Patron Insight: Mansfield Park

This term’s opera production will be Mansfield Park, Jonathan Dove’s enchanting opera based on the beloved Jane Austen novel. Ahead of the production opening on Monday 24 February, Head of Opera Studies Dominic Wheeler spoke with Julia Merino (Fanny Price) and Tom McGowan (Edmund Bertram) about Mansfield Park. 

Tickets for Mansfield Park can be purchased via our website. 

Dominic: Tell us about your Mansfield Park characters. 

Tom: I am playing Mr Edmund Bertram, who’s the son of Sir Thomas Bertram, the owner of Mansfield Park. Edmund is very different to the rest of his family. He’s a moral and considerate person and he’s been pre-destined to enter into ordination. He is still a young man and, over the course of the opera, things happen to him which challenge his understanding of the world. 

One of the crucial parts of his character is his relationships with two women, Fanny Price and Mary Crawford. Fanny is his cousin, who he has known for many years and has always been very close with. He meets Mary at the start of the opera: she introduces different ideas and ways of living to him and he becomes enchanted by her.  

Julia: I am playing Fanny Price, Edmund’s cousin. Fanny’s mother married a man with little money, whereas her sister married the wealthy Sir Thomas Bertram, owner of Mansfield Park. As a child, Fanny was collected by her Aunt and brought to Mansfield Park to provide her with a better life. She has grown up with the Bertram children and is well-educated, but has never truly been part of the family or their social class.  

All the Bertram children have been distant with her, with the exception of Edmund. Fanny has been in love with him since she arrived at Mansfield Park. In terms of her character, she has a very strong moral guide which she always follows, which brings her some issues during the opera.  

D: Do you have a favourite scene? 

T: My favourite is the letter scene, as it offers a window into all the characters and their feelings. It’s heading towards the climax of the opera and is an exciting and moving scene. 

D: In the book and opera, careful choices are made about when to let emotion out and confront others and when to act in a correct manner. The letter scene is brilliant, almost like a split-screen in cinema, with different characters in different places writing letters. It’s my favourite scene too. 

J: The final scene is so moving. It’s musically beautiful and the ensemble sings together which is lovely. From a less emotional point of view, I also enjoy the wilderness scene. Everyone has their own feelings but is struggling with them privately rather than sharing them. I think it’s very powerful, although it’s difficult to perform. 

D: What will audiences enjoy about this production? 

T: I think this opera has so much to offer: it has an emotional and profound conclusion, but amongst this you have moments of excitement and light-heartedness and a powerful story about Fanny Price becoming herself.  

J: All the characters have a journey which is very interesting to watch. It shows how humans are always changing. I think it offers a lot so I’m sure audiences will have some new ideas on the way home! This is the key thing for me with the arts: if it makes you think about something from a different angle, it worked.  

D: What are your pre-performance preparations? 

J: Eating is very important for me. Through rehearsals I’ve been checking how food impacts my singing so I know when to eat on performance days. Warming up properly and stretching is also really important – an efficient warm up takes about 20 minutes if you focus on the repertoire you will be performing. 

T: The goal is to get physically and psychologically ready to give a performance. I try not to do too much on performance days and take some time to think about what I’m going to do and the path from being at home to being on stage. Once I get to the theatre, I do a gentle warm-up, get into costume and start to think about the show. Your brain becomes more active as you go through this process. 

D: There are also the things we do as a company to prepare... 

T: Our last show, Die Fledermaus, had a lot of German dialogue, so we’d all meet before the performance to run through all the dialogue. This helps you to get into the spirit of the show and cover things you might have forgotten like cues. 

J: We practice the tricky movements like lifts, jumps, fights, dancing, scene changes, intimacy scenes, anything where you might feel uncertain. We check it to ensure everyone is happy and, if not, you do it again. We all have to feel safe on the stage during the performances. 

D: Lastly, what is your dream role? 

T: Pelléas from Debussy’s Pelléas et Melisande. It’s the most beautiful music and a wonderful story. 

J: Carmen (Bizet) – I would love to perform this role. Charlotte from Massenet’s Werther is an amazing one too but, if I had to pick one, Carmen.