Staff Playlist project 5: Rishaad Ait El Moudden - Trust Fundraising Manager
Tell us a little bit about your job at Scottish Opera.
I work in the Fundraising department where I submit around 100 funding applications each year to grant-making bodies such as trusts, foundations and Local Authorities. When we need somebody to summarise everything that Scottish Opera does, what we have accomplished and what we would aim to do if we were given additional funding, in only 200 words, I’m the person summoned! It’s always really gratifying to pass on good news to my colleagues, then see that funding put into action and help make something positive happen that possibly wouldn’t have otherwise.
I raise funding for activities across the Company. In particular, I work closely with our Outreach & Education department to support all of the amazing projects that we deliver in communities across Scotland. I also help to evaluate many of these projects and report back to our funders on the impact that their support has had.
I’m responsible for identifying funding opportunities that could help us expand existing initiatives and develop new projects. Recently this has included leading on the development of our archive, which has been really fascinating as we head towards the Scottish Opera’s 60th anniversary in 2022.
In addition, I’m proud to be one of Scottish Opera’s Green Champions! This is more glamorous than picking things out of the kitchen recycling bin that shouldn’t be there, I assure you.
What do you love about working in your department?
Everyone in Fundraising is such a caring and encouraging person. I miss them all a lot right now! An opportunity for afternoon tea and cake in the office is never overlooked. We’ve recently had a fellow Yorkshireman join the team as our Customer Relationship Data Manager, although I was only able to enjoy that familiar accent in the air for a month before we went into lockdown.
We all cherish the close relationships that we get to form with our many generous supporters, some of whom have been donating to Scottish Opera for over 50 years! It’s lovely to learn more about them at performances and events. They become like one big family – the office is inundated with cards and chocolates at Christmas!
What is your most memorable Scottish Opera experience, or favourite production?
What ended up as our lone performance of Dove’s Flight in Edinburgh in March 2018. The ‘Beast from the East’ prevented most of our Orchestra from safely travelling, which resulted in a valiant solo performance on piano from Répétiteur Jonathon Swinard. There was tangible feeling of appreciation from the audience (who themselves battled the elements to make it to the theatre!) to Jonathon, the performers, the technical team and everyone who ensured that the show must go on. The standing ovation was something else! This was the only performance of the production that I managed to see, so I’m grateful to have been a part of this special evening.
If you weren’t working in your current job, what would be your ideal profession?
I trained to be an actor, so my mum is still hopeful that I’ll land a role in Emmerdale. However, I think I would like being a nutritionist or dietitian. I discovered that I have Non-celiac gluten sensitivity eight years ago through my own research and experimentation. I enjoy reading the latest science on the role of diet and nutrition in preventing and treating diseases, so I would find it rewarding to help and empower others through their own health challenges.
Which opera would you recommend to a newcomer? Any opera arias that you like in particular?
Bizet’s Carmen springs to mind as a good ‘entry point’ for its series of familiar numbers that are embedded in pop culture: the Overture (which I simply cannot disassociate from watching Formula One as a teenager!), The Habanera (“L'amour est un oiseau rebelle”) and the Toreador Song (“Votre toast, je peux vous le render”).
My favourite aria is Lensky’s aria, “Kuda, kuda, vi udalilis” from Act 2 of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. It’s a beautiful and bittersweet moment of reflection and meditation, recently performed for Scottish Opera with such passion by the fabulous Peter Auty in our 2018 production.
What have you be doing to pass the time while at home during lockdown? Have you been learning any new skills?
I’m making sure to prioritise time to improve my French. I started taking French classes last year and learning at home by myself with Duolingo and textbooks isn’t nearly as fun. My family are from Morocco and while I can communicate in French to a certain point, I really want to become fluent so I can have deeper conversations and connections with them. My dad speaks FIVE languages (what a show-off) but it will probably be a while before I’ve mastered Berber or Arabic.
What I should also be doing is learning the clarinet. Our Donor Development Manager Carole kindly loaned her old clarinet to me almost three years ago and I have shamefully made little progress since then. Maybe publicising this here will give me the accountability that I need!
Tell us about your music tastes. Opera or hip hop? Country or heavy metal? We’d love to hear from you, and what music you would recommend to others.
While I’m nostalgic for pop-punk gigs of the noughties, I will always love funk and disco! Chic, Parliament-Funkadelic, Ohio Players, Stevie Wonder, Grace Jones, Sly & the Family Stone, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Meters, James Brown, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Isley Brothers, Graham Central Station, Prince, Diana Ross, Sister Sledge, Kool & the Gang, Jamiroquai, Living Colour, Tower of Power and Dundee’s own Average White Band are all timeless. I tend to listen more to podcasts than music these days, but here’s a playlist of 20 songs by 20 artists that I’ve been listening to during lockdown.
STAFF PLAYLIST PROJECT 4: Susie wapshott, associate chorus MASTER
Tell us a little bit about your job Scottish Opera.
I’m the Musical Multitasker of the Music Department! On any one production I will chorus master, conduct or play the piano. As Chorus Master I will prepare the chorus musically and linguistically and ensure they have memorised their parts before we start productions. Once in production I am there to keep an eye on musical standards, communicating the conductor’s wishes to the chorus if necessary and helping to facilitate any requests from the director, as well as to suss out any scenes which may need an offstage conductor. Then I’ll be on the road for the tour, taking the chorus for a warm-up before each performance and carrying out stage duties. As Assistant Conductor, as I have just been for Nixon in China, I will be on hand to help with musical preparations and deputise for the main conductor as necessary in rehearsal or if they are ill for a performance. If there are Unwraps then I will help devise those and conduct the performances. My first job in opera however was as a Répétiteur. It involves playing piano for rehearsals, auditions or coaching singers. Répétiteurs have to know the orchestration of a score in detail and be able to replicate it on the piano, responding to the conductor like an orchestra so as not to give the singers a false sense of the music- for example, imagining you are 60 people playing a chord rather than just one!
What do you love about working in your department?
The variety! As you can see from the above, we all have to wear many hats. We’re not all practical musicians though: our department also includes the wonderful librarians and multitasker-extraordinaire, Iona Jack, who produces the weekly company schedule amongst many other important jobs. I would argue that our department has the best sense of humour!
What is your most memorable Scottish Opera experience, or favourite production?
I have worked on over 40 productions for Scottish Opera so there are many to choose from, but if I could pick out a few they would be Renaud Doucet’s Manon in 2009 (conducted by Francesco Corti), John Fulljames’ Nixon in China (conducted by Joana Carneiro) and Tom Morris’ Breaking the Waves (conducted by Stuart Stratford) which we have just taken to Adelaide. That must be the highlight of all my tours! I also loved working on Greek as well as the countless Scottish Opera-Go-Rounds (Small Scale Tours), touring around the Highlands and Islands. They were very special, especially La traviata in 2012. There is something wonderful about taking a production to different audiences around the world.
If you weren’t working in your current job, what would be your ideal profession?
I would probably be a writer of some sort.
Which opera would you recommend to a newcomer? Any opera arias that you like in particular?
La bohème is a good first opera- great music and drama and it’s short! One of my favourite arias is Per pieta from Cosi fan tutte.
Tell us about your music tastes. Opera or hip hop? Country or heavy metal?
I’m a musical magpie and my tastes change according to my mood so I usually just have the radio on, swapping between Radio 3 or Capital! My playlist reflects some of my favourite pieces of music, old and new.
What will you be doing to pass the time while at home over the coming weeks? Any new skill you would like to learn?
My husband (baritone David Stout) and I will mostly be entertaining our two young children which is a full time job in itself! But I’m also doing yoga every day, a lot of reading, and I’m about to forage into online rehearsing with my choir. I’d like to improve my sourdough baking skills and learn to crochet.
Have a listen to Susie's music choices here.
STAFF PLAYLIST PROJECT 3: Marissa bradshaw, senior producer
Tell us a little bit about your job at Scottish Opera.
I work as one of the Senior Producers in Scottish Opera’s Education and Outreach Department. Our team is really busy all year round working on projects that help people of all ages engage with opera in different ways – we put on opera shows for babies, take opera into schools across Scotland, deliver musical projects for those living with dementia and their carers, and lots of other things in between. I manage the fabulous Scottish Opera Young Company as well as our annual Pop-up Opera Roadshow, where we take bitesize, 25-minute opera performances all round Scotland in the back of a lorry! My job is organising all the behind-the-scenes stuff – booking staff and venues, planning schedules and logistics, and keeping all the many different aspects to each project ticking over. It’s very rewarding and varied work, and I love it.
What do you love about working in your department?
The best thing has to be the feedback we get from participants, telling us that taking part in our project has made a positive difference to their lives. I love that no two days are ever the same, and the huge variety of work that we do. I also really love my amazing colleagues, not only our small team who work together in the office but all the fantastic musicians, creatives and technical staff who work on our projects. I am missing everyone at the moment while we all work from home during this lockdown!
What is your most memorable Scottish Opera experience, or favourite production?
When I first joined the Company back in 2012 I worked on the Scottish Opera’s 50 venue tour of Scotland, to celebrate our 50th anniversary season. It was an amazing introduction to the company and to the artform, and took me all over Scotland to some incredibly beautiful places, from Orkney to the Isle of Barra. It was fantastic to meet audiences all across Scotland and it gave me a real love of rural touring.
If you weren’t working in your current job, what would be your ideal profession?
Writing books for children and young people. Or maybe running a tearoom on a beautiful Scottish island, with a view of the sea!
Which opera would you recommend to a newcomer? Any opera arias that you like in particular?
My dad took me to see La bohème as a child and I have to say it’s pretty perfect for first-timers – sweeping, lush, gorgeous music, and lots of drama, romance and heartbreak. Everything you want from an opera! The famous Act One tenor aria ‘Che gelida manina’ makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time.
I also love La traviata and would say that’s another good option for opera newcomers, as it’s really dramatic, grand, full-blooded opera – it sort of fits the opera stereotype, but in the best possible way. Everyone knows the famous ‘Brindisi’ (drinking song) but for me the end of Act Two has some of the most beautiful, thrilling and emotional music I’ve ever experienced.
If you know someone who’s new to opera and isn’t quite sure whether it’s really for them, our Pop-up Opera tour is a brilliant introduction – hugely entertaining 25-minute adaptations of well-known operas, cleverly arranged by our Head of Music Derek Clark and performed to the highest standards by two singers, two instrumentalists and a storyteller. It’s absolutely joyful taking these shows to audiences across Scotland, and I love to see the look of surprise on people’s faces as they walk into our Pop-up Opera trailer for the very first time, and feel transported from an opera truck in a carpark to the Theatre Royal in Glasgow!
Tell us about your music tastes. Opera or hip hop? Country or heavy metal?
I am a huge music fan and have a fairly eclectic record collection, from classical to rock ‘n’ roll, reggae, pop, and pretty much everything else in between. I grew up listening to a lot of ‘60s music like The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel, and my all-time favourites are people like David Bowie, Prince, ABBA, Nick Cave, Radiohead and Arcade Fire. My ideal playlist features a little bit of everything.
What will you be doing to pass the time while at home over the coming weeks? Any new skill you would like to learn?
At this stage I am full of good intentions, whether it’s home baking, daily exercise, getting through the massive pile of unread books currently looming on my bedside table, or downloading the Duolingo app for daily Italian lessons. In reality, I will mostly be running around after my 14 month-old toddler, who keeps me very busy indeed! Like lots of people, I will be using books, music, and fresh air (once a day!) to try to stay as sane as possible until we come out the other side.
Have a listen to Marissa's music choices here.
STAFF PLAYLIST PROJECT 2: iona jack, chorus administrator
Tell us a little bit about your job at Scottish Opera.
My main task is to pull together all information for our Weekly Call Sheet which is issued to all company members, visiting artists and creative teams each Friday. This means I have contact with almost every Scottish Opera department! I also work closely with our Chorus Master and Associate Chorus Master to pull together the freelance chorus for each show, look after all our keyboard instruments, work with the Audio Description Team to arrange the recording of a CD of ‘programme notes’ sent out to our visually impaired patrons, and with the Education Team on Young Company administration. Amongst other things!
What do you love about working in your department?
First of all, I love being among a team of lovely, like-minded people! We really are at the coal face musically and I’m often met with challenges where a quick response is necessary, which I enjoy. And best of all, when I go along to the theatre, and see the whole show come together on stage, I still get a huge thrill. I’m proud to have helped in my own small way to put that there!
What is your most memorable Scottish Opera experience, or favourite production?
Gosh, I’ve seen so many productions, it’s hard to choose! In August this year, I will have been with the company for 24 years – half my life! On my very first day, I was sent down to the theatre to see the Dress Rehearsal of James MacMillan’s Ines de Castro. I mean – who gets to do that on their first day in a new job?! I was to make notes on enunciation of the text, and loved every minute. In recent years, three productions stand out: Eugene Onegin – apart from the music and production itself, I loved hearing what our horse, George, was up to! I particularly enjoyed Jonathan Dove’s Flight – I could watch that endlessly! And of course, our recent production of John Adams’ Nixon in China – one of our very best productions, I would say.
If you weren’t working in your current job, what would be your ideal profession?
I would have loved to have been a Music or Speech and Language therapist. Or to work in Broadcasting!
Which opera would you recommend to a newcomer? Any opera arias that you like in particular?
For someone new to opera, I would say that a Puccini opera would be perfect – something like La bohème – gorgeous music and a straightforward plot, and THAT ending. Always has me in bits!
Tell us about your music tastes. Opera or hip hop? Country or heavy metal?
I have extremely wide-ranging tastes! I particularly like things that are quirky or a bit different – for instance Anna Meredith’s Moonmoons (strings and electronica), Rufus T Wainwright’s Album Take All my Loves (Shakespeare Sonnets) to name but two. I’ve recently got into Music Theatre after a trip to New York City last year, where I saw Wicked in the Gershwin Theatre, Gershwin also being a big favourite! As a Russian and Music graduate, I love Tchaikovsky’s vibrant Peasant’s Chorus from Onegin, Stravinsky’s Firebird. On the popular side, I couldn’t really narrow it down, but favourites are the Divine Comedy, Florence and the Machine. My son is currently bombarding me with hip-hop and rap (!!) and I’m coming round – most of it features rather ‘ripe’ language, to say the least, but Post Malone, on the more commercial end, is quite good!
What will you be doing to pass the time while at home over the coming weeks? Any new skill you would like to learn?
Well, I’m finding it surprisingly busy running after my two teenage sons as well as working on line, but I’m learning the clarinet, so have done a little practice (not enough!), and I’ve had some time to catch up on my reading. My friend and I thought we would learn Arabic, but I’m not sure that’s actually going to happen!
You can listen to Iona's playlist of her favourite music here
Staff Playlist Project 1: John Duncan, REsident Stage manager
Tell us a little bit about your job Scottish Opera.
I’m head of the stage management team and we are responsible for the running of rehearsals and performance.
What do you love about working in your department?
Working alongside so many talented performers and musicians. Working with live music is such a joy and watching how performers develop their roles over the course of the rehearsal process is fascinating.
I also like seeing quite big problems being solved with calm and ease. During Nixon in China rehearsals, so many problems came up as the Theatre Royal Glasgow stage was much smaller than the venue in Denmark where the production was originally conceived. This meant we had very limited storage space in the wings, which caused problems getting furniture, props and most of the cast and chorus on and off stage. With the director and my team we managed to solve this by changing entry points and careful “traffic” management to ensure the safety of all on stage.
What is your most memorable Scottish Opera experience, or favourite production?
There are too many to mention. I’m working on the book. However when everything tries to stop the show from going on and we succeed is always a thrill for me. Getting Flight back for it’s final performance in Edinburgh despite The Beast from the East doing everything to prevent it from happening was very memorable.
If you weren’t working in your current job, what would be your ideal profession?
I’d make a good nurse or health care professional.
Which opera would you recommend to a newcomer?
Any Puccini or Verdi opera. I have to say our recent production of Nixon in China was an ideal first opera going experience.
Tell us about your music tastes...
I’m a huge musical theatre fan and a collector of original cast recordings. I have thousands of them dating from 1920's through to nowadays and in many languages. Have to say the 1950/60's are my favourite era which produced some of the best “show songs” and the most iconic productions.
What will you be doing to pass the time while at home over the coming weeks? Any new skill you would like to learn?
Trying to keep the journeys back and forward to the fridge at a minimum. Been dusting off my piano and saxophone skills much to the delight of my neighbours.
You can listen to John's playlist of musical favourites here.
