issue 09. - Scottish Opera

Q&A …Jonathon Swinard is Scottish Opera’sfirst Emerging Artist repetiteur.Originally from Devon, he studiedon a repetiteur scholarship at StCatherine’s College, Oxford wherehe held the New Chamber OperaRepetiteur Scholarship, then at theGuildhall School of Music and Drama inLondon. He will be with Scottish Opera,and also the Royal Conservatoire ofScotland, until July.You’re in your first few months of thejob. How are you finding it?I’m very lucky to be here and it’s an amazingprogramme. There are very few opportunitiesfor repetiteurs that are just coming out ofmusic college. To get that first experiencewith an opera company is invaluable, becausea certain amount of this work you can onlydo on the job.What do you like about it?It’s not all about playing the piano. I was alsoa second-study singer until I went to train atthe Guildhall. When I heard the singers thereI walked out and vowed never to sing again!I’ve always loved the theatre and used to act,and I did a lot of musicals at school, then fellinto opera at university. I want to go on toconduct, but you learn your craft at the piano,and that’s where you get your fingers dirtywith the scores.So tell us, what exactly is a repetiteur?The repetiteur is the jack of all musicaltrades ... It’s a combination of being arehearsal pianist for the opera company andalso a vocal coach for the singers, helpingthem work out their interpretation of themusic and the way they are going to playa role. You need a good understanding ofmusic and language and how it all worksdramatically, so the piano-playing is just thestarting point.What inspired you to become arepetiteur?I started playing when I was six, but if it hadn’tbeen for the gentle support of my parents toget through those initial piano lessons, whenit all sounds pretty terrible, I wouldn’t havecontinued. My mum’s mum was a danceband singer on bases in Europe during WorldWar II, so there was a musical line there. Butno one in the family has been a classicalmusician. My stepdad took me to my firstopera, Carmen, when I was eight. I didn’tactually see the opera because I stared atthe conductor the whole time!© Christine Haldane: Raphaelle PhotographyWhat’s the most challenging aspect ofyour job?Repetiteurs play from vocal scores which arenot always written very pianistically – theyare the orchestra condensed onto two stavesand into two hands, and sometimes youthink, ‘How on earth am I going to play that?’So the first port of call is the full score andtrying to get a sense of what the orchestrais doing. It’s a constant challenge, but it’s funbeing a one-man orchestra.Have you met anyone unusual throughyour work?There are people who come to listen tomusic who you would never expect to meet.I was representing the music faculty at aconcert when I was at Oxford. At the dinnerafterwards I asked the lady sitting next tome what she did. She said, ‘I went intoteaching for a bit and then I became the headof MI5. And no, love, it’s nothing like Spooks!’Who do you admire?Dudley Moore: incredible musician, amazingjazz pianist, one of the funniest men.Emerging Artists BenefactorsEach year Scottish Opera seeks out thebest new talent in opera and offers a periodof work with the Company, bridging thegap between study and employment. TheEmerging Artists programme looks afterthe future of opera, giving young artists areason to live and work in Scotland.In addition to Jonathon, this year’sEmerging Artists are singers Katie Grosset,Rónan Busfield and Andrew McTaggart,and Composer in Residence GarethWilliams.If you would like to join the growing groupof Emerging Artists Benefactors, or wouldlike more information about the EmergingArtists programme, please contact FelicityOsmond, Head of Individual Giving, on0141 242 0598.Prince of Walesawards ScottishOpera SupportersAt a ceremony at St James’s Palaceon 18 December, HRH The Prince ofWales presented five medals for ‘ArtsPhilanthropy’.Recipients of the prestigious award includedSir Gerald and Lady Elliot and Sir PeterMoores, who had been nominated byScottish Opera. We thank them all for theiroutstanding support over many years andcongratulate them on their award.The Arts Philanthropy medal celebratesindividuals or families who support thearts in their widest form and recognisesthe contribution they make to society andthroughout the UK cultural landscape.John Scott AwardCarole Gallen, Patrons Manager, whomany of you will know well, starts hermaternity leave on 22 February.We will miss Carole very much, and weare sure you will join us in wishing her andher husband Chris all the very best for thecoming happy event.We are delighted that Alison Hopper willcover Carole’s position until her return.Many of you may already know Alison asour Fundraising & Sponsorship Officer.© KK DundasSoprano Ruth Jenkins, who many of youwill have seen recently as Papagena inSir Thomas Allen’s production of TheMagic Flute, is the winner of the 2012John Scott Award.Ruth graduated in Land Economy fromCambridge University before going on tostudy on the Opera course at the RoyalAcademy of Music. She is a previous winnerof the Pavarotti Prize and the Dame EvaTurner Operatic Award.The John Scott Award of £2,000 was set upby the late John Scott, an avid supporterof Scottish Opera, to help talented youngsingers further their careers.Patrons Manager News14 Brio Issue 09 Spring 2013 scottishopera.org.uk