The Dowager Duchess of Cobham

The Dowager Duchess of Cobham - C'est Moi!

When I played Captain Petrovich in Eugene Onegin for British Youth Opera, movement coach Terry John Bates tried and failed to make me look butch enough to be convincing.

‘Stand in a strong position.

‘No.

‘Nearly…

‘No.

‘Never mind. But at the very least can you drop your habit of clutching at an imaginary string of pearls when things get dramatic? It's tantamount to being your female indicator gesture. You are a Cossack killing machine stopping a brawl at Madame Larina's house, not the Dowager Duchess of Cobham hearing that her son Lord Jack has knocked up the tweeny maid again.'

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