'Tantrums & Tiaras'
A light-hearted look at backstage life at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London and the trials, tribulations and triumphs of working with the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet companies.
Lecturer: Nigel Bates
Percussionist, Lecturer, Presenter: Emigrating from the UK in 2009 with his Australian wife and children, Nigel has drummed his way for over thirty years in and out of London’s Royal Opera House. He has worked with many of the “big names” in the classical music industry and brings his observations, anecdotes and reflections on the unique world of the performing musician.
Starting his musical career in the Band of the Scots Guards, leaving the army to join the Orchestra of Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, and to hold an appointment as a Professor at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. After a freelance period working with most of the London orchestras and ensembles, Nigel was appointed Section Principal Percussion of the Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden in 1993, where he was involved in projects for the ROH Education Department, the Linbury Theatre and ROH2 productions such as William Tuckett’s The Soldiers Tale.
His interests include technology, history and film production. His short video In Rehearsal [about the orchestral preparation for the opera Sophie’s Choice] was voted Best Documentary 2003 by the UK Institute of Videography and in 2008 Nigel completed a film about the multitude of anvils in Wagner’s Das Rheingold.