Opera in the Park

posted by Kath


Where to start, where to start...........................being part of Opera in the Park was amost too good to be true and didn't feel real actually. Here are comments from Jane, Liz and Kat......


Jane said: "We were very privileged to be asked to perform at the gig of the decade in Nelson. Thank you Sealord Summer Festival. You have been great to the Nancies. Bob Bickerton made us feel very much at home up on the big stage by providing us with plenty of foldback- and a lovely natural mix at that. I had been very nervous in the lead up to the concert and a bit grumpy around the house (sorry kids, I love you!). Still, fortunately I had been through my mother's old trunk at Xmas time and came home with a green silk dress she had made to wear while she was pregnant with me. I chose to wear it for the Opera gig. It seemed to work in well with what the other girls had chosen. So, it helped quell the nerves a little, knowing I was well dressed for the occasion. We chose our oldest most solid material to perform, so there were no jitters about doing new work. That helped too. Apparently we sounded good. So I'm proud."



Liz said: "It wasn't actually until afterwards, when I saw the photos of our performance, that it hit home what a special event we'd all been involved in!"



Katrina said: "I loved EVERY second of the whole night. Wasn't nervous at all. And the feedback for the Nancies' performance has been overwhelmimg!"

Here are my thoughts on performing on the same stage as Kiri Te Kanawa, Simon O'Neill, Jonathan Lemalu and Helen Medlyn. Not to mention Sunsuite and Cairde!

Firstly, I felt very removed from the audience. Being on such a big stage with a sea of faces a long way off, it's hard to connect somehow. So in one respect its GREAT because there's no nervousness! It's very rare for me not to get nervous and I was a little, but when we were out there doing it, it just felt natural. There were a few lovely faces right up the front to look and smile at, so that was really nice. Thanks Bob for the sound - even soundcheck was exciting for me!! Thanks to Annabel, Pete, Ants and all involved in the Sealord Summer Festival. It was a fantastic night all round.

I was glad I didn't know until afterward that we were on the big screen. I just thought that was for the BIG stars. I think I may have been more nervous (especially when I nearly lost my top!) knowing this.

I made a faux pas just after we'd be on the stage. We were trudging back to the 'green room' with all our gear and Pete Rainey pulled up beside us. In his jovial manner he was making fun of us, and the guy in the passenger's seat said "He's been raving about The Nancies all the way here!" So I said "Oh, thank you, whoever you are!" It just happened to be Marc Taddei - the conductor for the night!! I felt terrible, and remembered that I must act more like a grown up sometimes!! I don't think he took offence. Marc Taddei seems like an extremely lovely guy and as a conductor - he's vibrant, energetic, happy! and adds a welcome liveliness to the orchestra.

I have to admit, I'm not a huge opera fan. I was brought up on it and us girls (my sisters and I) used to make fun of it, getting round the house pretending to be opera stars - but really just making fun of Dad's choice in music!! I must say though, I think Dad's taste in music, which included Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Schubert, has ultimately had a big influence on the way I write songs. Thanks Dad =)

So, sitting for a couple of hours listening to opera, wouldn't normally be my choice. But I loved it!! I LOVED Helen Medlyn. Thought she was a fantastic performer - her facial expressions and emotion were perfect! Kiri was refined, beautiful and I thought, quite nervous a lot of the time. Definitely a star. I thought Simon needed a shave - stubble doesn't really suit the genre - perhaps he was growing it for a lead role? hahaha. His voice was strong and meaningful. Jonathan was just lovely. His voice, his face, his playfulness. Just lovely. Singing opera is really hard work! Lots of discipline and practice is needed. LOTS of it! I'm glad I'm just a Nancy!

My parents loved the whole thing. Dad doesn't get out much these days and to see one of his all time favourite singers/performers was a rare treat. His emotions ran high.

My favourite part of being on stage was when the four of us sang a full unaccompanied harmony/chord with a slight break afterwards, because I could hear our voices ringing out and echoing back! It was definitely a 'goosebump' moment!

To sum up......thank you Jane for getting us girls together and for arranging most of our songs. You rock! I'm really glad to part of "The Nancies "=)

The Twilight Market etc

posted by Kath

It's been a while since I've posted and it's been a while since The Nancies performed! What with Christmas, people away and other reasons beyond our control, there's hardly even been enough time to practice! Still, we managed to squeeze a couple in before the Twilight Market! And what a cool gig it was!! It was great to be singing and entertaining again! We all really do love it, despite the complications!

We had a captive audience most of the time - it changed and varied, but some stayed for the whole hour and a half. Katrina had the forsight to put a 'hat' out and we made enough to feed and water ourselves afterwards! A huge bonus and we are grateful to everyone who contributed =) The wee boy above stayed and listened for a long time and put lots of money in the hat too!! Cute huh? And below are another couple of attentive listeners =)

We have arranged (well, Jane has) a version of "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" which I just LOVE doing. It's such fun with the percussion and interesting to sing. Jane, you are clever! Liz......great suggestion! I just looked up where it originated from and it was written in 1947, by a Cuban named Osvaldo Farres (with an accent above the "e") and in Spanish "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas" (with an accent above the "a"). A band called "Cake" covered it, and this is the version Liz got the idea from.

Liz and I formed "Zilk" again to fill in for The Nancies. I have to say, we really enjoyed getting back together and doing what we do!! Which is mostly covers, guitar, clarinet, some more obscure originals of mine and even some 2part a cappella. We had a lunchtime gig at the top of Trafalgar St on Saturday 19th Jan. Thanks to Arts Marketing for organising and funding this. We felt a bit like we were playing to parked cars though! A few people at House of Ales listened and two people had come specifically to hear The Nancies, but stayed and enjoyed it anyway. Two lovely ladies stayed and listened to us for the whole hour and a half, which was really nice. We also did an hour's Streetbeat - thanks to NCC and the Summer Festival - it was a really nice atmosphere and the audience was appreciative, which is always a pleasure =D

Up and coming gigs for The Nancies........next one is pre-show entertainment at Opera in the Park, Saturday 16th Feb! Our biggest gig yet! It's half an hour, on the main stage and we are all pretty excited about it! I know I'm going to revel in having a 'real' sound engineer!!! Woohoo! We are on at 5.45pm, after Sunsuite (who start at 5pm) and The Brassband and before Cairde and The Brass Band again. Don't miss it!!!! Just between you and me, my Dad is very sick...anyway Kiri Te Kanawa is one of his all time favourite singers, so when I said "Dad, we are opening for Kiri", (which is how I like to tell the story....!) he was very proud =) Awwww, aren't Dads great, even when you're all grown up!! ;)

The weekend after that - 23rd Feb, we are travelling to Kaikoura to do a concert. We were going to play in the amphitheatre, but I think we are now playing at the A & P Show that is on the same weekend. It was organised by the Arts Council down there. That'll be a lovely weekend. We are also singing at a wedding while we are there and having a Hangi too!! M-mmm.

Then it's off to the Mussel Inn on the 8th March! Another great place to play and a fantastic place to stay!!! We might even record a live album that night.....still working on that.....hope we can pull it off! Sounds great though, don't you think? "The Nancies - Live at The Mussel Inn"!!! Yep, it's got appeal.......

That's all for now folks! Any questions? Want to be added to our email list? You can email me any time kathbee@xtra.co.nz I'll get some of the other "Nancies" to write a post one of these days!!