Love and War and Tragedy in the operatic world
A few days ago we enjoyed a most convivial evening with the operatic husband and wife duo, Louis and Tanya Hurst, enjoying food and wine together (something dear to both our hearts), and chatting about their operatic lives together, including their involvement in the ENO’s productions of Tosca and Yeomen of the Guard and gaining some insight in their motivation and choices for the ‘Love and War’ gala which, due to illness, we have unfortunately had to postpone to Friday, January 20th, 2023.
Little did any of us know what devastation was to be wreaked by the announcement of the Arts Council England to withdraw funding from ENO and many other major arts institutions, threatening both the continuation of world class productions and concerts, as well as the livelihoods of literally thousands of professional musicians, actors and administrators in the business.
We are determined to support Louis and Tanya with their concert. Please read this interview to feel their dedication and passion for the opera world and make sure you book tickets to the gala concert to show your support for them and many others in similar circumstances.
Cast your mind back a couple of years to the late summer of 2020. The pandemic was still in full swing and, unless you were a Government minister of course, there were strict rules on how we could mix.
We weren’t allowed indoor gatherings, so St Paul’s Opera was unable to stage its regular summer opera festival inside the church. But we were allowed outdoor events, provided certain rules were adhered to.
And so, starved of months of operatic entertainment, the lower churchyard on that balmy September afternoon was packed with socially distanced groups ready to enjoy a thrilling gala concert. But what’s this? Two of the performers are most certainly not socially distancing… in fact, during their performance of the ‘rape’ duet between Tosca and Scarpia from Puccini’s Tosca they are acting very much like an unhappily married couple. He’s got his arms around her neck and, well, as in all good opera, it’s not going to end well.
So how was this close personal contact allowed? Simply that baritone Louis and soprano Tanya Hurst are a married couple and, despite on stage appearances, happily so.
Jump forward to year two of Covid restrictions and Tanya found herself at Iford Opera (Wiltshire-based opera company) singing a fund raising gala and the tenor fell sick, so Louis was drafted in, Tanya having convinced the producer that the repertoire was all the more rich and diverse than the standard Sop/Tenor regular numbers.
These performances sparked an idea: why not put together a gala concert of arias and duets that could be performed by a married couple, some loving, some sad… and a few verging on physical assault? This, as well as the chance to air some new material, as the couple continue their careers in the operatic arena, determined to keep their offering fresh and market-relevant.
So, the key question we were keen to find out was how this arrangement works for a husband and wife singing duo, in a practical sense?
“That depends on what the schedule is like for both of us,” Tanya tells us. “Currently we’re both London based and we work well together, finding our time and space to prepare for our various activities,” she adds. “But when we’re working elsewhere it can be pretty hard. Earlier this year I had some great opportunities working away, particularly when I was with Welsh National Opera (WNO) covering the title role of Jenufa. It was such a marvellous opportunity and I relished the chance to sing the role for myself (a dream fulfilled), but it was hard being away from home. Louis and I will talk every single day but I always miss home, being in my own bed, and doing domestic stuff like cooking!”
Tanya seems to be the more frequent traveller of the couple, having completed tours in recent years with companies such as English Touring Opera (ETO) and Opera North, amongst others. “I love being away with such great colleagues in these companies, and we’re well looked after, but even if it’s a long late drive home, getting in at say 4am, I’d often prefer that, with the bonus of breakfast with Louis, over a comfy Airbnb in a provincial town.
“But I mustn’t complain; I’ve had some great gigs and with that the opportunities to sing dream rep and roles, such as singing chorus in Macbeth with ETO then the chance to sing the Lady Macbeth role at the end of the same run.”
We’re curious to know what happens when the opportunities take you overseas, and maybe how has this experience worked post-Brexit.
“It’s certainly a major faff,” pipes up Louis. “There’s a lot of time you need to allocate to get visas and permits sorted out. Very often this is your responsibility and you just need to set aside the time (non-fee earning time, I might add) to get yourself to the relevant country’s embassy to queue sometimes all day to sort out the paperwork. Having said that, there are some opera houses in mainland Europe who will sort this admin for you – such as many of the German opera houses, who seem to be well versed in this sort of bureaucracy.
And is this the same for Tanya, who is, after all, an Aussie passport holder? “Yes to a degree, although I seem to slip under the Brexit radar and whilst I have to go through the immigration process, I don’t seem to see the same amount of admin, as I know most English colleagues have persistently long winded processes to balance.”
Now, we’ve been itching to ask this question: where did you two meet, and what brought you to the UK, Tanya?
“That’s an easy one. Having completed my post grad diploma from Melbourne, I did what masses of Aussies do and came to the UK to complete a vocal masters. I ended up at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), met Louis and we’re still living the experience!”
And why did you head to Europe in the first place?
“Well, many of us Aussies have the view that Europe is bigger and better thank back home, and particularly for musicians. And when you get to the UK – let’s just say for a comparison, Manchester Uni had everything I needed!” Tanya has a certain cheeky grin whilst answering this one.
“Besides, there’s infinitely more work in the UK. However, we both knew that London was where we really needed to be as there is a vast amount of music making to take advantage of – session work, church singing, opera houses, and even the touring and festival companies, nine times out of ten, rehearse in London, at least to start.”
“Yes, and of course the European cities are usually just a couple of hours’ flight time away – think about the fact that one third of all opera in the world takes place in Germany!” adds Louis.
“The ‘business’ of music should really be given a major focus in the conservatoires. It’s an essential part of this lifestyle!”
So why aren’t you tempted to actually live in Germany, for instance, after all, there are numerous singers who’ve made the move, even SPO colleagues who’ve sung in previous productions.
Tanya’s turn to answer this one: “Well, to be completely honest, we both really enjoy London life, both from the work opportunities and the social and cultural side too. During lockdown, I did set myself a task of improving my German (I did the equivalent of an A level at the Goethe Institute), but of course you need to live in Germany to become fluent, which I guess would be possible, but London’s our home for now.”
Speaking of lockdown, what got you through?
“Wine,” says Louis, in a flash.
Riiiiiiight……..
“No it’s not what you think. I went to work for Majestic Wine and became the manager of the store in Muswell Hill (nearest to our home). And I did the Wine & Spirits Trust exams to improve my knowledge. Tanya was a great help with the practical learning.”
“What the Aussie wines? I had a local knowledge advantage, let’s say!”
And you, Tanya?
“At the outset, I was shielding as I’m diabetic, so I worked from home online, but then we realised that the fear factor wasn’t quite so limiting, so I picked up odd jobs here and there – catering, swabbing, I even worked in a bakery for a short while, but thankfully then the singing work started to reappear.”
You both demonstrate an amazing amount of resilience in finding work. As well as purely operatic work – whether it’s the touring work, cover work, chorus work with English National Opera (ENO)….
“We’re both in ENO’s Yeoman [of the Guard] currently, but there’s plenty of other work – teaching, running choirs, church singing.”
“Yes we’re both in ENO’s Yeoman [of the Guard] currently,” adds Louis, “but there’s plenty of other work – teaching, running choirs, church singing. It’s the classic portfolio career. To be honest, there are very few singers who purely work on the major operatic stages of the world. Roddy Williams is a prime example – yes he sings in operas, but also recitals and oratorios, he conducts, composes, teaches and also broadcasts – a superb all-rounder of the classical music world.”
“Actually,” chips in Tanya, “the ‘business’ of music should really be given a major focus in the conservatoires. It’s an essential part of this lifestyle!”
We’re curious about the repertoire choice so the conversation moves onto the specifics of the ‘War and Peace’ gala.
“Ah yes, all bangers!” is Louis’s response.
“But it’s more than this,’ adds Tanya. “Some might say it’s a rather self-indulgent choice, but from our point of view, we’re in a privileged position of having the opportunity of more rehearsal time as we live together. For a classic gala, there’s very often no time to rehearse some of these items as they’re not standard repertoire. So from our point of view it’s great to be able to sing something different, and from the audience’s point of view, they don’t have to listen to the same old numbers being banged out!”
“And as Tanya said earlier, we can explore the Soprano / Baritone rep, which again is not necessarily the standard for a gala (more often than not, it’s a Soprano / Tenor pairing),” explains Louis.
“In fact,” adds Tanya, “We’ve only sung two of these number before together, and the ‘[Eugine] Onegin’ is brand new for us both.
You said at the outset that you wanted to put the programme together as a way of preparing new material for auditions. Tell us more about this aspect.
Louis kicks the discussion off: “For my part, I want to be sure that I have enough in my repertoire to show my best ‘side’ when an audition comes up out of the blue – they do from time to time – so that, even when your feeling a bit rough (sometimes self-inflicted) you’ve got something up your sleeve to show your strengths that you can rattle off standing on your head.”
“Yes, and I feel I’ve got to an age and confidence now where I’m absolutely confident that I want to show an audition panel ‘this is my product’,” adds Tanya, “rather than trying to fit my square peg into a production’s round hole.
“Galas are really useful for polishing and extending repertoire. In this gala, we’ve got the less explored rep and language which works well for the two of us for future auditions.”
Quick Fire Questions
Tanya Louis
What’s your favourite audition aria?
Kát’a Kabanova Ves’ tabor spit - Aleko
Your favourite operatic role?
Jenufa Gianni Schicchi
The role you’d love to sing?
Marschallin / Der Rosenkavalier Flying Dutchman
Picture by Ali Wright
“I have to add one thing here,” offers Louis, “I’m going to reveal Tanya’s superpower – phonetics! She’s the most gifted natural language coach.”
“Ah yes,” admits Tanya. “I might not always have a total command of the nuance of a language, but I just seem to have a knack of getting my tongue round the language repertoire, especially Czech and Russian. I just love it!”
It’s a certainty that ‘Love and War’ will demonstrate this particular talent in its varied programme, and the thrill of hearing these two SPO friends filling an evening’s entertainment will be beheld by our audience.
‘Love and War’ – Friday 20th January, 2023
St Paul’s Church, Rectory Grove, Clapham, SW4 0DZ