Henrietta Bredin talks to the leader of ENO’s orchestra about working ‘in the trenches’
‘Working in the trenches’ is how some people describe their lives in the orchestra pit, playing for opera performances. The traditional opera house has a horseshoe-shaped auditorium and the musicians are accommodated below stage level so that, ideally, the sound they make floats up and out into the theatre without overwhelming the singers. At Bayreuth, in the Festspielhaus that Wagner had built specifically for the performance of his own operas, the musicians are completely invisible, in a pit that is not just recessed well beneath the stage but is also covered by a hood.
Janice Graham is the leader of English National Opera’s orchestra and, coming from a background of playing in symphony orchestras, was surprised to discover how much she enjoys playing in the pit. ‘It took some getting used to,’ she says, ‘but I really like it. My musical life is incredibly varied, which is the case for most musicians; so sometimes I can be playing as a soloist in a concerto, at other times I’m on stage as part of a symphony orchestra and recently I had to play a tango on live television for Strictly Come Dancing, which was absolutely terrifying. As the leader of an opera orchestra, I’m part of the team but I often have the opportunity to play wonderful solos. There’s an amazing bit in Turandot, for example, where you’re doubling the vocal line and so you have your own character in that, emerging from the orchestral texture before blending back in again.’
What exactly does being the leader of an orchestra involve? Janice laughs. ‘I’m often asked that! It’s something that I aspired to from an early age.
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