Moment 4

The Gobbi Jobbie

Moment 5

The Crucifixion

Moment 6

Pearlfishers in Verona

The Opera School at the Royal Academy of Music was a rather grand name for a group of us students for whom the professors felt there was a need for a ‘more widening vocal experience’. I really think it was a ruse to keep us away from the more pleasurable pastimes in the basement of the Academy. There were twelve of us as I remember - all of whom,except myself , it seems, went on the become household names in the singing profession. We did study many operas and perform some of these in ‘workshop’ format. We were often called away from the Academy to do what euphemistically were described as ‘Gobbi Jobbies’. These entailed going to theatres or opera houses in London to stand in lighting or technical rehearsals for leading opera stars who did not do this sort of thing themselves. My one and only ‘Gobbi Job’ actually involved the man himself. Tito Gobbi was appearing at the Stoll Theatre Kingsway (now long gone) in two productions – Tosca and Don Giovanni. Two of us were commanded to attend the lighting rehearsal of Don Giovanni. The soprano and I, the baritone, spent hours being paraded around the stage and after lunch again with the orchestra for the duet ‘La ci darem la mano’ which was to be performed on a rather rickety balcony to one side of the stage. Lighting and movement were crucial we were told as the maestro tended to ‘walk about a lot when singing’. I remember just as we were finishing at around 5pm, we had sung the duet or bits of it over and over again and the stage was being set for the evening a figure emerged from the stalls in an immaculate black double breasted suit and the shiniest shoes I had ever seen and approached us waving his arms and pointing, exclaiming “maaanoh” “maaannoh” “maaannoh” not “mano” “remember that” and off went Tito Gobbi - stage left. He had been there all the afternoon watching in the darkness of the stalls! So here with Andy Lynwood’s assistance and a track from the Internet, with thanks to an unknown Czech soprano, is the duet ‘La Ci Darem La Maaaanno’! in memory of that musical moment with Maestro Gobbi 50 years ago.

Listen to the Duet - ‘La Ci Darem Da Mano’ from DON GIOVANNI

Harvey ‘duets’ with an unknown Czech soprano and the Prague Symphony Orchestra

Recorded in The Old Chapel Studio Shotesham Norfolk 2014

MOMENT - 4 The Gobbi Jobbie - Don Giovanni

Click the little white arrow to listen to this track