When it all goes belly up…
I had a concert on Saturday night where I was singing brand new music and I had a technological blunder. Not my first time everything’s gone wobbly…
I was asked to lead the sopranos in a huge come and sing day including a performance accompanied by Royal Northern Sinfonia. As a treat the conductor asked me to do the Habanera from Carmen. I learnt that song so thoroughly I could have sung it while fighting off a swarm of bees. However, after about 5 hours of singing and helping around 250 sopranos with their parts my brain gave up and I forgot the lot. Had to start again…
I put all the pages for Una Dona Quindici’Anni in a nice clean plastic wallet folder instead of carrying scraps of A4. I put two in one pocket. This is a song with lots of repetition and I got hopelessly lost. I had to start again…
My ipad froze at the end of page one of a terribly serious song cycle. I had to start again…
Sensing a pattern? When I teach I always remind my students that the audience are on their side, and I regularly tell them these stories. When I first stand up, and if it’s appropriate, I talk to the audience. Let them know a little about the music, why I’m singing it, etc. Make some kind of joke (never self deprecating though, you’ve got to ooze confidence). If something goes wrong I tell them exactly what has happened, apologise, and ask if they’d mind if I’d start again, with a smile. It has never failed me. Audiences ARE on your side.
Of course, I still have nightmares about that time I took a bow while standing too close to the piano, forgetting that when you bend your bum moves backwards, and it took every single bit of my core strength not to go face first into the lap of the old man in the front row. I’m not sure a little chuckle would have solved that one…
