600 school children see Fantasio

On Wednesday 10 July, young people from ten Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire primary and secondary schools visited Garsginton Opera to see a full production of Fantasio. 

Part of the OperaFirst project, the production was performed by the Alvarez Young Artists, understudies of the principal cast, with the Garsington Opera Orchestra conducted by Assistant Conductor, Harry Sever. 

OperaFirst, Garsington Opera's annual schools' project, has seen a team of professional musicians led by director Karen Gillingham, working with local young people to discover Offenbach's Fantasio, which culminated in the visit to the opera. 

Schools included primary schools Chalgrove, Stokenchurch, Longwick, Watlington, Frieth, Ibstone and Millbrook and secondary schools Alfriston, Cressex, Mandeville, Misbourne, St. Michael's and Waddesdon. 

The OperaFirst performance was generously supported by The Vernon Ellis Foundation and FEDORA and co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.