The Seckerson Tapes: Sarah Connolly Interview

The Seckerson Tapes: Sarah Connolly Interview | reviews, news & interviews

The Seckerson Tapes: Sarah Connolly Interview

Acclaimed mezzo stars in Opera North's new production of Maria Stuarda

by Edward SeckersonSaturday, 15 May 2010

Acclaimed British mezzo Sarah Connolly

Acclaimed British mezzo Sarah Connolly prepares for the title role in Donizetti's battle royal of rival queens Maria Stuarda. Her return to Opera North in the bel cantorole of her choice will be one of the highlights of the UK opera season and in this revealing podcast she gives fascinating insight into her extensive preparation and "anatomisation" of the roles she performs - right down to the fine detailing here of Mary's temperament and bearing, and even her height.

What is going through her head in the moments before the "confrontation" which in reality never actually took place? What finally provoked her in the moment she floors Elizabeth I with her "royal bastard" insult? And what must have she been feeling as they built the scaffold outside her prison room at Fotheringay Castle? Connolly leaves nothing unexplored. The inside of her score is a written chronicle of what is required to get inside Mary's head...before she loses it.

Explore topics

Share this article

The future of Arts Journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

more Opera

Help to give theartsdesk a future! Support our GoFundMe appeal

Die Walküre, Royal Opera review - total music drama Kosky, Pappano and their singers soar on both wings of Wagner’s double tragedy

Simon Boccanegra, Opera North review - ‘dramatic staging’ proves its worth Verdi’s political tragedy - and plea for peace - has impact in a grand Yorkshire setting

Peter Grimes, Welsh National Opera review - febrile energy and rage In every sense a tour de force

Owen Wingrave, RNCM, Manchester review - battle of a pacifist Orpha Phelan brings on the big guns for Britten’s charge against war

Tales of Apollo and Hercules, London Handel Festival review - compelling elements, but a failed experiment Conceptually the two cantatas just don't work together

La finta giardiniera, The Mozartists, Cadogan Hall review - blooms in the wild garden Mozart's rambling early opera can still smell sweet

Der fliegende Holländer, Irish National Opera review - sailing to nowhere Plenty of strong singing and playing, but the staging is static or inept

Die Zauberflöte, Royal Academy of Music review - first-rate youth makes for a moving experience The production takes time to match Mozart's depths, but gets there halfway through

Mansfield Park, Guildhall School review - fun when frothy, chugging in romantic entanglements Jonathan Dove’s strip-cartoon Jane Austen works well as a showcase for students

Uprising, Glyndebourne review - didactic community opera superbly performed Jonathan Dove and April De Angelis go for the obvious, but this is still a rewarding project

Fledermaus, Irish National Opera review - sex, please, we're Viennese/American/Russian/Irish Vivacious company makes the party buzz, does what it can around it

Follow @theartsdesk