Still in Cologne.

A good day's work and ahead of schedule. Miss the winks and home. Raining in Cologne which is grisly but spending most of the day in the Rundfunk studios so not noticing too much. I've a nice late start tomorrow and we're all feeling relaxed, but I must say, I'll be mighty fed up if we finish early and I don't get a new flight back. I don't want to be stuck here for 24 hours with nowt to do.

Catch up time

In Cologne today, missing the family as ever. No hot water in the hotel so I'm going a bit mad as I don't want to be singing a concert with stupid hair and not all lovely and clean! Today we sing concert that will be broadcast by Deutschlandfunk on Christmas Eve, in which I read biblical text in German! Well I never! Music by Telemann and Matheson.

Since last update there's been all sorts. Wonderful Wigmore concert, our best yet I think, with Brook Street Band. Also a nice education project for the Wigmore. Unfortunately putting the kids' concert on the same day as ours at the Wigmore did mean I was a bit tired for C Minor Mass next day in Symphony Hall, and I did really notice it, but it was still lovely to sing there for the first time.

Home life is hectic. Lots of teaching, kids having fun at school and with bonfire night, halloween etc. We had great break in Wales, with kids in the sea at sunset on 30th October! (not even wearing wetsuits!) There have been lots of concerts and so on, and things stay busy til Christmas now, with all sorts of concerts round the place, mainly in U.K. (Exeter, Aberystwyth, Plymouth, Arundel, Repton, Cheltenham, Windsor) but I am seeing Christmas break in the distance. I shall also be conducting my wee choir in a concert soon. Whoopee.

Winterthur

Punishing day, but great fun. Done one run through and from the radio point of view I'm happy enough with my work, which should leave me nice and free and able to take risks and enjoy myself tonight. Enjoying this role more than I have for a while... I think a summer break has really brought back the enjoyment..I feel refreshed and free and confident. Nice. Suddenly feel a bit sad that with too much on my plate I'd rather slowed down the work and not taken up some fine leads.

Something about the travel also refreshes me though I'm not remotely excited at a 4.30am start tomorrow. Something tells me I'm going to be very very tired this time next week with two concerts at the weekend and Wigmore project on Monday!

Already looking forward to the next holiday.

Switzerland

Slept late, ah joy!

Well today is rehearse rehearse record, for radio. Then show tomorrow. Back into my tutu. I rather dread it as I am out of the habit of charging round the stage climbing up ladders. The concert was enjoyable though just too tiring with the travel on the same day.

Since last writing, winks have started school, which has been a tremendous change of pace for the family. J taken up cello... very funny! E playing violin with a great passion for 'scary' improvisations.

I've begun education project for the Wigmore at Handel House. Great fun helping kids to compose songs inspired by Handel's English Cantatas. There's plenty more of that to come. Spouse has been to Prague to conduct Handel and Purcell and all is stimulating and fun. We're permanently exhausted though...

Zurich

Here I am after ghastly ghastly early start, misery in airport parking, long journey, long rehearsal which went on for ages and straight into concert of King Arthur. Very glad to be in hotel now, though wish it wasn't a smoking room!

We're in Winterthur. Beautiful weather and today's concert was in the St Peter Kirche in Zurich. Lovely.

Miss the winks and the spouse of course.

N

Fishing trip

Great weekend fishing... though I only caught one fish. Hey ho. And we put it back. Still next time Trout on Toast!

Fishing

Caught a grayling. Whoopee. But no trout. Sad really as was looking forward to using the new smoker to prepare a freshly caught supper.

Grr.

Beautiful day on the river though and lovely place to stay. And no children! Missing them but also rejoicing at the peace!

Home from Bohemia

Wonderful week. Most restorative. It is 5 years since I first started teaching at Zeliv, and slowly but surely great friendships have developed. A great number of Czech and other students and colleagues have become friends for life, I am sure. What really made this year though, was taking Spouse and the Winks. It made everything seem so much more real to me! For the children it was a spectacularly wholesome experience, I think. (although they may have a rather unrealistic notion of life in Czech Republic, living in a monastery with lots of musicians, having their food served by monks and attending a kindergarten and childrens' events that included singing early music in a singularly un-dumbed-down sort of way. ) It was so splendid to have the whole family there. And how profoundly joyous to sing Faure, Smetana and Dvorak with Vincent playing after years of promising ourselves the treat!

Ahhh...

Zeliv

Well, here we are, all the family in the Czech Republic. It's a teaching week and we're here living a monastic life in Zeliv. Luckily thi s is a brewing monastery so the hardship is not too great. The winks are attending Czech Kindergarten and adapting well and Spouse is teaching Anglican music. I have my usual studio with mostly familiar students whom I have taught before. The children are happy as Aneta and Petra are both here, as well as a colleague from blighty, so they feel at home.

Yipeee!

Off to Wales. Either tomorrow or next day. Marched the winks round Calke Abbey reservoir in the sun which took a very long time but they managed it brilliantly. Spouse singing prom tonight, and a day of admin tomorrow, and I SO DEFINITELY should be working fully hard tonight but am just not cracking on with it all. Grrr. I just want to sit and read a paper, win the lottery and employ a book keeper.

Wigmore... love it.

Great feeling of the end of term. Finished the season with a cancellation which was awful, miserable...and some other lucky soprano gets to record beautiful Spanish songs with the Coro Cervantes. (I, voiceless with lurgy.)
Great end to the season and start of the holiday though, despite that, with the run of lovely concerts with Brook Street Lovelies at Maldon, Hatchlands and finally Wigmore (Ahhhhh.) Then the favourite week of the year at Eton Choral Course teaching fantastic, willing, committed and talented youngsters. This year at Canterbury which was glorious. The usual wondrous vocal discoveries and tremendous concerts and some late night study in the library to really make the most of things.
Lovely!

Brook Street Band Week

Well, we began in Sawston, and are now gearing up to the Wigmore Hall concert on Sunday. In Tune on Radio 3 tonight (phew, managed to answer the questions and not drop my music and sing the relevant song!) Sunday was Maldon Festival, which was quite extraordinary. I sang in Anglesey on Saturday and somehow managed to do the dreaded drive all the way to Essex. The venue was a chapel in Bradwell-on-Sea built in 600AD or thereabouts. Very small right on the coast. The facilities were pretty minimal (long hike to nearest loos... changing room a shed with a bucket for desperate measures! Blimey it's all so glam...) This evening, In Tune, and tomorrow, Hatchlands which I'm dying for as it sounds lovely. Then Sunday Wigmore which will be lovely.

I'll be missing the winks as spouse and I off to Canterbury to teach on Eton Choral Course. That will be great, then Coro Cervantes recording which will be a whole new departure.

I'll upload a jolly pic...

Brook Street Band

Well, I've been vaguely writing this for so long now and still haven't linked it to the website. Maybe I really don't want anyone to actually read it ever! Brook Street at the moment... last week Sawston near Cambridge which was particularly joyous as the winks came too and we showed Aneta Cambridge and took the children round Trinity and Kings, went on a punt etc. All so jolly and lovely. This weekend a wedding in Anglesey, (Beaumaris... lovely) but then long drive to Maldon tomorrow for another Brook Street concert, Hatchlands next week and then we finish with our Wigmore on Sunday night. After that, Spouse and I off to teach at Eton.

I've just finished a good biography of Mary Tudor, but not much time for reading just now. Life is just immensely full with family and work. Winks on top form.

Had a lovely week in Utrecht and Haarlem.  I shall upload some pics if I can get colleague to send some!  It was just great eating chips and drinking beer, but now am feeling that I need to have a few weeks of austerity to lose the extra podge.  Great to get home to the family... really missed them.  Then off to London for a concert and now in Paris for an audition.  It takes a lot of time and money to do this kind of audition, but let's hope it yields something interesting.  It's a nice project. 

The next month is going to be very busy with lots of concerts with Brook Street in the run up to our Wigmore, and then we start the summer teaching time.  Eton, and Zeliv later on.  I've also got to get cracking working on music for this Spanish recording with Coro Cervantes... I can't wait for the three week holiday in Wales!

Children's party

I probably have the cleverest au-pair in the world, who is capable of making this cake for Wink's third birthday. Brava.

Everyone's been ill and we had to cancel camping in beautiful place which was a shame. Still, off to Utrecht tomorrow for a week of Handel. Looking forward to it!

I probably had the worst ever pub lunch today. I asked for a beef baguette, and seriously imagined that the only disappointment was likely to be a weak salad garnish with cress on it, and possibly the usual over-cooked beef, but was astonished to be presented with a baguette with hot microwaved slices of processed beef swimming in gravy! Horrid omni-gravy too. How revolting. And I had been so hoping for a lovely piece of rare tasty beef with some tasty leaves and perfect fries.

Grrrr.

I should not get through April without mentioning Handel! Happily I was with Brook Street Band on the anniversary of Handel´s death, and we sang the English Cantatas that we´ve been performing at a glorious church in Tudeley, Kent. All of its stained glass windows were designed by Chagall. It was a sad week as Tatty´s Mum´s funeral was also that week, so an emotional concert for her. However it was rather a lovely concert. The Cambridge concert was an all Haydn concert, with a great choir made up of the King´s Choral Scholars and the girls from Jesus who sang with fullsome tone and did a stunning job. Academy of Ancient Music and Stephen Cleobury conducting. Particularly enjoyed learning Haydn´s Salve Regina, which I didn´t know already.
Other trips were passions and masses in Bristol and Ripon.

Berlin, for yet another run of King Arthur. Berlin in Spring... joy. We all had a delicious Easter with lots of travel, time in Wales, and some nice concerts. Cambridge on Easter Saturday was the highlight. Partly as King´s Chapel so glorious and partly as Spouse was with me and we caught up with so many lovely old friends and colleagues. Managed to get to Evensong on Good Friday which was great, and it was particularly good to catch up with choral scholars who had visited Repton. So this week off to Poland, from Berlin (BY BUS! AAARGH!!) Then, sadly back home. Only sad as I should have been singing another opera here but had to withdraw. What a shame. Looking forward to some fun at home with the winks though.
Have to earn shedloads of money as winks´education commences in earnest in the Autumn. Senior wink starts school!
N

Typical, haven´t written for yonks.

I never think about writing unless I´m away. I´m in Zamora, ready to sing the Meder St Mathew Passion at the festival on Saturday night. Lovely to be eating good Spanish ham, and wearing sunglasses at last after this freezing winter. I´ve just started the Kite Runner, which is very absorbing, and have read the Tove Jansson ´Summer Book´which I found enchanting and poetic and beautiful. In fact, I´ve just started to read the Moomin books to Effie, which is so marvellous as I remember being captivated by the tales of the hobgoblin´s hat, and the snork maiden and so on when I read as a child.
I wonder what it is like to read them in the original language.
Last week, singing Elijah (!!!) at Bristol I paid a visit to my old friend Judith from university days and in discussion about a matter of translating, she commented that she believes translating is not really subjective, but that there is a ´right´translation. I had always assumed that it was entirely subjective, and have found that a strangely gripping concept!
Winks are very well and I miss them. Work and Life are not in the proper balance, so we´ll need to look at that.
I´ve just withdrawn from a long opera project to my great sadness. Reasons are beyond anyone´s control, but in this economic climate, suffice to say that I would have to be single and without dependents to take certain financial risks. Had better say no more.
Miss the winks.
can´t wait for Wales.
N