Written by Josephine Walbank
One thing that we love about the opportunities that opera presents as a future path for us artistic types to take, is the sheer diversity of the career options that it provides. There are so many exceptional causes to get involved with, whether it be because of the beauty of the end result, the grand allure of the stage, or the worthwhile cause of sharing this unique type of education with the next generation of opera lovers.
Bradley Travis is a real industry all-rounder, who is well-versed in the wide diversity of joyful, uplifting and rewarding areas to get involved in that opera can boast of.
Even during lockdown and amidst a global pandemic, Bradley hasn't stopped working with opera.
'I've been incredibly busy with ETO doing my education job. I curate the education department of the ETO. I absolutely love it because I still get to sing as a solo artist with ETO but I kind of have this managerial role. We make new operas for kids and we do workshops in schools, and opera workshops in universities, too. This weird time we're in right now has actually been really eye-opening, in a way that shows us what is possible and what we might have to do in the future.
'I've curated a couple of series of singing lessons, delivered by some of the artists who work for us, both for children and adults. I've also been doing a series of online workshops for children with special needs, that I hope to continue post-lockdown.
'I've found a niche, and found that I love being able to work in the special needs sector and developing work for young people with autism or complex needs, and seeing the amazing impact that music can have on those young people. One of the things that parents have said is that accessibility is always a problem for their children, so actually, providing something that they can just tune into anytime has been really beneficial.'
It was a sheer delight to invite Bradley Travis to one of our NSOS chats, and speak to him about a career that has encompassed nothing short of the full range of fun, intriguing and personally-gratifying jobs that opera opens the doors to.
1. What was the first opera that you ever saw?
'The first opera I ever saw was The Marriage of Figaro. Funnily enough, it was actually (it sounds very fancy) in Munich, that I saw it. I was actually 17 when I saw it (I was probably on the older side for seeing an opera), and this all came about because I had actually already got a place at the Royal Northern College of Music. It was one of those funny things that I was kind of doing my artsy A-Levels and my music teacher encouraged me to try applying for the Royal Northern and then I got in, kind of without knowing anything about opera.
'So we were going on a summer holiday to Munich anyway, and when I got that place, my parents thought to try and book to go and see an opera, so we went and saw The Marriage of Figaro. And I remember that it was the weirdest production. I guess it was very German in that way. It was just a white box, and the garden had a white sheet which people were hiding underneath to represent the undergrowth.
'I really enjoyed it and I remember that there was this amazing aria towards the end, and I remember thinking that it was the most beautiful thing that I have ever heard.
'I'd always loved music and drama, and I'd always acted, but opera wasn't really on my radar. I guess that's because it wasn't really on my parents' radar. A lot of stuff that I do now, like taking opera into schools - I didn't have any of that when i was at school. So I guess I wasn't exposed to it. But now I love it, so I don't think it's the case that one has to be exposed to opera at a young age.
'I think what's really important is that, if kids are exposed to opera at a young age, the experience is positive, inclusive and makes sense to them. I think it's really important to give context and to give kids some sort of ownership over the piece. Whether that's just by making sure that they fully understand it or whether they've made some new music of their own around the themes of the piece, I think that's, for me, how you make opera connect with kids. It's finding ways to either break down those stereotypes, or show people that they don't actually exist.
2. What would you class as your first big break?
'I think my big break is kind of twofold.
'The first job that I did at college was when I covered Figaro at Opera North, so that was kind of the 'first big thing' that I did. That was an amazing amazing time, that I was only a few months out of college and I was doing that. That was a real rush for me (going on as a cover is always a real adrenaline rush). So that was pretty thrilling.
'But, it probably wasn't as much as a career changer as I kind of hoped it would be. At the time I was naive and I kind of thought, 'Oh, this is it now. I've had that lucky break and everything's going to come rolling in', and that wasn't the case. But it was still a really amazing night.
'I grew in a slower, more considered way than I perhaps thought would happen. I was an opera singer for four years after leaving college, and then I realised that I wanted a little bit more stability and a little bit more of a regular income. I'd done a lot of education work with ETO before. I'd done things like making operas with kids with special needs and I'd been into schools doing shows for Key Stage 2 audiences and I thought, 'This is amazing, this is where the really really important work is going on.'
'I worked with this guy called Tim Yealland quite a lot, who is a really brilliant writer and director. He was, at that time, the head of education at ETO. When Tim left ETO, before he left, his job came up I thought 'Do you know what, this is something I could do.' I wasn't the obvious choice, but I was really experienced in the product. So I applied and I got it.'
3. What is your favourite thing about having a career that is centred on the arts?
'I just think that it's a privilege to be making art. And I think that my favourite thing, now, is having that freedom to be making art with or for children, and seeing their reaction - the difference that music and real proper engagement that comes with maybe just one child when you're having a moment of participation, and you just see in their eyes that they're loving it.
'I suppose that you could expand that and say that it's making people feel good, because that's what the arts do generally - they make people reflect and feel something.
'Now I suppose that I'm not just an opera singer. I've sort of deviated slightly, but I just can't imagine not being in the arts. Teachers hate me because I come in as the person who does a fun day or hour of workshops and then I get to be like, 'Bye!'
4. What, would you say, is your personal highlight of your career so far?
'That was with ETO when I did the role of Bunthorne in Patience (so in Gilbert & Sullivan) and that was just the most amazing role and tour for me. I've always loved doing comedy and I didn't know just how much G&S was going to suit me. I got lovely reviews, the audiences were all great and I just had a really great time on the tour. So doing Patience was definitely a real highlight for me.
5. Is there anyone in particular in the creative field who inspires you?
'There are two people who have had the biggest impact on my career as it is now. I'd say that one person who was incredibly inspirational and supportive was Tim Yealland, who was the head of education at ETO before me. He was always so supportive and really inspired me to do this work.
'And then the other person would be the artistic director at ETO, James Conway. He took a punt on me in this job, nurtured me, and always taken an active interest in my career. He's not only given me singing work, but also given me this fantastic teaching opportunity.
'So they've both been very inspirational people. I would say that they never pushed me in any way but, just because of how supportive they've been, I've felt that I could make these slightly off the wall decisions, like to change my career from being just an opera singer. I think that the support that they've given me meant that I could do that.
'Thinking about inspirational people, my parents were always so supportive. They never forced me to do anything or said that I couldn't do anything. They weren't like 'You need to get a good job and earn lots of money', they were just like 'Do whatever makes you happy, enjoy yourself along the way, and just try your best.' That was their mantra, and it was kind of freeing, because I never thought I needed to go to law school and become a lawyer.
6. What are you most looking forward to in the future for your career?
'It's, frankly, really hard to be a freelance opera singer on its own, because to piece together a career (and you're constantly piecing together a career, I talk about it like a jigsaw puzzle that never ends) is exhausting. I made the decision that to not follow that path, as whatever stability I was able to get would make me happy, and I was right.
'In the short term, it will be really great to firstly be able to get into schools again to get to do creative work with kid. Then in the short to medium term, to actually get out on a stage again and perform to an audience. Just get into a rehearsal room and make art with a group of people.
'More of a long term thing for me is that I'm loving the balance that I've got. In 10 years maybe), I'd love to be an artistic director of somewhere, or maybe go down that route. I'm not sure that I could see myself going back to being just an opera singer. I guess you could say that I've had some quite big changes in what is the relative early day in my career. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what happens in the next 10 years. I'm looking forward to seeing how that develops.
'I'm also looking forward to - I know it's really horrible at the moment for freelances, venues and theatres, and it's heartbreaking to think about what's happening - but, I do hope that we will get through it somehow. I'm looking forward to seeing what the arts do in the next few years or so, because there's only going to be innovative, creative responses, and it will only make the sector stronger.
'We have to find ways that we can innovate. We've got to be buoyant, flexible and kind of pivot. I think there needs to be a really interesting and engaging way to put opera on the screen. We're still looking at ways that we can make opera for children to go on the screen, but also to make it interactive - so that we can bring something of the interaction that we would have if we did it in real life.
'There's really creative things going on. But, we should remember that what we're best at is live and whatever we do now is, it can be different and it can compliment the live, but it is in no way replacing the live stuff.'
One thing that we love about the opportunities that opera presents as a future path for us artistic types to take, is the sheer diversity of the career options that it provides. There are so many exceptional causes to get involved with, whether it be because of the beauty of the end result, the grand allure of the stage, or the worthwhile cause of sharing this unique type of education with the next generation of opera lovers.
Bradley Travis is a real industry all-rounder, who is well-versed in the wide diversity of joyful, uplifting and rewarding areas to get involved in that opera can boast of.
Even during lockdown and amidst a global pandemic, Bradley hasn't stopped working with opera.
'I've been incredibly busy with ETO doing my education job. I curate the education department of the ETO. I absolutely love it because I still get to sing as a solo artist with ETO but I kind of have this managerial role. We make new operas for kids and we do workshops in schools, and opera workshops in universities, too. This weird time we're in right now has actually been really eye-opening, in a way that shows us what is possible and what we might have to do in the future.
'I've curated a couple of series of singing lessons, delivered by some of the artists who work for us, both for children and adults. I've also been doing a series of online workshops for children with special needs, that I hope to continue post-lockdown.
'I've found a niche, and found that I love being able to work in the special needs sector and developing work for young people with autism or complex needs, and seeing the amazing impact that music can have on those young people. One of the things that parents have said is that accessibility is always a problem for their children, so actually, providing something that they can just tune into anytime has been really beneficial.'
It was a sheer delight to invite Bradley Travis to one of our NSOS chats, and speak to him about a career that has encompassed nothing short of the full range of fun, intriguing and personally-gratifying jobs that opera opens the doors to.
1. What was the first opera that you ever saw?
'The first opera I ever saw was The Marriage of Figaro. Funnily enough, it was actually (it sounds very fancy) in Munich, that I saw it. I was actually 17 when I saw it (I was probably on the older side for seeing an opera), and this all came about because I had actually already got a place at the Royal Northern College of Music. It was one of those funny things that I was kind of doing my artsy A-Levels and my music teacher encouraged me to try applying for the Royal Northern and then I got in, kind of without knowing anything about opera.
'So we were going on a summer holiday to Munich anyway, and when I got that place, my parents thought to try and book to go and see an opera, so we went and saw The Marriage of Figaro. And I remember that it was the weirdest production. I guess it was very German in that way. It was just a white box, and the garden had a white sheet which people were hiding underneath to represent the undergrowth.
'I really enjoyed it and I remember that there was this amazing aria towards the end, and I remember thinking that it was the most beautiful thing that I have ever heard.
'I'd always loved music and drama, and I'd always acted, but opera wasn't really on my radar. I guess that's because it wasn't really on my parents' radar. A lot of stuff that I do now, like taking opera into schools - I didn't have any of that when i was at school. So I guess I wasn't exposed to it. But now I love it, so I don't think it's the case that one has to be exposed to opera at a young age.
'I think what's really important is that, if kids are exposed to opera at a young age, the experience is positive, inclusive and makes sense to them. I think it's really important to give context and to give kids some sort of ownership over the piece. Whether that's just by making sure that they fully understand it or whether they've made some new music of their own around the themes of the piece, I think that's, for me, how you make opera connect with kids. It's finding ways to either break down those stereotypes, or show people that they don't actually exist.
2. What would you class as your first big break?
'I think my big break is kind of twofold.
'The first job that I did at college was when I covered Figaro at Opera North, so that was kind of the 'first big thing' that I did. That was an amazing amazing time, that I was only a few months out of college and I was doing that. That was a real rush for me (going on as a cover is always a real adrenaline rush). So that was pretty thrilling.
'But, it probably wasn't as much as a career changer as I kind of hoped it would be. At the time I was naive and I kind of thought, 'Oh, this is it now. I've had that lucky break and everything's going to come rolling in', and that wasn't the case. But it was still a really amazing night.
'I grew in a slower, more considered way than I perhaps thought would happen. I was an opera singer for four years after leaving college, and then I realised that I wanted a little bit more stability and a little bit more of a regular income. I'd done a lot of education work with ETO before. I'd done things like making operas with kids with special needs and I'd been into schools doing shows for Key Stage 2 audiences and I thought, 'This is amazing, this is where the really really important work is going on.'
'I worked with this guy called Tim Yealland quite a lot, who is a really brilliant writer and director. He was, at that time, the head of education at ETO. When Tim left ETO, before he left, his job came up I thought 'Do you know what, this is something I could do.' I wasn't the obvious choice, but I was really experienced in the product. So I applied and I got it.'
3. What is your favourite thing about having a career that is centred on the arts?
'I just think that it's a privilege to be making art. And I think that my favourite thing, now, is having that freedom to be making art with or for children, and seeing their reaction - the difference that music and real proper engagement that comes with maybe just one child when you're having a moment of participation, and you just see in their eyes that they're loving it.
'I suppose that you could expand that and say that it's making people feel good, because that's what the arts do generally - they make people reflect and feel something.
'Now I suppose that I'm not just an opera singer. I've sort of deviated slightly, but I just can't imagine not being in the arts. Teachers hate me because I come in as the person who does a fun day or hour of workshops and then I get to be like, 'Bye!'
4. What, would you say, is your personal highlight of your career so far?
'That was with ETO when I did the role of Bunthorne in Patience (so in Gilbert & Sullivan) and that was just the most amazing role and tour for me. I've always loved doing comedy and I didn't know just how much G&S was going to suit me. I got lovely reviews, the audiences were all great and I just had a really great time on the tour. So doing Patience was definitely a real highlight for me.
5. Is there anyone in particular in the creative field who inspires you?
'There are two people who have had the biggest impact on my career as it is now. I'd say that one person who was incredibly inspirational and supportive was Tim Yealland, who was the head of education at ETO before me. He was always so supportive and really inspired me to do this work.
'And then the other person would be the artistic director at ETO, James Conway. He took a punt on me in this job, nurtured me, and always taken an active interest in my career. He's not only given me singing work, but also given me this fantastic teaching opportunity.
'So they've both been very inspirational people. I would say that they never pushed me in any way but, just because of how supportive they've been, I've felt that I could make these slightly off the wall decisions, like to change my career from being just an opera singer. I think that the support that they've given me meant that I could do that.
'Thinking about inspirational people, my parents were always so supportive. They never forced me to do anything or said that I couldn't do anything. They weren't like 'You need to get a good job and earn lots of money', they were just like 'Do whatever makes you happy, enjoy yourself along the way, and just try your best.' That was their mantra, and it was kind of freeing, because I never thought I needed to go to law school and become a lawyer.
6. What are you most looking forward to in the future for your career?
'It's, frankly, really hard to be a freelance opera singer on its own, because to piece together a career (and you're constantly piecing together a career, I talk about it like a jigsaw puzzle that never ends) is exhausting. I made the decision that to not follow that path, as whatever stability I was able to get would make me happy, and I was right.
'In the short term, it will be really great to firstly be able to get into schools again to get to do creative work with kid. Then in the short to medium term, to actually get out on a stage again and perform to an audience. Just get into a rehearsal room and make art with a group of people.
'More of a long term thing for me is that I'm loving the balance that I've got. In 10 years maybe), I'd love to be an artistic director of somewhere, or maybe go down that route. I'm not sure that I could see myself going back to being just an opera singer. I guess you could say that I've had some quite big changes in what is the relative early day in my career. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what happens in the next 10 years. I'm looking forward to seeing how that develops.
'I'm also looking forward to - I know it's really horrible at the moment for freelances, venues and theatres, and it's heartbreaking to think about what's happening - but, I do hope that we will get through it somehow. I'm looking forward to seeing what the arts do in the next few years or so, because there's only going to be innovative, creative responses, and it will only make the sector stronger.
'We have to find ways that we can innovate. We've got to be buoyant, flexible and kind of pivot. I think there needs to be a really interesting and engaging way to put opera on the screen. We're still looking at ways that we can make opera for children to go on the screen, but also to make it interactive - so that we can bring something of the interaction that we would have if we did it in real life.
'There's really creative things going on. But, we should remember that what we're best at is live and whatever we do now is, it can be different and it can compliment the live, but it is in no way replacing the live stuff.'
No comments
Post a Comment