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CASTING CALL OF A LIFETIME
By Marc Geelhoed
There's a story, probably apocryphal, that the producers of the first James Bond film were attempting to cast the title role without any luck when one of them looked out the window into a London street and saw a young man execute a particularly acrobatic movement, hopping over a barricade, to avoid an oncoming car. "That's the man I want!" cried the producer, and Sean Connery became a star. The stars of OPERATUNITY may not rise to Connery's fame, but they all managed to be in the right place at the right time, and executed some acrobatic moves of their own.
Lots of people think they can sing just as well as Britney, but who knew the United Kingdom was filled with so many who think they can sing like Sutherland or Pavarotti? When the intrepid movers and shakers at the English National Opera (ENO) announced a nationwide contest to find an undiscovered opera singer good enough to perform on their stage, they had no idea what to expect. OPERATUNITY follows several of the contest finalists and the ENO as it finds, trains, and eventually selects a winner. Mary King, one of the ENO judges who helped make the final decision, discussed in an e-mail interview the surprising entrants, as well as what it took to find the right voices.
The videotapes Mary King viewed before whittling down the list totaled more than 2,000, and many contestants did everything they could to be chosen to sing in front of the judges. "One sang with a lampshade on his head and assassinated a teddy bear," wrote King. "We had several naked men in showers," though only one is seen in the show, "and quite a few sopranos recording themselves in the bathroom" for extra resonance. But for the chance to sing with the famous English National Opera, who's to say wearing a lampshade is out of the question?
The ENO has a long-standing tradition of performing and commissioning operas only in English, so works in other languages are presented in translation, like the piece that culminates OPERATUNITY, Verdi's "Rigoletto." But even though the ultimate winner would perform in English, some of the more operatically experienced contestants went ahead and prepared Italian arias. Hearing an opera star sing can be thrilling, but it's something else entirely to hear a big construction worker ("builder," in British parlance) belting out an Italian song while working on a house. But not everyone went that route, naturally. "People sang all manner of things in the auditions -- not all operatic, there were operetta arias like "Glitter and Be Gay" [from "Candide"] and pop songs ('Let It Be')," wrote King.
Top banner photos: OPERATUNITY winner Denise Leigh; judges John Fraser, Mary King, Paul Daniel, and Leah Hausman; winner Jane Gilchrist |
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As part of their in-person auditions, the 110 regional finalists also participated in group workshops. |
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Winner Jane Gilchrist gets vocal coaching from ENO panel member Mary King. |
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This program is not available on VHS or DVD. |
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