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
Aug 20, 1987
NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND THEIR AGES:
One baby who is currently seven and a half months.
ARTISTIC TRAINING AND ACHIEVEMENTS PRIOR TO BIRTH OF FIRST CHILD:
Often noted for being very watchable onstage, my solo roles include Micaela and La Contessa. Covers include Jenufa and Magda (La Rondine). I sang in the chorus at the SWAP'ra launch gala at Opera Holland Park. I regularly organised recitals around London and I am founder of an opera company which is becoming increasingly well-known on the fringe scene.
I was awarded a prize for the best result in the MMus at my conservatoire and was chosen to sing at the graduation ceremony. My masterclasses include Brigitte Fassbaender at the Wigmore Hall, Richard Bonynge, Susan Bullock, Rosemary Joshua, and Kiri Te Kanawa.
WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE SWAP'RA RETREAT?
This Retreat makes me feel seen and understood by a supportive community. Going through pregnancy and the early days of motherhood have left me feeling very different – in some ways overwhelmed, and also in some ways fulfilled. I doubt myself constantly every day while also having amazing moments with my baby. I am the same person, but with a new identity I am still coming to terms with.
If I was selected for the Retreat it would be a brilliant way to help me take myself seriously as an individual artist. I have gone through the physical change of an unplanned C-section, which has left my body feeling different with new sensations. I have been processing feelings of regret, shame and guilt around the birth. I also struggled with the early days of breastfeeding, and felt alone and confused. Singing feels in some ways very alien to the new way of life. I need to be able to commit emotionally and mentally to the music, the text and the communication without my mind wandering elsewhere. I want to re-ignite my confident mindset.
From a practical point of view, I want to meet likeminded people who can share their experience of adjusting to the new way of life, and making family life and the weight of parenting work with singing. There is just less time to devote to singing in general and I need to be very organised! Even finding the space to apply for this opportunity has been a challenge.
I see in the SWAP’ra Retreat a community who understand me. Fundamentally, the industry can be brutal and I feel fragile and nervous to dip my toes back in fully. I think taking part in the Retreat will help me discover more about the next direction I can go in, and help me tune into my new identity of singer and mother.
DESCRIBE YOUR PRESENT LIFE AS AN ARTIST AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:
At present, I rehearsing for an upcoming opera, and I feel that being back in the rehearsal room is restorative for me. I am enjoying re-acquainting myself with my voice and my practice as a musician. I am seeing my singing teacher every few months, who has reassured me that vocally I am in a good place. I am also singing the occasional recital and my Sunday church job.
I hope that being on the Retreat will help me clarify where I fit in the mix of things in this business. My honest feeling is that I love being on stage in main roles, but I might be better off looking for a non-solo opportunity next. I would like to gain the confidence to apply for auditions with the festivals and pursue a chorus contract for next summer, or even a full time chorus job if anything comes up. I hope that the team would be willing to work with me on this idea and help me decide if my thinking on this is correct.
My other plans include starting a recital series in my hometown, which I feel confident I have the skills to do, and building up my teaching studio.
DO YOU ENVISAGE BRINGING YOUR CHILDREN WITH YOU ON THE COURSE?
Yes, I will bring my baby who will be one year old at the time. My husband would take time off work to accompany us.
REFEREE information:
REFEREE 1 NAME:
Alison Wells
REFEREE 1 EMAIL:
REFEREE 1 RELATIONSHIP:
Singing teacher
REFEREE 1 RESPONSE:
Position / Role Held:
vocal professor, Royal College of music
Length of time you have known applicant:
10 years
In what capacity have you worked with the applicant and when?
As singing teacher for her Masters at Trinity Laban, and since as private 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:
I am happy to recommend xxxx for the retreat. xxxx has a strong lyric voice with a lovely shine to the sound, she is a very good musician, and is a very expressive singer. I have seen her growth over the years we have worked together, and have been impressed by her application and determination.
Her stage work has developed so well, and the last performance I saw her give, before she had her daughter, was exciting in its completeness of artistry. Her singing was free and expressive and her physical presence very strong and natural. So I felt she was now able to take her career forward successfully. Since the birth of her daughter, the voice is again free and resonant, and now she has to juggle her singing with child care, but is managing that very well. The retreat would give her space and time and an enhancement of the skills she already has, and crucially, would give her the confidence to move forward, and the support of other singers in the same situation as herself would I think be invaluable to her. xxxx would most definitely make the most of the retreat, and as an extremely intelligent woman, would use everything she gained from it to get effect
Any other comments:
xxxx also has great business skills and production skills from having founded with others Gothic Opera.
REFEREE 2 NAME:
Linda Hirst
REFEREE 2 EMAIL:
REFEREE 2 RELATIONSHIP:
Former director of studies
REFEREE 2 RESPONSE:
Position / Role Held:
Professorial staff Trinity Laban
Length of time you have known applicant:
9 years
In what capacity have you worked with the applicant and when?
When xxxx was a student and more recently, I am a trustee of Gothic Opera which xxxx founded with 2 colleagues when they graduated from Trinity Laban. xxxx also came to Novafeltria where I did a summer course alongside Ubaldo Fabbri in 2019
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:
Absolutely - xxxx is talented, a fantastic organiser too, who both runs the company Gothis Opera and takes leading roles with real success. This is exactly the kind of course at the right time for her and I recommend her most warmly to you.
Any other comments:
She is so good, and lovely to have in a team.