Interview: The Little Opera Company

The members of The Little Opera Company have shared some of their thoughts with us, ahead of their performance in Candlelit Arias on 27/28th November.

Where did the idea of starting LOC come from? How did the company get started?
We started the Little Opera Company when we were still training at music conservertoires in London (the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music). We wanted to start a company that could run along side our own solo careers.  We thought it would be great fun, as a group of friends, to work together to put on shows that were energetic and entertaining to our audiences, and give audiences bite size tasters from the vast variety of opera and operatic genres that we all love!

You have all now gained a lot of experience. Do you still need to train your voices?

Yes! As the body is always changing you find the voice changes too.  Even when regularly performing it's useful to polish up on vocal technique with our various teachers. When learning a role that is brand new to us we will work on it with an Opera Coach who will guide us through the role and be the external ears we need to ensure everything is sung to the best possible standard.

Describe a typical day for an opera singer - or maybe there isn't such a thing!

As you've guessed, there is no typical day but we do spend a lot of time travelling! You can start the day with a coaching, run to an audition and then straight on to a rehearsal for a production, sometimes even finishing the day with a performance in the evening (although you would try to have a quieter day when in the middle of a run of performances).  You also need to schedule time to memorise the roles that you have coming up! 

What are your dreams and aspirations for the future?

It may sound a little cheesy but to be the best singers and artists we can be! We are so lucky to be working in a job we love and get so much enjoyment out of and we would love to continue to share this with audiences throughout our careers.

For more information and to book tickets click here:
http://theflavel.org.uk/TheFlavel.dll/Bookings?Booking=TSelectItems.waSelectItemsPrompt.TcsWebMenuItem_0.TcsWebTab_0.TcsPerformance_2283110.TcsSection_926694

Young Guest Reviewers: The Cavaleri Quartet

Our guest reviewer, Eliot Ely (aged 10), sent in this review of the Cavaleri Quartet.

On Thursday 29th October, I went to see the Cavaleri Quartet. It was the second recital I had been to at the Flavel, and it was extremely good. 
They started off with Haydn, after that they performed Smetana 'From My Life' which included my favourite piece of the night which was the second movement in a polka style.
After the interval they played Beethoven Quartet No.10, 'Harp', which had lots of pizzicato passages which made it feel a bit more exciting.
I am looking forward to seeing another recital at the Flavel.

Young Guest Reviewers: Maya the Bee (U)

Our guest reviewer, Dylan Hudson (aged 11) shares his views of the film, Maya the Bee.

This movie is about a bee that is just growing up to learn about the hive she lives in. However, she gets kicked out of the hive and can't go back! Next thing she is out in the meadow, which is dangerous for a baby bee.

Good Points:

This movie is funny and entertaining for children under six years old.

This bee teaches kids never to give up on a task that they are doing, such as finding her friends and finding her way home.

Also this movie teaches kids loads of facts about bees and what they do.

Negative Points:

It is a good movie but there are some downsides; there are some strong words like 'idiot' and lots of arguments in the film that would make kids think that arguing is ok!

Maya the Bee is hated at the start - everybody hates her - so she decides to leave the hive, which is making kids think they might do it some day. I'M NOT SAYING THEY WILL THOUGH.

Funny Notes:

Maya laughs a lot with her friends because of jokes like buzz buzzy buzz buzz, that makes Maya laugh.

Also she is quite a cheeky girl in a funny way, like sneaking up on her friends for a joke, to make them laugh.

I liked this film, but I think it is for younger children.



Our youngest reviewer yet! Caspian Ely (aged 5) also sent in this review of Maya the Bee. 

Maya woke up. She wanted to find her role. She goes to the meadow. She meets a grasshopper. She finds a hornet. The assistant stole the royal jelly. Maya helps save the Queen and the Hive. The End. 

Guest Reviewer: Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet

Our guest reviewer, Jane Chapman, shares her views on the Live Screening of Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet.

Tickets in London were changing hands for up to £1,000! Nothing is quite like the real thing--but the the live screening at the Flavel last night --for £16.50 -- came close! We also enjoyed a lovely pre-show supper for just £11 including a glass of wine. So, a really good night out to see the show everyone's talking about, and to have a view.

Well, my view is a bit mixed: the staging was superb--from the glamour of the opening celebrations to the dirt, the "something rotten" of the last scenes. Some striking lighting and sound effects. Hamlet is timeless but I got a bit confused by the mixed-date costumes and props. What was Ophelia's camera all about and the red and green telephones?

But we all went to see Cumberbatch, didn't we?

Hamlet is a huge, lonely role. The soliloquies have been given many times by the best actors of the day. Cumberbatch seemed a little unsure of himself in the early scenes: there was nothing startlingly new or memorable in his deliveries. Then Ophelia, Sian Brooke, came on. She was superb throughout -- and her scenes with Cumberbatch were fresh and convincing. Thereafter, he grew in strength and confidence and created some outstanding moments of theatre: " O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I...."; the duel; the grave scene. Worthy of special note also were the Ghost/ Gravedigger, Claudius and Laertes.
It's a long play and I wasn't bored once!

I don't think it will go down in theatre history as one of the definitive Hamlets but I'm really glad I saw it. Thank you, Flavel. 

If you would like to add your own views of the production, feel free to post a comment in the box below.

Profile: Lt. Col. RN Chris Davis OBE, BA (Hons), MMus DMA LRAM

Lieutenant Colonel Chris Davis will be talking about his career and time aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia - at the Flavel on 18th October 14.30

Lieutenant Colonel Chris Davis has had a fascinating musical career, which began when he joined the Royal Marines School of Music at the age of sixteen. Training was tough but fun, and after completion, he was soon appointed to the Royal Yacht Britannia in August 1978, as a young musician. 
"From the age of sixteen I knew that performing music was something that I wanted to do. I heard a Royal Marines Band play at Eastley Barracks in Portsmouth, and I was hooked!'
This period onboard, which was to last for eight years, began with a Western Isles cruise and included two Royal  Honeymoon cruises, and trips to Australia, USA, Canada and Mexico.
"In 1983 on a Royal Yacht trip to the west coast of the USA, the Queen hosted a banquet for the celebrity A-list in San Fransisco, and a certain Frank Sinatra was on the guest list. After dinner, we were asked to provide a backing orchestra for the great man to perform in front of the Queen and her guests. As a young musician I was completely in awe of the great man, and the twenty minutes just flew by...a wonderful experience and something I will never forget."
In 1987, Chris returned to the Royal Marines School of Music to attend the Bandmaster's course, in which he excelled, gaining an LRAM, and receiving the Worshipful Company Silver Medal for his high achievements.
He returned to the Royal Yacht in 1989, which gave Chris the opportunity to try to realise his dream of becoming a Director of Music.
"I love playing, but I also love getting others to perform music as an ensemble. As a conductor you don't make a sound, you have to get others to create the sound scape, through gesture and leadership."
Chris married Helen Draycott in 1990 - she was a member of the horn section of his local brass band.They now have two children, Jamie and Sarah, who both have musical interests.
After gaining a degree, undergoing more training and experience as Director of Music with the Band of the Royal Marines in Scotland, Chris was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2002, and he assumed the position of Commandant of the Royal Marines School of Music and Principle Director of Music, where he remained for seven years, retiring in 2009. His legacy was that he refocused the sights of the Band Service on embracing civilian music through the commissioning of a new repertoire of contemporary wind band music.
In retirement, Chris had some spare time alongside his music, and the head of a local junior school asked him to help with a young child who had behavioural issues, and so he got involved on a one-to-one basis.
"The child's problems stemmed form a pretty serious lack of parenting; he was angry, had no self-esteem or confidence, he didn't fit in. After a year of working at the various issues and showing him that I trusted him and was interested in his world, the school was able to turn him around."
The professional term for this development strategy is Emotional Literacy Support: helping children to recognise, understand and manage their emotions to bring about positive changes in their behaviour and social conduct. Chris now volunteers at an inner city school in Southampton, providing ELSA support.

If you would like to hear Chris talk about his amazing career, click here to book tickets:

http://theflavel.org.uk/TheFlavel.dll/Bookings?Booking=TSelectItems.waSelectItemsPrompt.TcsWebMenuItem_0.TcsWebTab_0.TcsPerformance_2337214.TcsSection_926694

News: Did you know?

Did you know that you can get a FREE ticket to an event at the Flavel?

All you have to do is send in a review of the event - a film, concert, live screening - whatever takes your fancy!
We would like to post a regular guest reviewer spot on the Blog, so if you enjoy dissecting the latest films, discussing plays, or talking about your reactions to some music - why not write your thoughts down, and we can post them on the Blog?
If you would like to be one of our guest reviewers, contact Lindsay Ellwood: lindsay.ellwood@btinternet.com for more information.

Face to Face - with Camilla Beloe the new chair of Dartmouth Food Festival

Camilla Beloe speaks about her role, what will be happening at the Food Festival this year, and the events taking place at The Flavel.

Camilla took on the role of Chair of Dartmouth Food Festival in February this year, "It has been an amazing challenge. David and Holly Jones (Manna from Devon) headed it for eight years, and they did a fantastic job, so it is always difficult to follow a successful team like that." 
Camilla's main challenge was to build confidence in the organising team, a group of nineteen people - all of them volunteers, who give up an enormous amount of time and put in a huge amount of effort. Camilla was keen to stress that this really is an extraordinary community event, which needs to be embraced by the whole town. It is a non-profit making event - that relies entirely on sponsors - and like the Flavel, it can only work with the goodwill of the community.
It started as a very small event, and is now one of the top ten food festivals in the UK, and is extremely well thought of. It goes from strength to strength every year. 'Festival Feast' will be kicking off the main festival events, hosted by Serin Aubrey and Simon Entwistle of Dartmouth Fine Foods - at The Flavel on Thursday 22nd October.
The festival takes place in venues all over the town - one of the things the committee were anxious to do this year was to involve as much of the town as they possibly could. A new initiative this year, is that stalls will be open until 20.00 on Friday 23rd October, and this is particularly good for people who work in Dartmouth, who don't necessarily have the time to visit during the day. There will be lots of events on the Friday evening.
"We have a terrific lineup of well-known chefs, such as Angela Hartnett, Orlando Murrin and many others.There will be some pop-up suppers that will appear on the website the week before - Romy Gill is doing one - a fabulous chef and owner of Romy's Kitchen in Thornbury, near Bristol.
One of the very exciting things is the Eat Your Words sessions, one of which is in The Flavel on 25th October, which sets this festival apart from others. There are going to be some very thought-provoking conversations about the future of the food industry. In the South West we have some of the best fish and produce, but we also have a responsibility that goes with that, so they will be talking about sustainability, about growing your own food, healthy eating - sparking debate about where we are going. I think it will be really interesting. The Food Festival is about having fun, but it can be thought provoking at the same time."
Galleries Week is leading into the Food Festival, so quite a lot of galleries will have food related work on display. Sarah Wollaston MP will be coming down and will get involved with Mitch Tonks' first session, and she will be walking around the stalls to chat to people. So, there is an attempt to make it into a wider event.
This is the first year that tickets will be sold online; the venues are small, so events sell out very quickly, and this will enable more people to find out about them in advance.
"We hope that people leave the festival having had delicious food, a fantastic time, but have also thought about the debate on the food industry. And most importantly, we want you to come back next year!"   http://www.dartmouthfoodfestival.com

Food Festival events at The Flavel:

Festival Feast - hosted by Serin Aubrey & Simon Entwistle of Dartmouth Fine Foods: 22nd October 19.00 - 22.30 SOLD OUT! 
http://www.dartmouthfoodfestival.com/Events/Event-Calendar/Festival-Feast-Celebrate-the-Season

Tastings: Food and Wine Matching - hosted by The Royal Castle Hotel, led by Luca Soldo from Antonori, an Italian winemaking company: October 23rd 18.30 - 20.00
To find out more & book your tickets: 
http://www.dartmouthfoodfestival.com/Events/Event-Calendar/Tastings-Food-Wine-Matching

A Taste of Lombardy hosted by Christine Smallwood & Jane Baxter. Wine, stories and travels around the Italian region of Lombardy: October 24th 12.30 - 14.30
To find out more & book your tickets: 
http://www.dartmouthfoodfestival.com/Events/Event-Calendar/A-Taste-of-Lombardy

Eat Your Words: Kitchen Confidential hosted by Dan Saladino (BBC Radio 4). A lively Q & A session with Jane Baxter, Shane Holland, Matt Tebbutt and Mitch Tonks: October 25th 10.30 - 11.30
To find out more & book your tickets: 
http://www.dartmouthfoodfestival.com/Events/Event-Calendar/Eat-Your-Words-Kitchen-Confidential