If you'd told me several weeks ago that I'd sing at Wartburg Castle where Wagner set the opera “Tannhäuser”, I would have laughed politely in disbelief. Yeah nah, or some kiwi-ism. As it turns out, a lot can change with one phone call...
A festival of song
Back in mid-April, I spent an incredible five days working on art song repertoire as a Masterclass Artist for the 2018 Berlin Song Festival with Caroline Dowdle from the Royal Opera House.
To bring a special New Zealand quality to the service, we included the song “Poppy & Pohutuakwa”, composed by members of the New Zealand Army Band Dave Fiu and Dwayne Bloomfield.
Meininger theatre has a rich cultural history. Under the direction and patronage of Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1826-1914), the theatre thrived. It has been credited with the development of modern acting and stage design principles, and legends such as Johannes Brahms, Richard Strauss and Max Reger were conductors of the Meininger court orchestra.
Meiningen, proudly known as the “theatre town”, is in the southern part of the state of Thuringia. resenting music theatre (opera, operetta, musicals), drama, concerts and puppet theatre, it is a four-division theatre withover 300 employees.
There has been something special in mapping out this journey through the blog. Eight months ago, I moved to a new country where I hardly spoke the language and could count my friends on one hand. I had no idea if I would be able to achieve the goal of working as a singer in Europe. This first contract with an opera house isn't just a foot in the door. It's the stuff dreams are made of.