It's a funny old thing intention, as I'm discovering. At the end of last year, when I was starting to face some major changes I needed to make in my life, I set a few intentions out of curiosity, just as an experiment. I was mildly cynical but willing to give anything a go. At the time I was receiving some coaching around my business which blurred into my personal life too as I realised I had quite a few matters to address across the board. The coaching helped immensely and my life started to take a more positive direction as I felt my empowerment surge upwards. One of the intentions I set myself was to perform Tosca once in my life. I was listening to a lot of music at the time which comforted and reassured me and helped with the deep sense of loneliness I felt. I listened to a lot of Puccini, one of my favourite composers. His harp parts are refined and carefully crafted with such intricate detail and he always writes beautifully for my instrument. His music is a joy to study and any opportunity to plunge my fingers into his generous fistfuls of notes is a delight. Puccini's score is vibrant with passion. In it, he explores a full spectrum of emotions, the colours of which are exposed in his exquisite writing. The pacing of Tosca, both musically and theatrically, guarantees a great night's entertainment for audience and performers alike.
Powerful imagery
Those dark eyes from the Opera North brochure
I've been invited to play in the offstage band for a season of performances of Tosca with Opera North starting this month. I've played this role before, about ten years ago. It's a sweet simple Gavotte for flute, viola and harp which comes at the beginning of Act 2, soon after the soberingly spiritual Te Deum which closes Act 1. It's a lovely moment that vanishes like the twinkling of a star. In so many ways it's a great gig as there's no need to tune my entire harp, which I do anyway because of the resonance, and I don't need to put my orchestral blacks on. I don't even need to wear make up as I'll be invisible to the audience. In theory, when you play in the pit, you're invisible too but I always feel there's something missing unless I've got a slick of lipstick or some eyeshadow to bolster my confidence. After a minute or so playing, I pack up quietly and leave. I always felt musically deprived and hungry for more when making my exit from the backstage area to those delicious sounds that continued without me. An unfamiliar Puccini heroine, I'm looking forward to getting to know Tosca intimately.
You can imagine my bemusement at realising that I'm about to fulfil one of the intentions I set myself at the end of 2017, and far sooner than I imagined. I've been invited to perform the pit part for two performances of Tosca in Hull in November. Hmmm. Interesting. I'm seeing there's a lot to be said for intention. I'd better go and wash my dishes. I've given myself this morning off before continuing to cram - my first rehearsal has been moved forward to tomorrow. Six hours of Puccini on a Monday. What a great start to the week!
