Queensland's Peter Grimes

How disappointing it must be for an artist to travel half way around the world to sing, then fall ill. That happened to Stuart Skelton this week.

Stuart Skelton as Peter Grimes

I came up from Sydney to see the Queensland Opera production of Peter Grimes. I saw it this evening, a very successful semi-staged version.

Skelton managed the first act, then handed over to a stand-in. Although not well, he very generously acted the rest while his substitute stood at the side and sang from the score. It makes a big difference to have someone who can act the part on stage, even if they don't sing and Skelton is the quintessential Grimes.

Last time I saw a substitute sing in the wings was in Leipzig when a lead singer in Die Frau Ohne Schatten was ill and in that case an assistant marked the singers movements. It helped, but was not nearly as successful. This is when you realise that opera singers really have to be good actors as well as extraordinary singers. It is a very demanding profession.

21 Sept. Addendum: I got an email from Queensland Opera today apologising that Stuart Skelton was unable to sing the full performance. Apparently the doctor diagnosed severe pollen allergies. He'll apparently sing the full concert on Saturday.

Die Walküre in Melbourne

Inside Melbourne's State Theatre

Miriam Gordon-Stewart (Sieglinde) and Stuart Skelton (Siegmund) opened last night's dress rehearsal of Die Walküre at the Melbourne State Theatre with a vocally stunning and utterly convincing performance, melting the audience into a state of overwhelmed bliss. The rest of the cast was extraordinarily good as well. Jud Arthur a suitably threatening Hunding, Jacqueline Dark a convincing Fricka (despite the awful beige dress and granny shoes she had to wear) and Terje Stensvold a strong though vulnerable Wotan. Susan Bullock sang a Brünnhilde I'll not forget. She was wonderful, vibrant and fun. The orchestra under the capable baton of Pietari Inkinen really supported the cast and received a big ovation from the delighted audience.

This time the staging also supported the story and music. A few nights ago Rhinegold, all feathers and beige granny shoes, had left me underwhelmed despite strong performances from the singers and orchestra and obviously expert stagecraft. It felt misogynist and racist to me, the magic of the music almost entirely lost. But congratulations to Opera Australia for Die Walküre. I wait with baited breath for the next instalment of the story ...

Addendum: Today (Wednesday) I spoke to a woman for whom this Ring Cycle is her first Wagner experience.  She said she had liked Rhinegold best so far and when I asked what part in particular she said 'the cigarette ladies with their coloured feathers.' So there you go, everyone sees through different eyes

Stuart singing at King Street Theatre

My painting of tenor Stuart Skelton was not one of the forty (of 800) paintings chosen to be hung in the Archibald exhibition. Instead Stuart is now singing from the wall of the revamped and exciting King Street theatre in Sydney's Newtown.

The portrait looks as if it was painted especially for that wall ... it matches the decor so well!

'I'll marry Ellen": Portrait of Stuart Skelton.

So I have taken my latest portrait into the Archibald Prize competition. It is a portrait of the Australian tenor Stuart Skelton.

"I'll marry Ellen": portrait of Stuart Skelton.

 I saw Stuart an unforgettable Peter Grimes (that's where the words on the painting come from)  in London at the Coliseum. Stuart is a big fellow and had no difficulty hoisting the young fisherman's apprentice onto his shoulders when the script required.  I heard later that the tenor the following week did not find it so easy. Both portrait and the studies I made in preparation are on www.artsmitten.com

'Wagner Inspired' Exhibition in Aldeburgh

I have just spent a week in the UK, a flying visit to put on an exhibition in Aldeburgh in conjunction with a 3 day event that was being held by the London Wagner Society. Aldeburgh (pronounced Awl-bro and not, as I had assumed, All-de-berg) is a picturesque town on the Suffolk coast about 2 hours north east of London.

I arrived late on Thursday to drop my pictures at the gallery. The town lights were on and Aldeburgh looked very pretty.
The Met Bureau had forecast heavy rain and 12C for the weekend but in the morning the sun was shining.
I had spent a lot of time preparing the exhibition before arriving and my work paid off as the hanging was trouble free and relatively quick.
An opening was scheduled for 3pm so there was no time to waste but we were ready in plenty of time and the etchings/paintings looked great - a good size for the room really.


But ... where were the guests?

I found out later that the bus bringing participants from London had broken on the motorway. So instead of coming to an art exhibition guests were treated to a 3 hour display of engineering ingenuity as the mechanic built a replacement rod for the bus's gear box. Non-bus participants received their tickets (and the invitation to the exhibition) only when they arrived in town, too late for the opening.

So we packed away the glasses and just hoped that people would find time between the many activities during the event (movies/interviews/masterclasses/singing) to drop in. The movies were held in the Aldeburgh Cinema which was housed in the same quaint half timbered building as the Cinema Art Gallery so people did drop in. However, if I undertook such an exhibition again I would make sure the organisers of the event planned some exhibition-viewing time.

It was great showing the work to people with a similar Wagner addiction to my own. Wagner Society members didn't need the symbolism in my work explained to them, they understood it immediately and recognised the pieces of Wagner's librettos woven into the images. I was fascinated to see them inch their way around the room, examining each image and nodding their heads. Only two of the works sold over the weekend, but in the current financial climate that is probably a good result. I was told I should exhibit the work to a wider audience so I will think about that for the future. Perhaps there may be an opportunity in Hamburg as Wagner's Ring Cycle is being prepared in Hamburg by Australian born conductor Simone Young.

On Monday I woke at six and went for a walk along the beach. It is a windswept place and barren looking. Aldeburgh was Benjamin Britten's birthplace and all his music has a local flavour, including his opera Peter Grimes which is about a fisherman who is 'different' and who is hounded to his eventual death by the town gossips.
I had the great good fortune of seeing the opera Peter Grimes on Monday evening.

Walking along along the Aldeburgh beach on Monday morning, then hearing Peter Grimes at the Coliseum in London in the evening was the highlight of the weekend for me.
The Coliseum is a stark contrast to the beach in Aldeburgh and to Peter Grimes.
The young Australian singer Stuart Skelton sang the role of Peter Grimes and he was fantastic. I had seen him singing in Sydney at an informal Wagner Society function, as the NSW Wagner Society sponsored German lessons (I think) for him during his studies. He got rave reviews for his portrayal of Peter Grimes and they were well deserved.

On the Wednesday late flight back from Stanstedt I flew over English countryside yellow with Rapeseed flowers to what the ElCheapo airline RyanAir calls Hamburg-Luebeck but which is actually Luebeck. The connecting bus to Hamburg takes an hour, then onto the the almost-last train home. My wheelie bag sounded very loud as I tramped home through dark and silent streets.