In the studio with Tam Mutu

Hello again!

It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Still, we hope it's been worth the wait.
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Coming up in this d'Blog, lyricist Michael Davies talks about the studio days with West End and Broadway star Tam Mutu - our very own TESS bad boy Alec d'Urberville.

So, take it away, Mr Words! 

A little over a year ago, the score and libretto of Tess were being finalised into a workable draft, ready to be put in front of the kind of people it needed to be put in front of at that stage in the long journey towards production.
 
Around the same time, a certain leading man was stepping out onto a Broadway stage in the title role of a new musical based on Pasternak’s famous epic of the Russian revolution, Dr Zhivago. Tam Mutu won rave reviews from the likes of the Washington Times, which described him as “really wonderful” and “utterly perfect”, and he was nominated for a prestigious Drama League Award.

Now, as the creators of another new musical based on a classic novel, composer Michael B and I are enjoying the extraordinary privilege of listening to that same soaring voice delivering the role of Alec d’Urberville, Thomas Hardy’s scheming villain who’s responsible for our heroine’s initial downfall.

​'CONSUMMATELY TALENTED'

​Tam, besides being the consummately talented singer we’d expected, is also a proper professional. Oh, and a lovely bloke too.

​Nothing is too much trouble and, as with Siobhan Dillon before him, is utterly focused and dedicated in the studio. Never mind whether the writers are happy with a take, there’s always a better one just around the corner which these stars are determined to nail.
 
It’s a joy to watch and listen to, and time flies by far too fast. If only we’d written another couple of songs for Alec. No, just kidding.

So, with half of Tess and all of Alec in the bag - at least as far as vocal tracks are concerned - things are proceeding at a pace I don’t think even we anticipated. There’s still months of work ahead, recording a dozen or so chorus parts as well as the rest of the principals and instrumentalists, before a complex post-production phase.
 
But the smooth class with which our cast are acquitting themselves is making the process not only incredibly straightforward but also immensely enjoyable.

​Long may it continue.

Tam Mutu with TESS creators Michael Blore and Michael Davies and (front) recording engineer Conor Manning

Thank you for reading and following the progress of the show. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

Next time on d'Blog... More commentary from the studio as things get busy on the production of the TESS album