and bring that to any singing we do. So, in our courses, we allow individual development and discovery – we don’t impose a limiting system.  Our body is our instrument, so we use a lot of movement work, theatre work, and dance to free our instrument and develop our potential.

Why the name Barefoot Opera?

After a decade of working this way, we found ourselves gradually including more and more opera scene work and theatre work, leading naturally to the development of a concept for a new kind of opera company, where our body movement, our work as actors in an ensemble and the freedom with which we sing and approach singing, become the main values, over, for example, a big costume, design budget or huge orchestra.  Hence the name ‘Barefoot’. The Debussy program we are doing on February 16th here in St Leonards is based on these principals.  ‘Barefoot Opera’ is currently looking for Arts Council funding to research and develop our ideas further.

How will the changes affect the future of your performance work in Hastings?

This year marks a big development for us.  Since ‘Complete Singer’ was a progenitor of ‘Barefoot Opera’ we are now bringing all the courses we do under the ‘Barefoot Opera’ name.  So audiences who’ve enjoyed the Complete Singer Advanced Course performances at St Mary in the Castle for the last four years, will hopefully be happy to come to the same event newly named, “Barefoot Young Artists Tour”. In our new system, and with our Barefoot ethos of helping everyone fairly, we are going to set our tickets sales against the cost of the students’ course, so they will be directly supported by the audience! If ticket sales go well, they may have the full benefit of the course and tour for as little as £200.  This represents a very healthy scholarship for any young singer, and is also a feel-good factor for the audience. They know they are directly helping young talent.  So don’t miss the ‘Barefoot Young Artists’ in St Mary in the Castle on September 12th!

What was your proudest moment professionally speaking?

I have to go back to a very early memory. I was understudying the lead role in ‘Cenerentola’ in Glyndebourne and had to go on.  One of England’s great singers was in the audience, Dame Eva Turner, and she arrived in state to my dressing room to congratulate me.

Which students were you pleased to see making good progress in their later careers? 

‘The Complete Singer’/’Barefoot Opera’ has helped many students. Last year, for example, Dominic Sedgewick came to sing ‘Papageno’ for us.  This year, all the music colleges have offered him scholarships and he kindly thanks us for helping him find his stage-legs.  In my own teaching studio, I have been happy to work closely with Elin Mannahan Thomas, who sang for the Paraolympics,  Julia Doyle who works with John Elliot Gardiner and other great Baroque specialists, and currently I am training young hopefuls for the National Opera Studio.

Why Debussy and ballet?

Our current project, a staged version of Debussy concert music, which we are calling: ‘Debussy: Dances, Oracles and Mystery’, takes place at St John the Evangelist, Brittany Road St Leonards on Saturday February 16th at 7:30.  The core of the project is a four-hand piano arrangement of a ballet composition that was never completed.  Debussy and the choreographer came to blows and only three movements were written.  The original story-line involved a tale of mystery in ancient Egypt.  We decided the music really needed visualising and choreographing, so we created a whole group of Debussy pieces with a theme of ancient mysteries, old secrets and ghosts, for what we feel will be a magical and unusual evening.  In ‘Barefoot’ style, we hope to engage the audience in a new way with classical repertoire.  Dance and movement are integral to ‘Barefoot Opera’ work.  Choreography will always play a strong part in our performance.

It won’t necessarily always be ballet as we know it….

Internationally distinguished Julian Jacobson and his piano duet partner, Mariko Brown, (professor at  the Yehudi Menuin School and the Guildhall School of Music) have created, in collaboration with Jenny Miller (mezzo soprano and opera director) and Chiara Vinci (dancer), a unique, visually arresting all-Debussy programme. Performed in the round, staged and choreographed, at St John the Evangelist Church, Pevensey Road, St Leonards on Saturday February 16^th, at 7:30 pm, this will be a magical occasion.

Tickets, at £12:50/ £10 concessions, are available only by pre-booking. Please phone 01424 432985 for all information

‘Barefoot Opera Young Artists’ will tour a double bill  of Purcell, The Faery Queen and Dido and Aeneas in Autumn 2013, after completing a course at Jenny Miller’s St Leonard’s studio in the summer. This will include a 12 Sepember 2013 performance at St Mary in the Castle.

2012 performance of Magic Flute at St Mary in the Castle

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