Domestic Diva
by Juliette | 12.22.10 | Domestic Diva, Latest News, Performances
For anyone who is still under the misapprehension that the life of a singer is in any way glamourous, read on. Sunday, the day of my RPO/ Brighton Festival Chorus gig, started early with a message from my childminder saying she was really poorly and in bed. So, I rang my very own fairy godmother (Mum) and asked if she would mind having the kids for the day. Short notice I grant but it was that or sing with a baby on each hip. Not the accessories I had in mind to go with my red satin gown.
I had to get to Mum’s from London, about 2 hours normally but going at 30 miles an hour along the treacherous, snow covered M25, it took considerably longer. More »
Tags: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
by Juliette | 11.02.10 | Domestic Diva, Twin news
Coram's Fields entrance
Although Great Ormond Street is a pain to get to with the double buggy (it makes all the nearest tube stations impossible to use), it does have one enormous plus, as well as the fantastic care we receive of course. Just across the road is Coram’s Fields which has to have the BEST kids playground in central London. Rather longer ago than I care to remember, when I was still at the Guildhall, and James had his first job on the staff at ENO, we were both involved in a production of Mozart’s Magic Flute performed in Coram’s Fields. There was no money to book a pro orchestra so he persuaded many of the administration staff at ENO to play; many of whom had learnt an instrument to a very high standard before sensibly realising a salary was much more attractive than suffering for your art. It was on returning there with the boys this week that I noticed the paddling pool which was emptied and used as the orchestral pit for our production. It reminded me of the opening night when several of the woodwind couldn’t play for most of Act 2 because they had uncontrollable giggles. Trouble is those kind of giggles are contagious. It wasn’t until after the performance they showed James what had set them off. He had been conducting right next to a sign that read: More »
Tags: Coram's fields, ENO, great ormond street, the guildhall School of Music and Drama, The Magic Flute
by Juliette | 10.01.10 | Domestic Diva
I have just restarted a weekly Italian class which I love not least for the fact that we often meet at the Wallace Collection cafe. If I was a lady who lunched, that would most certainly be where I would carry out my lunching. Last week the topic was the attitude the Italians have towards food compared to us Brits. It was a great lesson for food vocab but it was an Italian newspaper article really struck a chord; how many times a week English children eat with their parents compared with the regular family mealtimes Italians share. I thought we managed 3 or 4 times a week which isn’t bad considering one or other of us is normally rehearsing somewhere at least 3 nights a week. I did feel defensive though and sited how impractical it was a lot of the time with many parents not getting home till bath time etc. All the usual excuses less than eloquently put in my faltering Italian. Apparently in Italy the kids are simply given a snack to keep them going and if necessary, get ready for bed but still sit up More »
Tags: childhood obesity, family meal times, fussy eaters, italian attitudes to food
by Juliette | 09.13.10 | Domestic Diva, Latest News, Performances
For those of you that didn’t manage to see Proms in the Park from Salford, it was the best atmosphere at a Prom concert I have ever experienced despite the fact that it rained until 5pm on the day. It really was such fun. My friend Jon Christos did a superb job presenting and I don’t know how he coped with people talking in his ear constantly trying to get the live link up to the Albert Hall on time. Madness. Personally I couldn’t relax until I’d sung the rather tricky una voce poco fa, but luckily that was the second item in the programme so I got it out the way early on.
What can I say about the very friendly and easy going John Barrowman. Not only was he lovely, More »
Tags: John Barrowman, Jon Christos, Last Night of the Proms, Proms in the Park Salford
by Juliette | 08.31.10 | Domestic Diva, Latest News
I love Italy. Strangely, it always compares favourably to the area of London we live in, we are in the bit between Lewisham and Deptford. Now check out the photo of Lake Fiastra – I’m the dot in the water…
What we hadn’t anticipated was the attention gemelli (twins) attract in a country like Italy. James was buying Anna an ice cream in the local bar when a lady came running in shouting “Guarda, guarda i gemelli inglesi”. We couldn’t walk down the road More »
Tags: gemelli, holiday in Le Marche, loro piceno, mouldy courgettes
by Juliette | 08.14.10 | Domestic Diva, Latest News
I’m off to Italy for a holiday on Monday morning first thing and can’t wait. James and Anna are currently in (Wonderful, wonderful) Copenhagen as James is conducting a concert over there. The programme is the American Songbook so I’ve loved listening to him learning his scores – some fantastic original orchestrations (they don’t arrange them like that anymore!).
However, he was most definitely in the dog house a couple of weeks ago when he checked his contract More »
Tags: American Songbook, Copenhagen, Italian Holiday
by Juliette | 08.08.10 | Domestic Diva, Latest News
One of the advantages of having young children is they provide you with the perfect excuse to go and see films you might otherwise be embarrassed to be seen at. This leads me nicely onto a review in the Times for Toy Story 3 which I read. It said something along the lines of:
It’s just a story about some toys. But what a story, and what toys! More »
by Juliette | 08.02.10 | Domestic Diva, Latest News, Performances, Twin news
BBC Proms in the Park 2009, Salford
We have a bright red double buggy that sits permanently on the pathway up to our front door. It can just about go through the door at a push, but takes the paint off the hallway and obviously once you’ve pushed it in, you are literally caught between the buggy and a hard place, so we have taken to parking it outside the front door on fine days but using a bike lock to attach it to our fence. Well, we do live a stones throw from Deptford!
I woke up this morning to discover the buggy hadn’t been nicked. Oh no, just the bicycle lock. The thief clearly doesn’t have twins so kindly left the buggy behind. Does that mean I should buy a padlock to lock the bicycle lock more securely to the fence before attaching the buggy to the bicycle lock. Ridiculous.
I’ve uploaded a couple more live dates on the website and I’m glad to say the Proms in the Park is confirmed More »
Tags: Proms in the Park, Salford Prom, The Sound of Music
For anyone who is still under the misapprehension that the life of a singer is in any way glamourous, read on. Sunday, the day of my RPO/ Brighton Festival Chorus gig, started early with a message from my childminder saying she was really poorly and in bed. So, I rang my very own fairy godmother (Mum) and asked if she would mind having the kids for the day. Short notice I grant but it was that or sing with a baby on each hip. Not the accessories I had in mind to go with my red satin gown.
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