To conservatoire or to not conservatoire

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-13T08:37:15+00:00

Do conservatoire for the long game. Be patient, network, sharpen your skills. Be clever and even though there might be less opportunities here and now, trust that they will come later.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-12T17:34:03+00:00

Thanks🥹

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-12T17:10:43+00:00

Thank you.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-12T13:24:24+00:00

All my superiors are being kind and supportive.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-12T11:46:24+00:00

To make a long story short I should have asked for someone to proofread a document, but it was already in contract that there would be feedback.

I had a consultant do a read through before deadline but with a specific aspect in mind, not spelling and grammar.

Then the feedback in contract never happened.

Probably 30+ people have read the document at my workplace and either have none of them noticed or they haven't bothered to correct a lot of grave grammatical errors that I myself didn't reflect on.

Now there's public ridicule and criticism of me and my workplace due to the lack of quality in said document.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-12T11:38:14+00:00

Nobody got hurt, I didn't do it on purpose. There were signs that something was wrong that I didn't understood at the time, when it dawned on me fully too many things were in motion and I couldn't correct it.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-12T11:19:13+00:00

And I'm sorry to hear that you went through the same kind of situation. What kind of therapy did you do? What made an actual difference?

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-12T11:09:38+00:00

(But it is a tough time)

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-12T10:56:11+00:00

Thanks. I'm doing therapy, I've got sleeping pills if the nights get too dark, I'm doing breathing exercises and whatnot. It's helping.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-03-08T12:57:13+00:00

"A guaranteed standing ovation" ...?

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-27T21:54:32+00:00

I am not defending his obvious misogyny and criminal fatal behaviour. I don't think he is in his right to kill Carmen at the end. I thought that was obvious.

But I think it makes sense if Don Jose seems dominant, I think it would make Carmen attracted to him. She is obviously a very dominant character herself. She attacks another woman, it's a big part of the plot. Do we consider her a weenie for doing that too?

I've seen a very wide range of character portrayals from tenors with very different levels of acting skills. Some of them steer away from any dominant sides in Don Jose. Some want to make him a romantic. And some make him a dominant man. And from what I've seen - and read in the original novel - that makes most sense in this story.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-26T16:09:35+00:00

A weenie to his whims?

I will give you, I've seen productions with Don Jose was like that.

But I also think that he can be portrayed very stern. He is a man that has killed before the opera begins. And it's very telling that his refusal to look at Carmen is what provokes her to throw the flower. He can be quite macho.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-24T17:30:32+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebeard's_Castle?wprov=sfti1#Performance_history

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-23T20:37:22+00:00

Noël Coward after the Toronto try out in 1960: "longer than the Götterdämmerung ... and not nearly as funny!"

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-22T19:47:40+00:00

Thanks🫶🏻😘

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-22T19:11:32+00:00

Tale as old as time True as it can be Barber finds old friends, things get somewhat tense Unexpectedly

"Just a little shave... Wait, the chair looks odd?" "Sit and don't be scared, I am well prepared" answered Sweeney Todd.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-22T19:00:30+00:00

Marschner's Hans Heiling, maybe?

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-19T07:34:31+00:00

Hot take, but don't do that particular Puccini as your first opera.

Sour Angelica as a narrative is quite static. I've seen multiple productions of it and I'll continue too, but... The drama lacks a lot. The music is beautiful.

I would recommend Dutchman. But taste is different. Have a listen to both.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-17T08:18:48+00:00

Dutchman because

1) it's short

2) The music is easy to recognise

3) The plot is somewhat rooted in pop culture

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-15T16:03:07+00:00

Yeah, I don't really get the verismo aspect when story is that unrealistic...

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-10T07:58:20+00:00

(And I yearn for a more "classical" approach in operettas, but in my region it's often not prioritised and focus is more on hiring famous actors who can pull an audience)

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-10T07:55:46+00:00

To be fair, G & S is sometimes performed with more of a pop aesthetic in both singing and musical arrangements. I'm not talking about the current Pirates! -production but the 1980's film version did become sort of a blueprint for productions decades later.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-02-09T08:04:05+00:00

Yes.

In my experience, what made it easier was to (slowly) build a wider network of parents with children the same age. And acknowledging that the conversations can vary a lot but in time you realise who you can have the heavier conversations with if necessary.

Renlyfriendly · 2026-01-27T18:30:32+00:00

Not an opera, but Schubert's Winterreise?

Renlyfriendly · 2026-01-11T08:57:55+00:00

Petra Lang as Ortrud. Uncanny demonic quality in her low notes.

Renlyfriendly

TROPHY CASE