Tricia on the subjects of community and nurturing

Tricia Ninian flanked by Bruce Poole (left) and SPO’s new patron David Butt Philip

In the run up to the David Butt Philip & Friends Gala on March 24th, SPO co-founder, Tricia Ninian, reflects on how David became such an inspiration to the Clapham based opera company.

So here we are, St Paul’s Opera has its first Patron. And at the outset of a key stage of our development, as we morph into an independent charity. You are so welcome, David Butt Philip.

In the process of getting to this stage, David and I have had a few conversations, as you’d imagine. And because of these conversations, I’ve discovered he’s somewhat of a foodie, which is personally very pleasing.

So when we got to the point of dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s of the current dialogue, I suggested we meet at one of my favourite temples of culinary excellence, Chez Bruce in Wandsworth, SW18.

Now, let me set out a reason for this choice of discussion venue.

In a former life, I worked in the world of hospitality, or more specifically, fine dining. I ran a competition for the emerging talent of the fine dining world, the future chefs and waiters. And I bet you can guess who was also involved - Mr Chez Bruce himself, Bruce Poole. He was the head of chef judges, with names involved on his judging panel that would have you wondering if we were the pre-curser to the ‘Great British Menu’. Halcyon days indeed! At least for me. One of my best jobs. Ever.

I know this is how Bruce operates. Back in the competition days, I would hear from his peers how his brigade revered him for his beneficent patriarchal manner. If he heard this said of him he’d say, “What utter bollocks are you talking?” But he’d also be proud to be recognised in this manner.

Not that long ago, I gave a talk at the Clapham Society’s Monday Night Talk event at the Omnibus Theatre. You will find a report on this in the April 2022 of their newsletter (https://claphamsociety.com). In the talk I reminded the audience about the original reason for putting on an opera at St Paul’s Church in Clapham – actually SPO’s inaugural event – when the then vicar, Deborah Matthews, wanted to get the local community, those not likely to enter the church on religious grounds, feel a wish to be part of the church. It worked, and SPO was born.

From this embryonic stage, SPO has developed into an organisation that not only continues to offer a cultural but also a participatory role to the local and wider community, but also provides an opportunity for our wonderful and talented singers to take part in performances that offer development at a crucial stage of their emerging careers.

And so enter David Butt Philip. How did he originally come to be involved in St Paul’s Opera? Well, it’s no coincidence that he falls into both camps of community and nurturing. The first introduction came by the way of his family friend, Mary Lucille Hindmarch, who is a member of the St Paul’s Church and Clapham community. As a keen supporter of SPO, she and I sat down for a cuppa and we talked about inviting David to run a masterclass. That was in 2017 and we have just recently run our fourth such Masterclass. His continued involvement with SPO means that his growing international reputation rubs off on ours too, which can only attract an increasing level of excellence to our operatic platform.

Fiona Hymns being coached by David Butt Philip at the recent Masterclass at St Paul's Church, Clapham

I was talking with David about this aspect of his role at the recent Masterclass and his comment was, “Tricia, it’s clear to me that SPO is doing a service to the opera talent of tomorrow – this year’s candidates were really polished before we even started. You also manage to pull in an audience that spans so many aspects of the community – opera industry professionals, the obviously very loyal local supporters, and even some kids who seemed totally engrossed in the Masterclass – a great tribute to SPO!”

So, as I said, here we are. St Paul’s Opera. With our first Patron. International tenor, David Butt Philip. We’re pretty chuffed!

And, for the record, one of two of my best jobs. Ever!