Feature

The Sixteen’s new training programme for young singers aged 18-23, Genesis Sixteen, held its first of four courses at the end of August. Find more about this successful programme in Muso Magazine.

Private passions

Mary Wakefield talks to John Studzinski about philanthropy and the importance of art

Jennie Marsden is one of the first singers to be accepted onto Genesis Sixteen, the UK’s first fully funded choral programme for young singers – aged between 18 and 23 – designed specifically to bridge the gap from student to professional practicioner. Jennie was recently featured in the Clitheroe Advertiser.

Most readers of this paper will think they know what to expect from a lunchtime chat with John Studzinski. Formerly a banker at Morgan Stanley and then at HSBC, now a senior managing director at Blackstone Group, the investment and advisory firm, he is a prominent figure in financial circles from New York to Beijing. So why, you may wonder, is it an arts editor who is meeting him for lunch at the Square, owner-chef Philip Howard’s Michelin two-star restaurant in London’s Mayfair?

On the 22 February 2011, Natalie Carter and Hayley Stobo, two British students studying at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy thanks to support from the Genesis Foundation, were featured on BBC Breakfast along with Natalie's mum, Sue Carter. You can watch the excerpt on the BBC News website.

Philanthropy beyond the chequebook

In the wake of the banking crisis, many bankers have sought to improve their image by giving to charity. But as John Studzinski, one of the biggest philanthropists around, tells Chris Blackhurst, throwing money at good causes just isn’t enough

Glasgow-born Hayley Stobo, 16, has become the first Scottish girl to secure a place at the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Celebrating her success is the Genesis Foundation, the UK-based charity which is supporting Hayley’s professional development by funding this early stage of her career. Only two British girls have ever been taken under the wing of the esteemed Bolshoi Ballet Academy in order to train for a full diploma, both of whom are currently being developed and nurtured by the Genesis Foundation.

In its new initiative to find original approaches to opera and music theatre for the 21st century and also new audiences for the lyric stage, OperaGenesis are working with French composer Jean Phillipe Calvin to complete a one-act, absurdist piece based on the Eugene Ionesco play, La Cantatrice Chauve or The Bald Soprano. Calvin writes an introductory explanation of what he is doing as he finishes the piece and looks forward to a showcase performance in London during November.

When banking supremo John Studzinski turned his hand to helping develop young opera talent he was initially met with some harsh criticism. However he determined not to give up, and is now about to present a new selection of works from his transformed OperaGenesis programme. Andrew Stewart reports.

Is opera a dead form? Is it a museum genre to be enjoyed only in glamorous old buildings with red plush auditoria and mainly by the privileged and the rich? Or does it have a future as a vibrant theatrical form that can address and satisfy contemporary audiences, deal with contemporary issues? Jonathan Reekie, Chief Executive of Aldeburgh Productions and Vice Chairman of the new Genesis Prizes for Opera in the Almeida Opera Festival shares some of his thoughts on the subject with us.