Creative Practice
I, Isolde - Performance
I, Isolde is a performance piece which explores the themes arising from life history interviews with female singers who posses dramatic voices. The piece is a hybrid of academic recital, staged song cycle and play embodying the pathways and pitfalls of a mid-career transition to dramatic repertoire.
It provides an alternative performance method for the emerging dramatic singer to develop their performance skills in repertoire that is suitable for their current stage of development and gives the aspiring Brünhilde a mode of performance to step out of 'The Wings' while waiting to enter 'The Ring'.
I, Isolde - Accompanying Exegesis
An exegesis of 20,000 words will accompany the performance piece Finding Isolde. The accompanying exegesis will detail the processes engaged in creating and performing the piece as ‘creative works cannot be expected to speak for themselves’ (Candy & Edmonds, 2018). This discursive textual analysis will explain the position, demonstrate critical reflection and will provide evidence of the ‘systematic development of an idea’ (Hill, 2015), which is a necessary criterion for performative creative works to be understood as research.
I, Isolde - Recording
[TBC] To view the performance click here
Staged Song Cycles
Kindertotenlieder/Wesendonck lieder
Mahler/Wagner
As preparation for the performance of 'I, Isolde' an iterative cycle of performances will be engaged in during the Performer-Researcher's second year of candidature. Staging of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder and Wagner's Wesendonck lieder will act as fieldwork to determine if staged song cycles can act as an effective mode of training the practical, performance and psychological skills of the emerging dramatic voice.
#KundryKontent
An experiment in social media, replacing the now defunct showreel format with an instagram based format to document the creative process of learning the role of Kundry. A highlights reel of all of Kundry's #bestbits #Parsifail's and #HolyGrail's included.
Staged Song Cycles
Woman's Life and Love/One Life Stand
Schumann/Frances-Hoad
As preparation for the performance of 'I, Isolde' an iterative cycle of rehearsals and performances will be engaged in during the Performer-Researcher's Candidature. Staging Schumann's 'Frauenliebe und Leben' (Woman's Life and Love) with Cheryl Frances-Hoad's modern response 'One Life Stand' will build on the knowledge created in the process of staging Mahler's Kindertotenlieder. As well as exploring whether staged song cycles are an effective mode for training the skills required by the emerging dramatic voice the Performer-Researcher will explore through these cycles the multiplicity of roles female opera singers play alongside their singing careers.