After three and a half years full-time at Opera North, I have decided once again to sail into the unknown – in other words, I am resuming my “freelance artist” status.  Am I crazy?  Probably, but is financial security the most important thing in life?  I hardly think so.  Financial security is one thing that Opera North has certainly given me over these years, and this has been very calming for this sensitive soul!  Even so, my priority has always been music, and I feel the urge to follow this priority, rather than the worry-free, work-a-day stability that has kept me here.

I do not wish to sound as though my years at Opera North have been unfulfilling – far from it!  The last three years have exposed me to aspects of the opera world about which I previously had little first-hand knowledge.  I have had the chance to work on repertoire that had previously passed me by.  I have worked with a huge variety of people of different age groups, backgrounds, and incredible talents.  I have heard the perspective of the hard-working crew and stage management at the end of their fourteen-hour day over a pint.  I have taken part in meetings with management about Chorus issues. I have given pre-performance talks to the most inquisitive (and surprisingly knowledgeable!) audience members.  I have seen how a wardrobe department works together to put three productions on stage simultaneously. In short, I have come to understand what it is to truly be part of a company.

If anything, this has whetted my appetite to work with many more companies, and now I feel I know what to look for in order to really “get” the place and the atmosphere.  Having popped down to watch shows at Glyndebourne, I know very well how beautiful and idyllic it is.  Now I’m looking forward to seeing how things work down there, and feeling their (probably very different) brand of camaraderie!

So often in the past I’ve worked with people for a week or a month at a time.  At maximum, I’ve spent a summer putting on an opera and a few concerts as part of a festival.  Sometimes I’ve worked with people for one day only.  In all of these cases, the friendships I’ve made have been sudden, close and intense.  Then somehow time flies by and I won’t see these friends for years.  Still, these friendships are special, unique.  I know that when I see any of these friend/colleagues (frolleagues) we will be as close as we were the day we last said goodbye.  After more than three years, I have a feeling that my frolleagues at Opera North will feel more like long-separated cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers.  There is a certain lack of boundaries that one must maintain working in a chorus, and this makes for a family atmosphere.  I’m sure, once I’m gone, that when I pop my head in to say hi, it’s going to be like a big family reunion, and I can’t wait!