London Youth Opera (LYO) is an independent

opera company Opera is a form of Western 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 lib ...

in London which produces

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s performed by young people aged 9 to 18. Founded in 1971, and previously known as W11 Opera and W11 Children's Opera, it took its former name from its location in W11, a postal district in West London consisting largely of

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

and parts of

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', ...

. It changed to its current name in 2023. Almost all of the productions are new works created by composers such as

George Fenton George Richard Ian Howe Fenton (born 19 October 1949), known professionally as George Fenton, is an English composer. Best known for his work writing film scores and music for television, he has received five Academy Award nominations, several ...

, John Gardner, Richard Harvey, Colin Towns and Timothy Kraemer. Some of these works go on to be revived by schools and other opera companies. Notable alumni of the company include Eve Best,

Jonathan Antoine Jonathan Antoine (born 13 January 1995) is an English classically-trained tenor. He rose to fame after appearing on the sixth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2012 as half of the classical duo Jonathan and Charlotte. He subsequently went ...

and

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and ...

Works commissioned and premiered

W11/LYO has commissioned and produced almost 40 new operas, more than any other UK company, providing a repertoire of music theatre for its cast of 9- to 18-year-olds. Each has a running time of just over one hour. Most of the group's commissions are available for performance by schools and music theatre groups. *1971 '' Noye's Fludde''*

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

, (Chester Mystery play) *1972 ''The Pied Piper'' Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, Jeremy Hornsby *1973 ''Bel and the Dragon'', John Gardner, Timothy Kraemer *1974 ''The Winter Star''*, Malcolm Williamson *1975 ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

'' *,

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...

*1976 ''Like This, Like That'', Timothy Kraemer, Peter Dickinson *1977 ''The Adventures of Jonah'', Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer and Peter Dickinson *1978 ''The Girl and the Unicorn'', Stephen Oliver, Stephen Oliver *1979 ''Dreamtime'',

Daryl Runswick Daryl Runswick (born 12 October 1946) is a classically trained English composer, arranger, jazz musician, producer and educationalist. Career Runswick was born in Leicester, and educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys and Corpus Christi ...

, Daryl Runswick *1980 ''Mak the Sheep Stealer''*, Herbert Chappell, Don Taylor *1981 ''Wenceslas'', Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer *1982 ''Birthday'' (revived 1998),

, Timothy Kraemer *1983 ''Rainbow Planet'', Christopher Gunning, Timothy Rose Price *1984 ''The Adventures of Jonah'', + Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer & Peter Dickinson *1985 ''Bel and the Dragon'', + John Gardner, Timothy Kraemer *1986 ''The Tin Knight'', Francis Shaw, Michael Finch *1987 ''Ulysses and the Wooden Horse'', Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer *1988 ''The Return of Odysseus'',

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

, David Bedford *1989 ''Koppelberg'', Steve Gray, Norman Brooke *1990 ''Double Trouble'', Louisa Lasdun, Adam Thorpe *1991 ''A Time of Miracles'', Richard Harvey, John Kane *1992 ''Listen to the Earth'', Steve Gray, Sarah Shuckburgh *1993 ''Traveller's Tale'',

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, record producer and musician. Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...

, Michael Kamen *1994 ''Antiphony'', (revived 2005),

Graham Preskett Graham Donald Harry Preskett is a British composer and musician who has been active since the early 1970s. He appeared on the Mott the Hoople albums ''Mott'' (1973) and '' The Hoople'' (1974), playing violin on both, and arranging and conducting ...

, John Kane *1995 ''The Dancing Princesses'', Bill Connor, Nick Renton *1996 ''Ulysses and the Wooden Horse'', + Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer *1997 ''Eloise'',

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins, , Honorary Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, HonFLSW (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "Adiemus (song), Adiemus" (1995, from the Adi ...

, Carol Barratt *1999 ''Rip'', Colin Towns, Martin Newell *2000 ''Deep Waters'', Cecilia McDowall, Christie Dickason *2001 ''Flying High'', Graham Preskett, John Kane *2002 ''Stormlight'', David Knotts, Katharine Craik *2003 ''Game Over'', Guy Dagul, Jane Aspeling *2004 ''All in the Mind'', Edward Lambert, Edward Lambert *2005 ''ANTiphony'', + Graham Preskett, John Kane *2006 ''Chincha-Chancha Cooroo'', Bernard Hughes, William Radice *2007 ''Shadowtracks'', Julian Grant, Tina Jones *2008 ''The Song of Rhiannon'',

Mark Bowden Mark Bowden (; born 1951) is an American journalist and writer. He is a former national correspondent and longtime contributor to ''The Atlantic''. Bowden is best known for his book ''Black Hawk Down (book), Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern W ...

, Helen Cooper *2009 ''The Whale Savers'', Martin Ward, Phil Porter *2010 ''Rain Dance'', Stuart Hancock, Donald Sturrock *2011 ''Original Features'', Julian Grant, Christina Jones *2012 ''Good Intentions'', Julian Philips, Simon Christmas *2013 ''The Fizz'', Martin Ward, Phil Porter *2014 ''Deep Waters'', + Cecilia McDowall, Christie Dickason *2015 ''Eliza and the Swans,'' John Barber, Hazel Gould *2016 ''The Price,'' Russell Hepplewhite, Helen Eastman *2017 ''The Cutlass Crew,'' Stuart Hancock, Donald Sturrock *2018 ''Shadow Tracks,'' + Julian Grant, Christina Jones Note: * not an LYO/W11 Opera commission; + denotes commission revivals

References

{{authority control British opera companies Opera in London Musical groups established in 1971