Yesterday morning, a few hours before our dress rehearsal, I participated in ‘Midweek’, a live radio show famous for its remarkably varied participants. Libby Purves is the presenter/interviewer and she navigates a strange and contradictory terrain...
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The work in the studio hits the stage and I’m running. I try to answer constant questions from all members of the team whilst keeping my eye focussed on the unfolding picture...
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A rehearsal process such as this (4 weeks in the studio with the singers before attempting to stagger through the acts on stage in the Coliseum) demands incredibly detailed planning followed by very quick thinking when the plan doesn’t work...
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Yesterday Pablo, Lucila and I met for the first day of rehearsals in the cavernous studio at Lilian Baylis House where we will now be for the next six weeks.
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During the weeks leading up to the start of rehearsals various dramas have erupted about the translation of the libretto of Carmen into English. At root the impulse behind such dramas is entirely correct.
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When I was approached by John Berry to direct CARMEN for the ENO, I only prevaricated for a year or so (!) before deciding that if I was going to direct an opera it may as well be the most popular one of all time on at least two counts
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Yesterday morning, a few hours before our dress rehearsal, I participated in ‘Midweek’, a live radio show famous for its remarkably varied participants. Libby Purves is the presenter/interviewer and she navigates a strange and contradictory terrain... More...
The work in the studio hits the stage and I’m running. I try to answer constant questions from all members of the team whilst keeping my eye focussed on the unfolding picture...
More... 
I spent the weekend in the theatre. As the lovely September sun streamed down outside, we sat in the dark looking at lights... More...
A rehearsal process such as this (4 weeks in the studio with the singers before attempting to stagger through the acts on stage in the Coliseum) demands incredibly detailed planning followed by very quick thinking when the plan doesn’t work... More...
On Friday night, in celebration after having run Act One for the first time, I put on some earrings and went out dancing with Pablo.
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As rehearsals for Carmen roll relentlessly onward, memories of earlier theatrical experiences have re-surfaced. More...
I was touched to receive some messages of reassurance as "comments" after my blog about insomnia. More...
Three weeks into rehearsal and I am now well into the pattern so familiar from film shoots. More...
During our first week of work together in Spain last year Es and I decided we had to go to a bullfight. More...
For the last two weeks we have been searching for – and finding - the dance language for Carmen. More...
In the early weeks of rehearsal there are lines of tape on the floor of the studio which represent the layout of the design. More...
Bizet never went to Spain, but nevertheless felt he somehow knew it well enough to set an opera there. More...
Yesterday Pablo, Lucila and I met for the first day of rehearsals in the cavernous studio at Lilian Baylis House where we will now be for the next six weeks. More...
During the weeks leading up to the start of rehearsals various dramas have erupted about the translation of the libretto of Carmen into English. At root the impulse behind such dramas is entirely correct. More...
Auditions can be cruel affairs. The air is thick with fear of rejection, and the potential for humiliation is enormous.
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When I was approached by John Berry to direct CARMEN for the ENO, I only prevaricated for a year or so (!) before deciding that if I was going to direct an opera it may as well be the most popular one of all time on at least two counts
More...