We are excited to announce a grant to fund Opera on Location. Opera on Location (OoL) is committed to engaging as many people as possible from communities across in Sheffield; displaying that opera is for everyone, popping up in places you least expect. The beneficiaries of OoL include a wide range of individuals including; young opera singers at the beginning of their professional careers, or those who require additional stage experience; under 18s attending one of our engaging workshops and experiencing opera for the first time; adult audiences who thought opera wasn’t for them until they stumbled upon one of Opera on Location’s free performances, were unexpectedly moved by the music and have been hooked ever since; to the opera lovers of Sheffield who are grateful to have a homegrown professional opera company as part of Sheffield’s rich cultural tapestry. The beneficiaries of the proposed workshop will primarily be the students and teachers who attend the events. The feedback sheets that were completed after our workshop in 2018 all praised the event for its innovation, exceptional singing and in particular the engaging and educational mastery of Nigel Simeone. We are confident that running the event on a larger scale will only benefit more young people and give them the opportunity to improve their understanding of this critical material within the exam.
.2023 marks the ten year anniversary of Opera on Location. For this year the organisation plans numerous events to celebrate 10 wonderful years of being Sheffield’s only professional opera company and to cement itself as a permanent fixture within the city not only as a producer of innovative and high quality operatic performances but also as a leader of music education. The first of our events, scheduled for early 2023 will be an extended version of our recent and hugely successful pilot workshop of The Marriage of Figaro. The feedback OoL received regarding the 2018 workshop and performance was exceptional and although we are three years on the A Level Music syllabus remains unchanged, it is the perfect time to repeat our previous success and build upon it to make it even more beneficial for the students and teachers that take part. The workshop (which will be free of charge) will include discussion and detailed exploration of the vocal works featured as set pieces for A-Level. Complete with professional opera singers providing live musical examples and working with the students creates a very unique and special project, in addition to providing an opportunity for students to hear live opera, likely for the first time.