On the eve of October, when the Devil is said to spit, or worse pee, on the Blackberries, I am revealing all.

Here are 10 of the Best from Bee’s Summer Season!

• Birmingham!!!  Performances at both Symphony Hall, with RAF Voluntary Bands, and the National Indoor Arena to launch the Yonex Badminton World Championships.

• Belinda in May - Shaftesbury.  Back on my stomping ground to launch a series of Westcountry performances.  Thank you to Tony for all your hard work to make this Event such a success.  Can’t wait to come back!

• Dubai’s  40˚ heat  offered the sun worshipper in me total SAD therapy, not to mention wonderful company, food, relaxation and A Night at the Opera.  (Feel the need to go again now to recharge the batteries before another British winter… )

• Opera UK Tour, to the lesser known gems of the Emerald Isle, before returning home to round off Così fan tutte.  An absolute joy - singing Mozart, accompanied by String Quartet, travelling around Ireland in Springtime.  We even had the chance to bottle-feed some greedy lambs…

• THE BIG 30…  My 30^th Birthday Celebrations…In honesty, I was unsure as to how I would cope with reaching this landmark figure.  Fortunately, the celebrations, the love of family and friends, and a vast amount of red wine certainly softened the blow!!! Included a ‘family’ party at home, a ‘friends’ party in London, and my favourite thing, a Fly Past by 2 Lynx Helicopters!!!  Now that was something!  And, they tell me 30 is the new 20 anyway…

• A weird and wonderful smattering of recitals and concerts including performances at Shipley Festival, Somerton Festival, Weston- super-Mare Winter Gardens, and Drapers Hall with ensembles including Croydon Bach Choir and Wincanton Choral Society.

• Picnic in the Park, Melksham Golf Course. We were blessed with beautiful sunshine following a series of wet weekends.  A Firework Display to rival all others, a truly great Open Air Event, and a chance to sing all my favourites songs in the World.

• Pirates of Penzance, Buxton Opera House.  Following an initial visit to this wonderful venue back in May with Opera UK, it was my goal to spend more time working at this beautiful theatre.  And the chance came along in August with Charles Court Opera’s fuel-filled production.  Three words best describe it: Pirates, Parasols and Paracetamol.

• Pirates was closely followed in September by more Operetta in the form of Lehar’s Die Lustige Witwe with Pavilion Opera.  Learning the role of Valencienne forced a resurrection of my GCSE German, and really gave me something to get my teeth into.  And that’s before we even started on the fish-netted,  Can-Canning Grisetten…

In summary, I have embraced a summer of Wonderful Venues, Forging Friendships, and Vocal and Physical Health. I can approach Autumn having had an injection of fun and laughter, self belief and faith in why I do what I do.

I have also been fortunate enough to celebrate many friends’ weddings and would like to re-iterate my joy at the birth of three more bouncing babies!  Trips to the South of France, Lyon and Brighton have interspersed and I have caught up with many old friends.

And this Autumn promises to be an exciting one.

Watch this space and keep an eye on that Gigs page!

Meanwhile I’m off to pick those Blackberries…

Here’s a collection of grabs from it, I’m in everyone of them so you can kind of play Where’s Wally? when looking for me! LOL

Like I said before, my part was a blink and you’ll miss me affair!

Check out my new look website!

Got my friendly elves to work their magic and here it is…

Hope you like it, will still be in a transitional phase for the the next month or so - I’m cycling through a handful of different headers (Hit Refresh ) - so expect a few more tweaks to occur but I’m looking forward to your feedback/comments.

Bee xx

After “Much Ado” I finally managed to catch a screening of this last night… 2 years ago, I was fortunate enough to be cast in my first film! Well, its now hit the Big Screen and it was so exciting to see it in its entirety. What a beautiful piece of cinema - well worth a look! Despite being set in the trenches of World War One (was freezing filming down there by the way - I’d be a crap soldier….) the overall effect is quite magical and very beautiful. The colours are rich, and attention to detail really very touching. It’s quite a tapestry.Blink and you’ll miss me but my fellow Chorus mates and I were used quite a lot on those freezing February 6am starts at Shepperton Studios, so we do make a few appearances! The CGI is amazing, and I can’t wait to get the DVD now! Seeing our names scroll up the credits was awesome, feel really lucky to have been involved.

And, it’s a small world, turns out the Assistant Director on the film is my present Opera Director’s son! Mozart brings great people together, that’s for sure.

It’s getting a staggered release by the looks of things with it ‘touring’ in different towns. The cinema I saw it at was practically empty so I guess it won’t be hanging around the multiplex long, which is a shame.

A schedule can be found here so you can check when it’s near you.

Wow!
Might be over one year later but How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? is still winning awards!

It won the award for best non-scripted entertainment show on Monday at the International Emmy’s.

Best non-scripted entertainment show.

…just kidding!

2007 INTERNATIONAL EMMY® AWARD WINNERS
NON-SCRIPTED ENTERTAINMENT
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
BBC Entertainment
United Kingdom
Executive Producers: Martin Scott, Bea Ballard, Ruth Wrigley, Suzy Lamb
Producers: Deborah Sargeant, Mel Balac
Writer: Rob Colley
Principal Cast: Graham Norton, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Zoë Tyler, John Barrowman, David Ian
Accepting: John Plowman Executive Producer: Jon Plowman
Graham Norton hosts the search for a new Maria Von Trapp to star in the West End production of The Sound of Music. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber sets out on the unenviable task of trying to fill the wimple of Julie Andrews. Who could possibly be a nun in training, a governess, a will-o’-the wisp and a singing sensation? But in a twist, rather than pick their new leading lady themselves, the panel and Lloyd Webber let the viewers select the winner.

From International Academy of Television
Arts & Sciences

Wow! After an incredibly intensive 6-day rehearsal period, myself and my friends at Opera UK gave our first performance of Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte last night at Blackheath Halls, London for a special Remembrance performance.
Am so relieved and now can’t wait for the rest of the tour. So good to be back into the ‘Swing’ of things after leaving Phantom and having the opportunity to sing some Mozart is always such a treat!
Keep an eye out for it at a theatre near you next Spring!

We have a fantastic cast, all of whom I’ve had the previous pleasure of working with, and we are now intending to relax into it and enjoy ourselves.

The tour starts this week in Preston Lancs., dates as follows…

November 15th, 16th and 17th at 7.30pm, also Saturday 17th matinee at 2.30pm
Charter Theatre, Preston.
Box Office 10am - 5.30pm.
Tel 0845 344 2012 or online.
Tickets £16.50 and £18.00 (Thurs and Sat matinee) £17.50 and £19.00 (Fri and Sat evening)
Groups of 10 or more: £2 OFF with 1 free ticket per 10
Signed performance for the deaf Thurs evening.

Picture this - you and your best friend are in love with two sisters who are deeply in love with you. However, another friend says they would be unfaithful given half the chance. “No!” you both cry. A bet is laid, if you go away they’ll cheat on you - cosi fan tutte - “that’s what they all do.” So, off you go to the army, but the plan is that you come back in disguise to seduce each other’s lover. Do they forget you? Do they fall in love all over again with these new strangers? Is that what they all do?

Director Jane McCulloch, sets the opera in the summer of 1914, the last carefree days before the Great War broke out and youthful innocence will be lost forever….

www.operauk.co.uk

Hugh was recently interview on The David Bottomley Show on Radio Peckham. Here’s a 4min excerpt containing the song ‘Tis Not The Last Goodbye.
Download audio file (tis%20not%20a%20last%20goodbye-excerpt.mp3)

The full show can be found here (Click on LISTEN)

My temporary Phantom Shrine

What a crazy year! This time last September I was just embarking on what was to be the time of my life at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket. I am so proud to have been a part of The Phantom Cast, it has to be the best show in the West End.

Having left 2 weeks ago, I still don’t think it has yet sunk in that I will now no longer be performing on that beautiful stage, 8 times a week. My final curtain call was incredibly emotional, as I looked around in admiration at the theatre which has been my ‘home from home’ for 12 months. It is a stunner, the show is magnificent, and I have been on such an incredible journey. In my first few weeks as Swing, I really couldn’t imagine that I would ever learn all those plots….I was TERRIFIED! But, a lot of hard work later, it became a dream job. Challenging, varied, never a dull moment! Thanks to all concerned for their help and patience! Being in the hub of central London has been a blast, and I have loved the whole experience.
All that remains is to thank the wonderful Creative Team, all my Phantom friends, and to wish the show a very Happy 21st Birthday!
I MISS YOU!!!!
xxx

Well here’s a group of people you don’t get photographed with everyday!

Wow! Finally watched a recording of Friday’s Princess Diana Memorial….I am so proud to have been involved in what was a beautiful tribute to a wonderful woman. The Princes excelled under extraordinarily tough circumstances and they were delightful. I actually received a letter of thanks today. I was fortunate enough to meet Harry at Rugby World Cup 2003, in Australia, where he was briliant fun, and I can honestly say he’s ‘beefed up’ somewhat since then! That’s what hanging about in the Army does for you….

I thought the Chapel looked absolutely stunning and the BBC got some wonderful shots to really show it off. As permanent member of the Chapel Choir, I am SO proud to sing there every Sunday and it was such a momentous occasion for us all. I was so, so proud of our Director of Chapel Music, Tim Horton, who excelled, not only in his conducting but also during the arduous months of work in preparation for such a massive event. Well done dude!

P.S. For those of you wondering what The Duke Of Edinburgh said to me at the end, contrary to rumours it was not “Weren’t you one of the “Marias”?!”
He in fact said “I saw you checking out my grandson’s bottom on the way in…..!” Only joking!
He said he loved the piece by Parry. So did we, it was a fine choice.