Taking on Puccini’s Gianni Schicci in Oxford Town Hall

So, it’s just been that time of year again… the time of year where I find myself wondering around in black tie, camera in hand while opera chaos descends. Although, it was somewhat different this time and not just because I’m no longer officially a student. It’s been a year of new exec, a new composer and an almost whole new cast… almost.

Sitting in a sun drenched quad last Trinity, Joanna Barrett and I hashed out the idea of what an opera would look like with most of the original team graduating. It was an opportunity to go in a whole new direction, to use the foundation that had been build over the previous two years and expand. What I don’t think either of us expected at that point was dying clothing in sinks or scrubbing white face paint from dressing room chairs, but what is life without a little bit of the unexpected?! And it feels like there was plenty of unexpected. Taking the hands off, only get involved when absolutely necessary approach to training the society’s newest producer, I arrived at Oxford Town Hall for get in with only the most basic of ideas of what was happening. The expected craze of entering the venue for the first time had already ensued and we were already driving the staff mad with platforms and cables and various bits of bed littering the space. This level of student performance felt like new territory for them and it certainly took them a while to trust that we knew what we were doing (which naturally we did – it was all completely under control). Thankfully, the responsible adults in the room included the company who had delivered the platform and proceeded to assemble it for us. As per always it’s the tech and construction people who deserve a shoutout for silently appearing and uncomplainingly doing so much of the work. Although, I’ll admit to having missed a large portion of this while I sat unceremoniously on the floor ensuring that the breakables were stage ready… a task that in hindsight I’m so glad I handled after we had an incident with a bouncing teacup and a set of stairs.

I was, however, aware that we had a director who had left the city, tech that was done completely on the fly and somehow a tremendously successful opening night. It’s easy to forget in the euphoric aftermath that point about two hours before doors open when you truly do not think you will have a show. But, of course, everything came together at the last minute and I was once again left in awe at the sheer skill of opera singers. There I was again, standing at the back witnessing the familiar tones of Ben Gilchrist and Jemima Price and a whole array of new voices. But, this was a show as much about the visuals as the sound, with red lighting, incredible make up and a stylised performance that was made up of so many incredible frames. This was hands down the most visually interesting performance I have ever had the pleasure to photograph – it was a joy to capture the insanity of our rendition of Puccini forever in a series of brilliant stills. It was also an honour to stand beside my co-producer on opening night and feel her electric joy at the sight of months of work coming to fruition.

This whole project has been a strange one on a personal level. When I began, when we enlisted Tommaso Rusconi (MD) and Lucas Angeli (director), when we chose the opera, I thought that life would look very different for me at this point. But life happens and it feels like it’s happened quite roughly over the past ten months (or four shows depending on how you look at it), leaving me commuting to Oxford for this opera and being a little more hands off than I would have anticipated. Not that I was really needed or, on the flip side, not that I didn’t feel like a part of the project. As my final Oxford University production, it was a pleasure to work with people who have been a part of my theatre journey since very early on and those who I have met along the way and are carrying on not only the opera’s legacy but the legacy of performance within Jesus College. This is getting a little gushy, but it was a joy to have this be my last show, to get to work with such a talented group of people… and to finally get to work with one of my closest friends. So, I guess that’s the end of the student blog posts, stay tuned for wherever life takes me next!