We are proposing small scale immersion with our hallmark Body Breath and Movement work, our theatre work, our vocal technical work, all aimed at finding the common thread, the source for authentic colour and plasticity in delivering classical singing.
Tutors:
Penelope Randall Davis- Voice and meditation Jenny Miller- Voice, drama and movement Alexandra Baybutt- Movement specialist Pianist: Nick Bosworth
11 and 12 June 2022 10-1730
“That was the best team building and breathing course I have ever been on”
“Every single hour had something precious in it”
These are just some of the happy responses to our last immersive course.
This is for singers at an advanced level, please apply for a zoom /personal interview before signing up by contacting bbrowninghastings@icloud.com
14 May, 2022
Audition Fire-up 14 May 2022
Venue: Barefoot Studio, 93 Endwell Road, SE42NF
Tutor: Jenny Miller
Pianist: Lesley Anne Sammons
Sat 14th May 10- 1730
Jenny Miller who has long experience from both sides of the audition desk, will give you tools to find colour, drama and new life for your standard audition arias, assisted by an expert coach and colleague Lesley-Anne Sammons. We will use a range of techniques including classic Barefoot Opera Body Voice Movement work, post Stanislavsky theatre work and some use of video. We will stage arias, coach them in detail and film a mock ‘Stand and Sing’ audition, for your own use.
21 April, 2022
Voiceworks -workshopping all things vocal 14 April 2022
20 April, 2022
Voiceworks-workshopping all things vocal 20 April 2022
27 January, 2022 - 30 January, 2022
Intensive 4-Day Course
Classical voice training for integration
Thursday Jan 27th – Sunday Jan 30th2022 9:30am – 6:00pm South East London
Fee: £200 Early bird price until January 1st 2022, from January 1st £240
Tutors
Jenny Miller: Voice & Movement Penelope Randall-Davis: Voice Lesley Anne Sammons & Nicholas Bosworth: Repetiteurs/Coaches Ali Baybutt & Evy Freebury: Movement Specialist & Guest Tutors TBC
13 January, 3 and 10 February 2022 ( if COVID guidelines require, workshops will be postponed to a later date)
Fee: £10 per day
Voice training workshops at St Johns Pevensey Road, St Leonards on Sea East Sussex TN38 0RD 1700-1830
In these sessions we practice…
Barefoot body, voice and movement work including breathing exercises and in-depth vocal technique
Simple harmonising
Improvisation
Group led activities
16 February, 2021 - 6 April, 2021
Online Refresher Vocal Workshops
Tuesdays, 6:30 – 7:30 pm £10
In line with our full-body approach, Barefoot Opera is offering one-hour on-line workshops for advanced singers that alternate teaching from our voice specialists with back up support from our movement tutors, and vice versa.
These are in the nature of ‘drop-in’ workshops – to enable students to benefit whether they attend one or several. The aim of the classes overall will be to refresh and reinvigorate practice and inspiration.
Barefoot Opera, well known for its fresh and lively performances of opera classics, presents a unique evening, combining a well-loved opera favourite with an operatic rarity that share a common theme: our search for love and inspiration in a dangerous world.
‘Orfeo ed Euridice‘ by Gluck ‘Zanetto‘ by Mascagni
Thursday, December 10th 6 – 7:30 pm Naomi Burrell £12.50
Brilliant solo violinist Naomi Burrell is also an expert Dalcroze trainer, and we thoroughly recommend that you dive into this exploration of movement phrasing, based on the pioneering work of Emile Jacques Dalcroze, himself a student of Fauré, and Bruckner. A deeply refreshing way to connect to music.
Wednesday, November 25th 6 – 7:30 pm Penny Randall Davis £12.50
How do we scale the heights, and maintain optimum flexibility whilst singing with our freest sound? A fun exploration for all voice types of the fascinating art of coloratura.
Wednesday, November 18th 6 – 7:30 pm Jenny Miller & Evelyn Freebury £12.50
Classical singers want to ‘sound beautiful’. This can become conflated with ‘monotonous consistency’. What is vocal colour in classical voice and how can we find more colours to use? Jenny Miller and Evelyn Freebury will explore ways to liberate colour literally from the inside out.
Explore ways to refresh your existing vocal technique and all it includes: your breath, your body, yourself. Barefoot movement educator Evy Freebury and vocal tutor Penny Randall-Davis come together to offer their practice and experience in finding vitality from within, and resilience in action-exploring stillness, vibrant movement, and vocal exercises.
Thursday, October 15th 6:00 – 7:30pm Jenny Miller, Dr. Alexandra Baybutt £12.50
Jenny as a voice specialist and Alexandra as a Laban/Bartenieff practitioner explore how a singer creates line, projects sound, and conveys intention with breath and body-shaping. We will look at the body/mind response to narrative – how do we captivate our audience with the story we want to tell and how do we tell it expressively?
Barefoot Opera team leaders Penelope Randall Davis, Jenny Miller, Alexandra Baybutt, and Evelyn Miller will take it in turns to explore this question using detailed exercises with movement and breath.
By responding to each other’s work, they will create a more seamless and varied experience for our participants.
We are keeping the cost very low, £10, to enable access. This will also be a little taster for our late summer on-line course – info here!
Praise for our last workshop:
“So generous! Was such a powerful experience please ask jenny to do another session”
“Thank you so much for a fascinating session last Wednesday! I very much enjoyed your teaching and your philosophy. ”
For this workshop it would be great to familiarise yourself with the first two pages of O Del Mio Dolce Ardor – by Gluck – found in 24 songs and arias of the 17 and 18th centuries (Schirmer) or easily found on-line. It is NOT necessary to memorise – and if you are not comfortable with Italian just become familiar with the melody.
Barefoot Opera went north to create Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’ from scratch to performance in a single weekend.
Barefoot’s creative team; Jenny Miller, Lesley-Anne Sammons and Penelope Randall-Davis created a special weekend which offered opportunities for 10 soloists and 24 choristers.
A fun and informative day designed to help all types of singers develop their coloratura skills. Stimulating group-work will be followed by solo ‘masterclass’ slots in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. There will also be time for questions and exploration as we tackle thorny issues!
Sunday, 19th January 2020 Barefoot Studio (93 Endwell Road London SE42NF) 10:30-5:30
Join us for a day of in-depth movement, breath and voice work with Alexandra Baybutt, Jenny Miller and guest artist Aleksandra Ristic. With each singer using audition arias or other significant pieces of solo music, we will explore in detail how to allow full-body participation in phrasing, colour change and physical response.
Dates to be confirmed in relation to government policy with regard to Covid-19.
Rossini’s La Cenerentola Coming Summer 2020
Barefoot Opera Young Artists Tour is an advanced training programme well-known for its strong production values and demanding educational rehearsal structure. In the Summer of 2020, we will be touring a new production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola.