First Person
First Person: Lindsey Ferrentino on the play that has led Adrien Brody to the London stageFriday, 11 October 2024I turn 36 this year, while living in London and rehearsing my new play The Fear of 13 at the Donmar Warehouse. The cast places a cake on my desk, covered in script pages and 10 pairs of handcuffs. I video the cake, the handcuffs, the singing actors... Read more... |
First Person: conductor Robert Hollingworth on a four-choir rarity by BenevoliFriday, 04 October 2024I’m sitting in a café in Kraców, Poland, rehearsals finished for the resurrection of a mass setting written nearly 400 years ago in Rome. Nothing particularly odd about this except that the virtually unknown composer – Orazio Benevoli, master of the... Read more... |
First Person: soprano Elizabeth Atherton on the decimation of the classical music sector in WalesMonday, 23 September 2024Is it an opera company’s role to avert climate change? Should a circus troupe have to prioritize promoting the Welsh language? Is the purpose of a dance ensemble to bring about social justice? Should these issues be the main focus for our arts... Read more... |
First Person: Alexandra Dariescu on highlighting women at the Leeds International Piano CompetitionMonday, 09 September 2024This year, I am delighted to be supporting the Alexandra Dariescu Award at the Leeds International Piano Competition for an outstanding performance of a work by a female composer. This marks a significant milestone in the 60-year history of The... Read more... |
First Person: trans opera singer Lucia Lucas on Tippett’s 'New Year' and her life in musicTuesday, 16 July 2024Until last week, Tippett’s New Year had not been staged since 1990, probably because it’s considered very hard to produce. I think it is generally harder than Britten. It’s also an ensemble piece; you need 10 people who are fairly accomplished in... Read more... |
First Persons: composers Colin Alexander and Héloïse Werner on fantasy in guided improvisationWednesday, 17 April 2024For tonight’s performance at Milton Court, the nuanced and delicate tones of strings, voices, harmonium and chamber organ will merge and mingle together to tell tales of a rain-speckled landscape, luck and misfortune, forgotten valour, daily... Read more... |
First Person: actor Paul Jesson on survival, strength, and the healing potential of artMonday, 08 April 2024In September 2022 I had an email from my American friend Richard Nelson: "Would you like me to write you a play?" Such an offer probably comes the way of very few actors and I was bowled over by it. My astonished and grateful response was tempered... Read more... |
First Person: author-turned-actor Lydia Higman on a play that foregrounds a slice of forgotten historyThursday, 28 March 2024I first read Anne Gunter’s story about five years ago, when I was in my first year of university at Oxford, little knowing it would over time lead to our play Gunter [seen first in Edinburgh and transferring 3-25 April to the Royal Court]. The... Read more... |
First person: playwright Paul Grellong on keeping pace with American politicsWednesday, 27 March 2024I’m writing this in the lobby of the Menier Chocolate Factory a couple of hours before the first preview. I was last here in February for the start of rehearsals. In the time since, I’ve made a handful of, one hopes, helpful adjustments to the... Read more... |
First Person: conductor Peter Whelan on coming full circle with the Monteverdi Choir and OrchestraSunday, 17 March 2024There's something undeniable about the way music can weave itself into the fabric of our lives, shaping our passions and leaving an indelible mark on our journeys. For me, this magic has been particularly intertwined with the Monteverdi Choir and... Read more... |
First Person: Laurence Cummings on his 25th and final year as Musical Director of the London Handel FestivalWednesday, 13 March 2024At the time of writing, rehearsals are well under way for the London Handel Festival 2024. It’s a big year for me as it’s my 25th and final year as Musical Director.Though preparations are keeping me very busy, I have found the odd quiet moment to... Read more... |
First Person: violinist Tom Greed on breaking down barriers in the presentation of chamber musicSaturday, 02 March 2024For musicians, the period from early 2020 to mid-2021 was one of great reflection, with so many questions to puzzle over. Could we satisfy the basic need to interact with others and express ourselves? What on earth was Zoom, and how, as performers,... Read more... |
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