Young actress Louise Moseley talks to Duncan Hall about her on stage dream

THIS year’s Glyndebourne On Tour programme will see 13-year-old soprano Louise Moseley star not only in the revival of Benjamin Britten’s spooky opera, but also in the cinematic screenings of The Cunning Little Vixen from the 2012 Festival.

Currently studying at Lewes’s Priory School she admits juggling homework and rehearsals can be tough, but as The Turn Of The Screw opens this weekend she is enjoying the experience.

“I’ve been doing rehearsals for about five weeks in total,” she says. “But I’ve been working on the score since about May – getting it into my system. I’ve started memorising other people’s parts now!”

Based on the Henry James novella The Turn Of The Screw tells the story of a young governess, who begins to fear for her two young children when she starts seeing mysterious supernatural figures hanging around the house and grounds not unlike her late predecessor and her master’s former valet.

Her fears are reinforced by the unpredictable actions of the two young children, with the boy Miles being unexpectedly expelled from school and Flora, played by Louise, apparently making contact with the ghosts.

“I think Flora is mischevious,” says Louise, who has watched different cinematic versions of the tale and even attempted to read James’s original book.

“She comes across as quite innocent and sweet, but in reality I think she’s quite manipulative. She’s played differently in all the interpretations of the book I’ve seen, so I’ve made her my own.”

The lighting and set design contribute to the spookiness of the story, which has been updated from its original 19th century setting to the 1950s.

“I think it’s more creepy than being set in Victorian times,” says Louise. “It makes it quite modern, it doesn’t feel like a typical Victorian ghost story.”

Louise has been studying singing since she was six years old. She was encouraged to explore opera by her tutor Elizabeth Brice who put her forward for the two Glyndebourne productions.

“I really liked musical theatre,” she says. “My singing teacher sang me a few opera arias and I really liked them – so I decided to follow down that road.”

Louise has also appeared in musicals by the Brighton Theatre Group, including We Will Rock You and Les Miserables, but she is enjoying the Glyndebourne experience so much she is hoping to study at music college in the future.

“The cast are so lovely,” she says of working with stars Anthony Gregory, Natalya Romaniw, Anne Mason and Miranda Keys. “They have had so much experience – it makes me want to carry on in the opera world.”

She will be going out on tour with the production, which is visiting Woking, Canterbury, Norwich, Plymouth, and Milton Keynes.

“It’s only for one night at each place,” she says. “I would love to do a full tour in a bus. It will be quite scary going to these different places – they will all have different backstage areas and acoustics, I don’t think we’ll have time for a rehearsal on stage. I would like to audition for more parts in the future and become a professional singer full-time. I would love to play Susanna in The Marriage Of Figaro – that’s my favourite role.”

The Turn Of The Screw Glyndebourne, Firle, near Lewes, Saturday, October 18, Tuesday, October 21, and Friday, October 24