2011 sees the return of the world renowned Manchester International Festival with a line-up of shows that is set to once again place the MIF on the map for being one of the true originals of the festival circuit. We are really excited to have got the chance to talk with Fiona Cariss, Assistant Volunteer Coordinator about this years Volunteer Opportunities at MIF and what prospective volunteers can gain from being part of the volunteering team.

MIF has a variety of roles that you can volunteer for which include:

Artist Liaison Volunteer, Festival Fronteer, Volunteer Admin/Reception Assistant, Volunteer Press Assistant, Volunteer Sponsorship Assistant, Volunteer Technical Assistant, Volunteer Ticketing Assistant

There is an Open Day on the 27th March 2011 and you can find out all the information on their website HERE.

In five words what are the benefits of volunteering of MIF?

Fun
Exciting
New
Positive
Variety

Do you think the uniqueness of the MIF adds to the experience of Volunteering?

Definitely, there is nowhere comparable that you could get the same kind of experiences. The volunteers, as with the MIF staff, will often have direct contact with the artists which is such a great experience. A few of our volunteers got so close to the artists they have stayed in touch with them since. For example a couple of volunteers that helped with the “Young at Heart” choir have been to see them in Europe. And the volunteer artist liaison for Amadou & Mariam in 2009 has been requested to work with them again this year.

What was the best 2009 volunteering story, any embarrassing mishaps?

One of our volunteer ‘Admin and Reception’ assistants got to drive Rufus Wainwright’s personal car in 2009. She was a massive fan of his so she did get quite excited and nervous but she held her nerve and managed not to crash it!

During the walk through of “It Felt Like A Kiss” in 2009, one of our volunteers went to the dress rehearsal walk-through and on the bit where they were being chased by the guy with chainsaw she managed to run in to a prop tree and gave herself a black eye! The production team then knew to put some padding on just in case! She was fine and just very excited to be one of the first to experience the very popular production!

What does it take to be a MIF Volunteer?

We look for enthusiasm, passion and love for Manchester whether you’re from here or not! Plus a smiley face come rain or shine!

What is involved in Volunteering at MIF?

This completely depends on the role! You can be doing anything from moving artists cars to making brews to front of house duties and working on the press desk. We have various different roles to get involved in. We’ll have around 400 volunteers helping us this year and they pretty much run the show! If it wasn’t for the volunteers the festival couldn’t happen!

Once you are shortlisted what is the next step?

We are recruiting on a first come first served basis this year because we have such a high interest, so once we’ve rung you up and got you in for a chat we’ll decide which role you’re most suited to or which project you’d like to work on. Then we hold induction and training sessions so you are completely knowledgeable on all things MIF 2011! We have volunteers on-board already helping with admin and marketing tasks and we also have 20 very valuable team leaders who help us coordinate our many volunteers!

What do you think is the best reasons to volunteer at MIF?

To do something different, meet new people and be part of something special.

How do you co-ordinate the volunteers, a festival this size is going to be tough, what challengers do you face?

Caroline Birnie, the Volunteer Coordinator, and I run a very tight ship! You have to be extremely organised and have a natural ability to be able to place the volunteers in the most appropriate roles. Our main aim is to make sure the volunteers are happy and enjoying themselves. We want them to get the most out of the experience! The biggest challenges we face is adhering to each individual, their personalities and availability. Interviewing all 400 volunteers is a big challenge too but I love meeting them all and I’ve made some of my best friends working on this festival. There is Dot, our 86 yr old volunteer from Stockport who is up for anything and also Colin, one of our trusty Team Leaders who gave up all of his time in 2009 to help us with everything including inputting 100s of names of volunteers into our database, running our opening night and joining us for drinks after work to help us unwind!

Is the application open to non-Manchester residents?

Yes definitely! We’ve had people apply from Holland, Spain, Germany and even Australia!

The final set in our list of MUST GO TO festivals in the UK has been announced and their line-up lives up to their name as not only International but groundbreaking originality makes MIF truly unique. In 2009 TNC was honoured to get the chance to attend several of the shows which included Rufus Wainwrights “Prima Donna” Opera which left the audience emotional and charged.

2011 is set to be another triumph for the festival organisers with a programme of shows that will not only be unique to the UK but for seasoned festival goers who have been longing to try something special and spellbinding.

Some of the 2011 Highlights are:

Björk – Biophilia -Three week Manchester residency; the World Premiere of her Biophilia live show.

The Life & Death of Marina Abramović - Robert Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Antony & Abramović, in a new theatrical piece.

Victoria Wood – That Day We Sang – Britain’s best-loved comedic voice creates a Manchester love story – with singing.

Snoop Dog – Doggystyle – Hip hop pioneer presents the First UK performance of his genre-defining debut.

&

Mark Andre – First UK Performances of work by this remarkable French composer

All those intending on coming to the festival should be mindful that these shows are unique to MIF and that position that MIF enjoys as curators of the most fantastic multi-genre festival means that tickets for certain shows are going to sell out pretty quick. So please be sure you book your tickets as soon as you can to avoid any disappointment.

For more information on Manchester International Festival you can go to their website HERE.

I have to admit I was unsure about how well this new opera was gong to go down and I think I spent most of the time thinking about the word ‘debut’ as if this one opera was enough to allow someone like Rufus Wainwright the space he needed to fall into a new (but old) art form.

There are going to be people on both sides with this, again well before seeing it who will argue that it will lack the power of classic opera. And some, much like me, will argue that he’s a pop singer and a very good one and he shouldn’t try to think to high above that pop status.

But sitting in the theatre and looking around am surprised at how many faces I can see, there are hundreds of people from all walks of life here and so I sit back and get ready to be taken by this ‘opera’.

Just before it starts I get talking to this overly friendly American who says he’s from the production and it turns out he helped Rufus put this together. He went on to say that he admits there are a few mistakes and a few things that they could have done differently, but you have to simply take a step back and look at what Rufus has been able to achieve. That was really all I needed to be sold on this and was rather getting excited about seeing it.

Before anything happened the music started, strings, drums, and a gentle touch that would become the real soul and heart of the whole Opera. The music cried in a flamboyant explanation of what it wanted you to know, or to try and understand. This could have been the start and the end it didn’t, and wouldn’t have mattered, as almost instantly as the curtain was still drawn you being to feel, understand, and connect with the piece.

The curtain rises and on stage you can see through a net curtain with a very life-like image of the Prima Donna’s mouth screaming your introduced to the biggest wooden doors there has ever been on stage. And Madame runs though the doors followed by a man.

Prima Donna is a simple story or love, passion, loss, music, and self and each of the performers brought so much weight to what they could do you genuinely found yourself taken in and falling in love with every word they said. Though this was in French but with English subtitles when you glossed over to read the translation it did feel as though it was a little weak, as this was the first real glimpse into the wider dialogue between each Character.

Some of the story was weak to not damaging to the opera. I think this was one of the things that he would have to fine-tune the next time he does an Opera. But one of the lines came after a rather harsh and slightly disturbing altercation between Philippe and Marie where Marie says: ‘He’s really starting to get on my nerves’, to which there was a slight giggle from the audience.

In some respects the Opera is darker than I think Wainwright would have liked and so the gentle and no offensive humour comes into it to try and offset this darker side. Which is a shame but this wasn’t a tragedy in which case he would have been allowed to have as much darkness as he would have liked. However these few occasions where there was this ‘light’ moments took away from the piece a little bit which meant it would have to go through all this again.

The story is simple and is one that am sure has been done or played with before but the two female sopranos offered and even greater insight into the story that Wainwright had created. Regine Saint Laurent, played by Janis Kelly, was the worlds greatest singer, and her presence was very much like Callas (though with a red wig). But it was her co-star Rebecca Bottone who played Marie who’s voice was pure and without one single blemish. There was a piece on the bed, where she is singing to Madame and by the end of the piece she got a round of applause. It was odd to see fact and fiction work so closely together and in no way am I saying that Janis Kelly’s voice was less impressive but at times you felt that she was deliberately singing slightly deeper than she needed.

The Set

It was big and empty with some gens thrown in to add a real understanding of space and ability to redefine the space to fit in with a contemporary piece. And that’s what we have to keep in mind this wasn’t an exclusive modern opera but was still a contemporary piece.

Big doors, big windows, and two pods that where used to give even more depth and use of space that really made an impact. But overall minus some very big set pieces a greater portion of the stage was bare yet Regine (Janis Kelly) managed to fill it with so much passion and conviction that she left you wanting more.

The lighting was another aspect of the Opera that set it apart making it another key playing in the piece rather than just lighting. From harsh lights to simple blues and mild to bright greens it was once again a clear and unique insight into what could be used without it being to over the top.

The Music

This is a tough one and I don’t want to say anything. But since this is a review I have to so here it goes. Musically it wasn’t as big as Wainwright could have made it. There was no choir as was pointed out to me and the music in some very small sections was a little to pop and didn’t marry well with the dialogue on stage.

The music was gentle but big in spirit. It really go to you because it was love, and the strings made you feel the loss and love that was trying to be conveyed on stage. And that was frankly beautiful.

The Point

Rufus did something that few people would ever dream about doing, yet still be able to pull it off but that is what he has done here. We have to remember this is a contemporary piece and isn’t a classical piece in style yet there was so much it offered and the most important thing was it offered a clear insight into what can be created if given the opportunity. This is going to be the start of what is to be expected from Wainwright and after some very careful refecting moments I can say without doubt in my mind that

What they thought:

Suna Ali, 24, Malaysia, Student: I thought the second half was far more impressive than the first.  It was more about the musical score which was far more impressive.  I thought it was going to be quite a contemporary piece and I wasn’t expecting it to be proper opera style.  I love the fact that it was different…it was set in France, sung in french.
 
Wilma Brinkerhoff, Holland, 52, Teacher: I have seen this for the third time now and am absolutely hooked. It’s so romantic and I really needed to see it more often because at first I didn’t understand the story – it’s a very simple story.  The second time I decided to ignore all the lyrics and just let the music speak for itself, then I really fell in love with it and now I just enjoyed it.
 
Harry Kelly, 25, Doctor, London: It wasn’t what I was expecting from Rufus if am honest.  I was expecting it to be bigger like some of his pop songs.  There is no choir, there are only five singers but the orchestration is amazing and there is a line that I really liked and am humming it already.
 
Jackie Parker, 50, Shopkeeper: It was something I wasn’t really expecting.  The first moments of the Opera grabbed me as I was unsure where it was going to go, but the story was quite simple and some of the gentle humour managed to breakdown the Opera and bring you in slightly.
 
Paul Howard, 55, Publisher: I thought it was brilliant, the ladies singing was incredible there is one bit where they are on the bed and the younger lady is singing and it made the hairs on the back of my head stand up it was so beautiful – his next career is as an Opera composer.
 
Terri Walker, 35, Manchester, Lighting Technician: It was stunning.  The lighting was breathtaking and enjoyed it more than I thought I would have.  The set pieces where big and add them to the lighting was amazing, really did make an impression on me, and we where in the cheap seats.
 
Jania Sitkowitz,37, LA/Kent, Artist: Searingly beautiful, unique, so much about the creative process and the artists: love, music.  I thought it was ravishing.  I think it’s remarkable [Rufus's achievement] and shows is extraordinary talent and musicality…fantastic story with its wonderful roles and its wonderful to see someone contemporary writing and providing this form or music.

Carlos Acosta, the World’s greatest male ballet dancer, returns to the Manchester International Festival after a two year absence. In contrast to the more contemporary choreography of his semi-autobiographical Tocororo of 2007, this year he is performing a selection of more classical dances with Salford Quay’s Lowry as the setting and accompanied by the BBC Philharmonic.

The evening opens with Afternoon of a Faun and Acosta reclined on the floor. We see him awake and arise in the setting of a ballet studio. As he rises we see a vast shadow cast behind him exaggerating each movement he makes. Acosta is soon met by the fabulous Begoña Cao, and the two dancers intertwine and flirt through lifts and poses.

It is a wonder to watch and almost has a teenage innocence about it as the dancers explore each other’s bodies and watch themselves in a mirror, represented as they stare out into audience. This technique gives the piece a distinct feel of voyeurism, the dancers have no idea we are there, making the viewer feel guiltily but at the same time privileged for stumbling upon this scene.

In contrast, Acosta’s second performance is full of showmanship and entertainment. In his version of A Suite of Dances, Acosta is accompanied by the lone cellist, Natalie Clein, who takes a teacher type role with the dancer; her music alone dictating his movement. This teacher – student interaction is reinforced by the apparent journey we see Acosta go through.

He starts quite tentatively, appearing unsteady on his feet and struggling to find his balance. But as we move through the four movements he gains confidence, growing into a cheeky, confident, even cocky character who pirouettes and cartwheels around the stage at the instruction of the cellist’s music. The cellist seems in control, seated to the side of the stage like a weathered rock, but there is a clear mutual respect between the two artists and their art forms; a true wonder to watch.

Acosta’s final dance, Apollo, frankly starts uneasily. The use of the mandolin prop was clunky and unnatural, it was almost uncomfortable to try and see Acosta trying to strum the instrument in time with the music. That said, as soon as he set down the mandolin and picked up the three beautiful dancers: Cao, Klimentova and Chalendard, the dance becomes poetry in motion. The dancers firmly have tongue in cheek as the weave in and out of one another, Acosta manipulating the movements of his female partners in almost a comedic fashion.

The girls then line up one by one to entertain Acosta’s Apollo, each girl wins us over with her charm and grace even as the sun God rejects them one by one. Apollo then takes centre stage, proving how great a God he is as well as the athleticism and musicality of Acosta who blows us away with his breathtaking interpretation. Throughout he simply emits a love for dance; even when the role does not require him to have a smile on his face, you can tell he is in glee every second he is performing, all of which makes for an excellent spectacle.