Like Unlike

"You feel you're part of something bigger than yourself when you all come together."

Lord Mayor's Appeal project at the Guildhall

In June and July 2019, Garsington Opera worked in partnership with The Lord Mayor's Appeal on an opera project entitled Like Unlike, with 250 young people aged 11-18 from six London schools, many of whom had little previous experience of music and drama.

Led by a professional creative team from Garsington Opera and inspired by Mozart's Don Giovanni, the students devised their own words, composed songs and sang repertoire from the opera. Some students were involved with stage management, and art and design students helped design the set, costumes and an exhibition. This new take on the opera saw Don Giovanni cast as a YouTube star and examined the dangers of social media. The mini opera was performend for an invited audience of 150 in the historic Old Library at the Guildhall, City of London, on 16 July 2019. 

To ensure students can get the very most from participating in our workshop programme, teachers were provided with specially created learning packs and many are now planning to teach opera to other classes in their school.

This project was part of an extensive programme of educational and charitable activities taking place during the office of Alderman Peter Estlin as Lord Mayor of the City of London, and  will be documented in a short film created by the charity Positive Action through Creativity. 

Like Unlike Creative Team:
Director Karen Gillingham
Music Director Omar Shahryar
Designer Bernadette Roberts
Vocal Animateur Jamie Wright (member of Spitalfields Music Creative Leadership Programme supported by Help Musicians Uk's National Grants Programme)
Soprano Samantha Crawford
Baritone Robert Gildon
Rapper MC Angel
Violin Ruth Heney
Clarinet Heather Ryall
Cello Akito Goto