SWAP'ra RETREAT APPLICATIONS
applicant information:
FIRST NAME:
FIRST NAME HIDDEN FOR 1ST ROUND
EMAIL:
EMAIL HIDDEN FOR 1ST ROUND
LAST NAME:
LAST NAME HIDDEN FOR 1ST ROUND
PHONE:
PHONE HIDDEN FOR 1ST ROUND
DATE OF BIRTH
Sep 27, 1990
NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND THEIR AGES:
Eloise, 5 months
ARTISTIC TRAINING AND ACHIEVEMENTS PRIOR TO BIRTH OF FIRST CHILD:
I am an alumna of the RCM International Opera Studio, having completed my Masters also at the RCM.
Career highlights prior to the birth of my little one include being named as the only UK semi-finalist at the 2021 International Lotte Lenya Competition, New York, singing Soeur Martha in Dialogues des Carmélites for Glyndebourne, and singing in a performance of Serenade to Music at Buckingham Palace for HM King Charles III.
In addition, I have sung the roles of Proserpina in Orfeo for Garsington, Alcina in La liberazione di Ruggiero for Longborough, and have performed selections of music by Stephen Sondheim at Cadogan Hall. I have also enjoyed covering the roles of Lorca in Ainadamar for Scottish Opera, Mezzo Angel in It’s a Wonderful Life for ENO, and Johanna in Sweeney Todd for WNO.
WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE SWAP'RA RETREAT?
I want to take part in the SWAP’ra retreat because I want to do something that is unashamedly for me. Whilst I love being a Mum, like many women, I feel I have lost a bit of my identity since giving birth. I want to regain a sense of self and to do something that is purely for me and my growth as a person and artist.
My pregnancy wasn’t short of complications, including an episode of Bells Palsy which sadly cut pre-maternity opera contracts short. In addition, complications with my assisted vaginal birth have meant that both myself and my voice are taking a bit of time to get “back on track”. This course, with all that it offers, will help with both my vocal and mental rehabilitation, and help me navigate this new space that I find myself in, as a singer and also a mother.
I crave making music with others and being “back in the room” with fellow creatives, spin-balling ideas and revelling in the talent around me - it inspires me and makes me a better artist. I would relish the opportunity to be around fellow opera parents, to hear their stories and to work together to rebuild and grow.
DESCRIBE YOUR PRESENT LIFE AS AN ARTIST AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:
Being totally transparent, my life as an artist has taken a bit of a backseat at the moment, whilst I get to grips with motherhood and raising my daughter. In a few months time, when she is able to go to nursery and we can make use of the government funded hours, I intend to get back into the driving seat, so to speak, with my music-making. I intend to have coaching sessions with Caroline Dowdle and to rebuild my voice with teachers including Rosa Mannion, Mary Plazas and Julie Gossage.
Because of both pregnancy and post-birth complications, I have felt that I needed a little more time to rebuild before applying for auditions etc. Hence why, at the present moment, I am on a bit of a career hiatus. That being said, I do have some private concerts and recitals in the diary ready for the New Year, which I am very excited for. I am at a stage now where I am keen to return to the music scene stronger and more determined than ever. I hope to build on the connections I have made with those companies with whom I’ve worked previously, but also to build new connections with those that don’t know me just yet.
I feel that I would take a lot away from the SWAP’ra retreat, and that it would inspire and help me navigate this new and exciting (but also slightly daunting!) journey as a singing parent.
DO YOU ENVISAGE BRINGING YOUR CHILDREN WITH YOU ON THE COURSE?
At the moment, I am exclusively breast-feeding my daughter. Therefore, if the course was taking place now, I would need to bring her and potentially my husband or mother to help look after her. That being said, I am not sure how long our breastfeeding journey will last (especially once she starts nursery), so this could change.
REFEREE information:
REFEREE 1 NAME:
Caroline Dowdle
REFEREE 1 EMAIL:
REFEREE 1 RELATIONSHIP:
Vocal Coach
REFEREE 1 RESPONSE:
Position / Role Held:
Vocal Coach
Length of time you have known applicant:
5 years
In what capacity have you worked with the applicant and when?
I worked with xxxx when she was a student at RCM, and then when she was in the Opera Studio there. Since she’s left, I’ve continued to work with her privately every few months. I’ve not heard her since she gave birth, but I’ve no doubt her voice is as colourful and interesting as when last I heard it.
Would you recommend the applicant for the SWAP’ra Retreat? Please describe the applicant’s ability and potential to build a successful career in opera/classical singing:
I believe xxxx would be a perfect candidate for the SWAP’ra retreat. She’s worked regularly since leaving RCM, and now, with a new baby, is in need of time out, in a safe, nurturing environment, where she can get back to being her professional self, a very talented singer and actor, with a lot to offer. She’s also a very committed artist and a generous and supportive colleague.
REFEREE 2 NAME:
Rosa Mannion
REFEREE 2 EMAIL:
REFEREE 2 RELATIONSHIP:
Teacher
REFEREE 2 RESPONSE:
Position / Role Held:
Professor of Vocal Studies RCM
Length of time you have known applicant:
i have worked with xxxx only for a short time but knew her from college for about 5 years
In what capacity have you worked with the applicant and when?
I am xxxx's Voice teacher
Would you recommend the applicant for the SWAP’ra Retreat? Please describe the applicant’s ability and potential to build a successful career in opera/classical singing:
xxxx has a beautiful mezzo soprano voice and I first heard her singing Hansel in college opera scenes about 5 years ago and was impressed by the outstanding quality of her voice and her ease and natural ability on stage. She gained a place at the RCM International Opera Studio and after graduating she was part of the Glyndebourne Chorus and sang roles for Garsington, Longborough, Waterperry and ENO as well as covering roles for Glyndebourne Garsington and ENO.. She and I started working together last year when she was newly pregnant. Her beautiful baby girl is 5 months old now and xxxx is beginning the process of getting her voice back in shape and thinking of restarting her career. She falls into an increasingly large group of singers who have been at college for at least 6 years or more and who have come into the profession at the end of their 20's and who have had to put their fledgling careers on hold while they have a baby and start their family. The constant advice to singers ( pushed by colleges and conservatoires and some YAP programmes) that they are not ready to start work until they are late 20's early 30's hugely interrupts and delays women's career paths because the start of their working life is in direct conflict with their desire and opportunity to have a family. Often women are beginning their singing careers once they have turned thirty and I think this is a big problem in the profession today. I know she would appreciate whatever help you can give her to reconnect to her chosen career and enable her to be fulfilled as an artist and a mother....it would be wonderful to think that it doesn't have to be either/ or......