Twin news
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
by Juliette | 07.06.10 | "First Night", Latest News, Performances, Twin news
Still waiting to see if Sizzle is going to make it into the Venice Film Festival – we should hear next week. To confuse matters, it isn’t Sizzle anymore. They’ve changed it to First Night – quelle surprise (or should I say quelle amélioration!)
Some good news is Proms in the Park has enquired about my availability for the Last Night of the Proms in Salford again which I feel really pleased about as I’d presumed they wouldn’t want the same soloist 3 years in a row. Fingers crossed they make a definite booking. More »
Tags: First Night, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Last Night of the Proms, Salford Proms in the Park
by Juliette | 05.17.10 | Domestic Diva, Performances, Twin news
Poor James, from the sublime of Rachmaninov ….
After a weekend of wonderful Rachmaninov concerts he is currently conducting over 1400 kids in the Albert Hall. He tried to get out of it but they always get you morally with these education projects –very hard to say no and feel good about yourself. Apparently the kids are fine, it’s the teachers that are the problem, they all want to play and perform in the concert despite James gently (and then more forcefully) pointing out that it’s supposed to be for the kids…
I gave him my favourite joke of the moment to use on them in times of stress:
Why did Piglet put his head down the toilet? More »
Tags: great ormond street, rachmaninov vespers, Royal Albert Hall
by Juliette | 05.10.10 | Latest News, Performances, Twin news
Bit of a hectic week this one. Twins have their first appointment at Great Ormond Street on Wednesday, got the big-wig from Decca here on Thursday to hear Gemma in action and then I’m singing the Rachmaninov Vespers on Friday and Saturday down at the Brighton Festival. My voice is not sounding it’s best due to some sleepless nights with Arthur who has been put on steroids as he ended up with some breathing difficulties after a chest infection. Much better now so I’m hoping to get my voice back in good order by Friday.
Rachmaninov Vespers (written in 1915 -I think) are really low for a mezzo and if I’m not careful I try to over darken my voice to get the Russian correct and end up sounding like I’m pretending to be a Bond girl villain – not the desired effect for such an atmospheric and reflective work!! It’s a great piece. Written against the backdrop of war and revolution, it harks back to centuries old eastern orthodox chant. Unlike anything else he wrote that I know and in my opinion, a masterpiece. More »
by Juliette | 05.01.10 | Latest News, Record Producing, Twin news
Not sure whether I have mentioned Gemma Sampson yet. If you follow X Factor (don’t worry, your secret is safe with me) she took part last year with the group, Misfitz (singing our version of the Britney Spears song, Toxic). Anyway, she is currently on a development deal with Decca and we are recording a couple of tracks for her which we were supposed to be finishing this week. She is a great singer, a kind of female Bublé crossed with Shirley Bassey and blessed with the looks of Halle Berry. (I know, life isn’t fair, eh.) Unfortunately though, she doesn’t have everything – she has lost her voice. We recorded all the backing though and put the most amazing trumpeter on Stray Cat Strut. He sounds like Kenny Baker, brilliant, fat and squealy. Can’t wait to put Gemma on next week now.
Boys saw the consultant at Kings who is monitoring their development on Tuesday and he was generally really More »
Tags: Britney Spears, Decca development deal, Stray Cat Strut, X Factor
by Juliette | 04.23.10 | "First Night", Latest News, Twin news
It’s been lovely to have a more relaxed week. I went to a screening of ‘Sizzle’ at Elstree on Thursday and it was very exciting to see it all come together. All set for the Venice film festival in September and hopefully a UK release in October. Anna is desperate to come to a screening and keeps nagging us to show her the film. Call me old fashioned, but I feel the amount of implied (and not so implied) shagging is not really suitable for an 8 year old. Actually it’s not the amount, it’s the fact it’s there at all! Anna, of course, realised why I was reluctant and announced:
“ Don’t worry Mummy, I really don’t mind if it’s got sex in it, it doesn’t bother me”
No, but it jolly well bothers me!
Boys had their bloods done on Wednesday and Seth’s veins seem to have disappeared again. He has been so much More »
Tags: blood tests, Sizzle, twins
by Juliette | 04.16.10 | "First Night", Latest News, Twin news
Phew what a week. Finished all the orchestral sessions for Sizzle and now we just have to finish mixing in the Floating Earth van outside our house. The trouble with recording first-rate music with a group of first-rate musicians is that they want to make a purely first-rate musical recording. Of course we want this too and we very much hope we achieve it but it can’t be at the expense of the music not only fitting but benefiting the picture along the way. There is no point in recording the most brilliant interpretation of Mozart 39 if it drowns out all the dialogue for example, or taking the Mozart String Quintet so fast that the music ends before the scene. Try telling that to the orchestra though. Film musics like opera, there have to be compromises made in every area and when it all works, the music lifts the action and vice versa, but when it doesn’t…
Our people skills were not enhanced by Seth keeping us awake several nights in a row. I’m trying to feel sympathetic towards him as he’s just had his thyroxine reduced (again) due to the latest bloods revealing he’s hyper. I know he should improve over the next week or so but at 3 in the morning it’s hard to be sympathetic to man or beast. Not that I am calling my son a beast of course! More »
Tags: film soundtrack recording
by Juliette | 04.03.10 | Domestic Diva, Latest News, Performances, Twin news
Easter Saturday and I’m glad to say the sun has come out down here in Sussex where we are visiting my parents. It was a different matter last Saturday in Sheffield, but despite the chill factor in the air, I received a lovely warm welcome from Sheffield Oratorio Chorus and it’s a rare treat to perform Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (mostly because of the sheer forces needed for the work). He wrote it in the More »
Tags: mezzo soloist, Missa Solemnis, Sheffield Oratorio Chorus
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