OperaUpClose is a national touring opera company, led by Artistic Director Flora McIntosh, The company was founded in 2009 to produce its début production,

Robin Norton-Hale Robin Norton-Hale (born 28 March 1980) is an English writer and director for opera and theatre. She is the Artistic Director of OperaUpClose, having founded the company alongside Adam Spreadbury-Maher and Ben Cooper in October 2009 and was previ ...

's Olivier Award-winning adaptation of Puccini's '' La bohème'' at

The Cock Tavern Theatre The Cock Tavern Theatre was a pub theatre located in Kilburn, London, Kilburn in the north-west of London. The venue specialised in new works and critical revivals. Resident companies Good Night Out Presents and OperaUpClose were also based at t ...

. OperaUpClose produce new English language versions of the standard repertoire and World Premieres of new operas. Of the standard works, ''La bohème'' stands out as having been successful in runs for extended periods and has transferred to a West End location. Since being founded in 2009 OperaUpClose has produced twenty-five operas: six world premieres of contemporary operas and nineteen classic operas in newly commissioned chamber orchestrations and English librettos. Their production of ''La Bohème'' won the 2011 Olivier Award for Best Opera Production and the WhatsOnStage.com Award for Best Off-West End production; and their world premiere of The Blank Canvas won the 2015 Off West End Award for Best Opera. Between 2010 and 2015 OperaUpClose was the resident company at The King's Head Theatre in Islington.Mortimer, p. 14 From that date "the company will work in a variety of larger venues in London, including Kings Place, Soho Theatre and Tricycle Theatre, and further develop its touring output across the UK."Imogen Tilden (25 September 2014)
"OperaUpClose to leave King's Head, Islington, for fresh challenges"
''The Guardian'' (London) The company is an Associate Company of Soho Theatre and co-produces with the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Tricycle Theatre, Kings Place and Malmö Opera (Sweden). It tours within the UK and internationally. OperaUpClose has produced at least four operas a year, all in new English versions. In 2014 OperaUpClose began operating as a charity. The company ended its residency at the King's Head Theatre in 2015.

''La bohème''

''La bohème'' opened on 8 December 2009 and ran for five months, making it the longest-running continuously performed production of that opera. The production was noted for its relocation of the audience to the pub area of The Cock Tavern for the second act, described by George Hall in ''The Guardian'' as "a masterstroke to transfer the Café Momus scene downstairs – to the bar – where it becomes impossible to be sure who is a member of the chorus and who is an innocent bystander having a drink." The OperaUpClose ''La bohème'' transferred to the Soho Theatre for a 6-week run from 27 July 2010 (followed by a further 6-week run in January/February 2011) and was the first opera to play at the theatre. The production won the 2011 Olivier Award for best new opera production. and the 2011 Whatsonstage.com Awards for Best Off-West End Production. ''La bohème'' was revived in 2012 for a 3-month run at the Charing Cross Theatre, at the Ravenna Festival in Italy in 2014 and continues to tour.

2015 season onwards

In 2015 OperaUpClose presented the world premiere of ''Unborn in America'' by composer Luke Styles and librettist Peter Cant, as part of the Vault Festival; revived their production of Verdi's

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

at Tricycle Theatre; opened a new production of Bizet's

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

at Soho Theatre; presented the World Premiere of Anthony Young and Leanna Brodie's family opera ''Ulla's Odyssey'' at Kings Place; and continued to tour the UK with their production of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

. In 2016 OperaUpClose created their first education and participation programme. Partnering with Theatre in Education company, Big Wheel, and funded by

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

, they created a series of workshops that tour with their children's opera, ''Ulla's Odyssey''.

Past productions outside the standard repertory

* ''

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There were three basic tenets to the concept: * The special vir ...

'' by

Keith Burstein Keith Burstein born 1957 as Keith Burston (the anglicised form adopted by his father of the surname, which Burstein later dropped) is an English composer, conductor and music theorist with Russian family origins. He is noted for his fervent cha ...

, directed by Valentina Ceschi at King's Head Theatre (2011) * '' The Turn of the Screw'' by Benjamin Britten, directed by

Edward Dick Edward Dick is a British theatre director. Biography He graduated from Oxford University in 2001 and trained as Declan Donnellan's assistant at Cheek by Jowl. He has directed productions, most notably of plays by Shakespeare, in theatres around ...

at King's Head Theatre (2011) * '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'' by

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...

, directed by Mark Ravenhill at King's Head Theatre (2011) * '' La Fanciulla del West'' by Giacomo Puccini, directed by

Robert Chevara Robert Chevara is a British director and writer. He was born in London to a single parent Mother. Early career An original member of The Old Vic Youth Theatre with Sophie Thompson, Oliver Parker, Linda Henry, April De Angelis and Rikki Beadle- ...

at King's Head Theatre (2012)Rupert Christiansen
"''La Fanciulla del West'', Opera UpClose, and ''La Traviata'', Merry Opera Company, review"
''The Telegraph'' (London), 10 February 2012 * ''

Two Caravans ''Two Caravans'' is a novel by Marina Lewycka. It was published by Penguin Books on 29 March 2007 for the United Kingdom market. In the United States and Canada it is published under the title ''Strawberry Fields''. The story focuses on charact ...

'' by Guy Harries, directed by Vincent van den Elshout at King's Head Theatre (2013) * ''The Blank Canvas'' (World premiere) by Spyros Syrmos, directed by Lucy Bradley at King's Head Theatre (2014) * '' Dido and Aeneas'' by

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

, directed by Valentina Caschi at King's Head Theatre (2014) * ''Young Wife'' (World première) by Katarzyna Brochocka, directed by Robin Norton-Hale at King's Head Theatre (2014) * ''Unborn in America'' (World premiere) created by composer Luke Styles and director-librettist Peter Cant, presented by Ensemble Amorpha and OperaUpClose at the Vault Festival (2015)

Flourish

Flourish is OperaUpClose's opera writing competition, supported by

. The competition aims to provide a platform for emerging and established composers and librettists, and to raise awareness of contemporary opera. The winning opera is produced in full by OperaUpClose. Previous judges have included Mark Ravenhill, Opera Holland Park producer James Clutton, Glyn Maxwell, Robert Saxton, Imogen Tilden, Luke Styles, Anna Pickard and Clare Presland. The 2012 winner was ''Two Caravans'' by composer Guy Harries and librettist Ace McCarron. The 2013 winner, ''The Blank Canvas'', was written by composer Spyros Syrmos from a libretto by Fay Wrixon. ''Ulla's Odyssey'' by composer Anthony Young and librettist Leanna Brodie won in 2014. Last year's winner, ''They Came Back'', tells the stories of five individuals struggling to come to terms with dead people returning to life. Composed and libretto by Martin Ward, this production combines an electronic score with live performance and will premiere in autumn 2017.

References

External links