March 2016
I’m sat alone in my flat in Bordeaux, in front of my computer screen, working on the finishing touches to my first opera Pleasure. It’s the story of a woman, Val, trapped working as a toilet attendant in a gay nightclub. Why is she there? Why can she never leave? I came up with the idea about eight years ago on a night out in Liverpool. The last 10 months have been nonstop hard slog finishing both the vocal and orchestral score. I’ve just blitzed the final week of work and I’m exhausted. I look at the clock – it’s 5am, and I finally collapse into bed.
The next day I wake up and think: “I wrote an opera, that’s actually quite cool,” and I’m suddenly excited by the thought of witnessing it being brought to life by Opera North.
23 March: first rehearsals, Opera North, Linacre Studio
I arrive at Opera North and walk into the studio, where Leslie Travers’ brilliant set towers before me. My jaw drops. I’d seen the set design in a mock-up, but to see it in real life is something else.
We jump straight into rehearsals with the singers. It’s a fascinating experience to watch. I’ve never seen first-hand this level of detail going into the directing process. I love watching Tim Albery work. It’s taught me a lot about how to approach the inner world of the characters and how to reflect this in the music I write. He completely understands the arc of the piece, and the tumultuous emotional and psychological journey that the characters take over the course of the evening.
On a daily basis, I am confronted with just how complex the staging of opera can be. I’m amazed at how fine a balance there is between words, music and drama, the staging and the direction, the singers and the band. If one thing gets out of sync, the delicate house of cards we are building collapses. So much rehearsal and planning is needed. But everyone in the company believes in the visceral power of this brilliant and unique art form. It is a huge collaborative effort.
On the final evening of the music week, I stay behind to work with Lesley Garrett on some of Val’s most significant moments in the score. She is a perfect Val, embodying all the sides of this complex character: vulnerability, guilt, shame, strength, fallibility, maternal warmth, regret, unconditional love and fear. It’s a fascinating process watching characters that have existed only in my head for so long finally come to life. Librettist Melanie Challenger and I have worked on the piece over several years and we’ve come to know its world and characters intimately. Suddenly they’re in front of you, and it feels strangely like seeing a long-lost family member. You feel like you know almost everything about them, yet at the same time they are strangers.
15 April: studio run
The premiere is only a fortnight away. This is a final chance for the team to see the production with piano accompaniment in the rehearsal space, before we get to the actual venue, where many other factors (costumes, lighting, tech, sound, etc) come into play. The studio run is performed in front of a small audience of Opera North staff and it’s also a chance for the singers to get a sense of how the piece feels from start to finish. Most of the musical, staging and directorial decisions have now been made – beyond this, it’s a process of consolidation and refinement.
This is only the second time I’ve seen the opera played through from start to finish. It’s interesting to see all of the decisions we’ve made as a team so far put in context. I’m particularly conscious of the structure, as Melanie and I have worked hard on the dramatic climax, wanting to ensure maximum impact.
At the end of the studio run I feel comfortable with the cohesive arc of the piece. There’s a lot to take in, and I’m still second-guessing some of the decisions I’ve made, wondering whether I could have solved certain issues differently. But in the end I relax and trust my instincts – it feels right. In the final scene, Tim Nelson’s performance as Nathan (Val’s estranged son) is incredibly powerful and I’m moved to tears.
25 April: stage rehearsals
Moving into the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds is the final stage of the rehearsal process. It’s bustling with people – stage managers, props assistants, sound and lighting designers, and of course understudies, on hand in case of any disasters. There’s a great energy in the room. The set and costume designs are brought brilliantly to life by Malcolm Rippeth’s ingenious lighting design, which brings yet another dimension to the show.
Nick Pritchard plays Matthew, a young man looking for love and a reason to live in a world he doesn’t feel much of an affinity for. The creative team asked him to grow his hair long for the role and it really pays off – he’s got the perfect look, with an air of innocence and emotional depth. Over the last month I’ve watched his character and beautiful voice grow. Steven Page as Pleasure’s in-house drag queen Anna Fewmore never ceases to impress me – what he has brought to this character is mind-blowing. His look is sharp and fierce and he has this brilliant, relentless energy in the big show-stoppers.
The band is in place – all the pieces of the puzzle are now together, I can finally hear Pleasure as I imagined. I’m thrilled that the ensemble involved is Psappha (the Manchester-based contemporary music group), who premiered my first piece in Liverpool when I was 14! Together with conductor Nicholas Kok, I can relax knowing that my music is in the best possible hands.
A lot has changed since my 19-year-old, peroxide-blond-haired-self was running around clubs in Liverpool telling drag queens I was going to write an opera about them! Of course, my and Melanie’s ideas about the piece and the kind of story we wanted to tell have matured, but after many hours of conversation, thousands of emails, invaluable workshops and draft after draft after redraft of the libretto, I’m confident that we have achieved what we set out to from the very early stages of development. I’ve loved every minute of writing Pleasure. Bring on the premiere!
- Pleasure is at Opera North’s Howard Assembly Room from 28 to 30 April, then tours to Liverpool Playhouse (4 May), Britten Studio Aldeburgh (7 May) and Lyric Hammersmith, London (12-14 May).
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