Chelsea Opera Group is an organisation based in London which arranges concert productions of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

s and other works. It was founded in 1950 when David Cairns and Stephen Gray invited Colin Davis, who was at the time a 22-year-old clarinetist, to conduct a concert performance of Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spani ...

'' in the Holywell Music Room,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

. The Group has continued this practice since, mainly with the purpose of reviving neglected operas and lesser known versions of more familiar operas. Colin Davis was the president until his death in April 2013. The Group continues to perform operas and other works in London and in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Company history and performances

Since ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and ''Part 2'', wh ...

'' in 1956, a considerable number of operas by Giuseppe Verdi have appeared on the roster, including many of the lesser-known earlier works such as the 1847 version of ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' (in 2008); the original French version of ''I Vespri Sicilianni'', the 1855 '' Les vêpres siciliennes'' (1977 and 1999); and several others such as '' Aroldo'' (1993); and '' Jérusalem'' (1997). Musicians who have gained experience early in their careers by performing with the Group include Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Mark Elder, and Sir Roger Norrington, Dame Kiri te Kanawa,

Sir Willard White Sir Willard Wentworth White, OM, CBE (born 10 October 1946) is a Jamaican-born British operatic bass baritone. Early life White was born into a Jamaican family in Kingston. His father was a dockworker, his mother a housewife. White first beg ...

Sir John Tomlinson Sir John Rowland Tomlinson (born 22 September 1946) is an English bass. Tomlinson was born in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England. He trained as a civil engineer at Manchester University before deciding on a career in opera at age 21. He studi ...

, Sarah Walker and Jill Gomez. In addition to some of the standard operatic repertory over the years, a recent concert performance which has drawn attention to the Group has been Donizetti's rarely performed '' Belisario'' (written in 1836), which starred Nelly Miricioiu under conductor

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performanc ...

and was given at

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The Q ...

on 13 February 2011. Jim Pritchard review on musicweb-international.com
Retrieved 19 December 2012

Members

* Dame Fiona Woolf, - As well as being President of the Group, she is also a member of its choir.

References

{{authority control Opera in London British opera companies Musical groups established in 1950 1950 establishments in England