Andrew Staples - Trailblazer
Tenor Andrew has played leading roles at opera houses internationally including Tamino in The Magic Flute at the Royal Opera. He has always enjoyed directing and, while the pandemic limited his singing roles, he furthered his skills as an innovative filmmaker.
In Andrew's own words:
'For some time I have been interested in exploring the ways that classical music connects with its audience, be it in live performance situations or on screen. During the last year, while concert halls and opera houses have remained empty, we have seen a decade’s worth of evolution towards the digital future of classical music. In June 2020 I directed a production of Don Giovanni for screen live from the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra’s Berwaldhallen in Stockholm. The hope was to create a live show that operated in a space somewhere between film, a play and an opera. It relied heavily on technology, on cinematic conventions and visual language, as well as working carefully with the cast to focus their performances for camera rather than to “fill” an opera house. This generous grant from the Royal Philharmonic Society Enterprise Fund Trailblazer, presented in association with Harriet’s Trust will enable me to acquire the prized tools of industry-standard film making. I want to build teams to create projects for screen that challenge the conventions surrounding how we imagine, capture and present classical performances. Aiming to create work that aspires to share its production values with more “cinematic” content, I hope to be part of the evolution of how our art-form is received in the future.'
For a glimpse of Andrew's work, take a look at this film trailer for Wagner's Sigfried Idyll with the Swedish Radio Symphony and Daniel Harding conducting.
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