Behind the Scenes

Wed, Apr 16th 2025 at 12:40 pm - 2:00 pm

Ann Baird knows lots of behind the scenes stories of her performances on stage.

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The speaker was club member Ann Baird who gave a very entertaining talk entitled ‘Behind the Scenes’. From a very musical Glasgow family, she enjoyed singing from a very early age. She attended Jordanhill College school and then Glasgow University, appearing in school operas and, then with the Cecilian Society. One day while performing she was spotted by a talent scout from Sadler’s Wells Opera who encouraged her to come to London and join the Sadler’s Wells Opera Company, first as a chorus member, but before long as one of the principals. Throughout her extensive career she never lost the thrill of entering the stage door to begin rehearsals. Her career meant she was touring a lot and she described the funny experiences she had when trying to secure accommodation in the town where she was performing. Ann told us how you really feel you are somebody else when performing on the stage, that you need to have really good health as you are always on the go. She sang with Scottish Opera and explained all the processes before the Opera is ready for the first night: firstly the singer has to learn the music, followed by various rehearsals until eventually the cast are on stage and meet the orchestra for the first time. She often worked with Scottish Opera and spoke about her time at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow when the orchestra was conducted by Sir Alexander Gibson. She often had understudy roles which meant more music to learn and, sadly, very rarely being called on to perform the role. Looking back over her extensive career Ann said it was a privilege to be with so many interesting people. At the end of her talk she made a passionate plea that all young people should benefit from professional teaching and be able to participate in the creative arts when they are at school. Sylvia Donaldson gave the vote of thanks for a very special trip behind the scenes.