Written by Niamh Murphy
As part of our hugely successful ‘Opera Insights’ series, on Monday 18th May we heard from renowned director, writer and teacher, John Ramster. An alumni of the University of Cambridge, where he studied History, John began his professional career as assistant to the late Clare Venables at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, then joined the Glyndebourne Festival where he worked on over twenty shows as assistant director and revival director. Since then, he has directed a multitude of acclaimed productions, as well as taught at all of the main London music colleges. The title of the session was ‘You’re not a Singer, You’re a Singer-Actor’, and, as one might imagine, the talk was heavily focused on opera professionals being both singers and actors. This is something which is at the crux of John’s work- indeed, he is in the process of writing a book about acting for opera singers- and the talk was as interesting as it was insightful (and that wasn’t just because of his killer Zoom background). We also had a truly international audience, with people tuning in from places as exotic as Indiana, Ireland and even Norfolk! There was a wide range of questions, ranging from ‘What makes a good director?’ (answer: you have to be willing to be wrong) to ‘Could you share with us a funny anecdote, like someone falling off the stage etc.? (answer: is falling off the stage funny? I did it myself and it hurts). Of course, what he actually said was much more eloquent and extended, but you’ll have to wait for the full talk to be made available on YouTube if you’re interested (watch this space!) as there was truly too much wisdom imparted for a single blog post. If you simply can’t wait, however, we are also tremendously lucky to have John back with us THIS THURSDAY 28th MAY at 6pm (BST) for a masterclass, where three lucky singers will have the opportunity to sing - and hopefully learn a thing or two, too. There will be a Q+A session after the masterclass, so do bring your burning questions with you!
As part of our hugely successful ‘Opera Insights’ series, on Monday 18th May we heard from renowned director, writer and teacher, John Ramster. An alumni of the University of Cambridge, where he studied History, John began his professional career as assistant to the late Clare Venables at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, then joined the Glyndebourne Festival where he worked on over twenty shows as assistant director and revival director. Since then, he has directed a multitude of acclaimed productions, as well as taught at all of the main London music colleges. The title of the session was ‘You’re not a Singer, You’re a Singer-Actor’, and, as one might imagine, the talk was heavily focused on opera professionals being both singers and actors. This is something which is at the crux of John’s work- indeed, he is in the process of writing a book about acting for opera singers- and the talk was as interesting as it was insightful (and that wasn’t just because of his killer Zoom background). We also had a truly international audience, with people tuning in from places as exotic as Indiana, Ireland and even Norfolk! There was a wide range of questions, ranging from ‘What makes a good director?’ (answer: you have to be willing to be wrong) to ‘Could you share with us a funny anecdote, like someone falling off the stage etc.? (answer: is falling off the stage funny? I did it myself and it hurts). Of course, what he actually said was much more eloquent and extended, but you’ll have to wait for the full talk to be made available on YouTube if you’re interested (watch this space!) as there was truly too much wisdom imparted for a single blog post. If you simply can’t wait, however, we are also tremendously lucky to have John back with us THIS THURSDAY 28th MAY at 6pm (BST) for a masterclass, where three lucky singers will have the opportunity to sing - and hopefully learn a thing or two, too. There will be a Q+A session after the masterclass, so do bring your burning questions with you!
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