Name: Jenny Daniel
Nationality: British
Programme: PhD
Year: 1

I came to study in Leeds having applied for a Collaborative Doctoral Award run between the School of Performance and Cultural Industries (PCI), University of Leeds and Opera North, and funded by the AHRC.  This is the second of two such doctoral projects on ‘Opera as Adaptation’, which also links to a larger collaborative partnership between the two organisations, DARE, launched in March 2007 (dareyou.org.uk).

My project focuses on ‘Adaptation, source and musical realisation’ and is supervised by Dr Rachel Cowgill (Music), Dr Kara McKechnie (PCI), and  Richard Farnes, Director of Music at Opera North.  I ask questions about the collaborative artistic nature of opera and the role of the composer, and use case studies to look at how Opera North mediates works and messages to its audience within a social, economic and political context.
This project is a rare and fantastic opportunity to immerse myself as a researcher into the life and practice of a real opera company, and is made possible because of this unique creative partnership.

I fell in love with opera as an undergraduate at the University of Sheffield in the late 1990s.  I adore its flamboyance, its energy, its emotion.  I have always been interested in music that tells a story, and that touches on the essence of humanity.  At its best, I think  opera does this more directly than any other form.

Leeds University has a great many opportunities to offer, with innovative projects of this type that one really does not find elsewhere.  Working within PCI, Music and with Opera North, I get the best of all possible worlds, although with such a wealth of expertise on offer, it can be difficult to place myself in the centre and decide exactly where I need to focus to get the most out of my research.

I will finish in 2011, and then I have no firm plans as yet.  I was a school teacher for many years, and ideally I would like to combine my expertise in education with an academic role.  I think the arts could be used to greater effect to help young people suffering from learning and behavioural difficulties, and I see that as an area for future research.