The children really enjoyed it...it's great that we had the workshop in school and then got to see it on stage.
Longwick CE Primary School

Our new OperaFirst format for Primary Schools offers a 1-hour interactive performance at Wormsley guided by a presenter. The children will sing songs that they have learnt in their workshop as a massed chorus and watch scenes from the opera. The presenter will narrate the show, inviting students to join in sections with the singers, explore the orchestra, and get an insight into what is happening backstage. We hope that this will be a fun and interactive experience and wonderful trip to the opera!

The Barber of Seville
Figaro here! Figaro there! Figaro needs to be everywhere - and have his wits about him - in order to help the young Count and the fiercely clever Rosina marry. Enjoy endless mischievous antics in this operatic comedy by Rossini, as youth outsmarts their elders, and everyone learns that sometimes creative thinking is all you need to win the day.

Format
Karen Gillingham (Director) will be joined by Aga Serugo-Lugo (Workshop Composer) and a professional singer to deliver intensive one-day workshops using the successful ‘Create an Opera’ workshop format. Starting with warm-ups and team building activities, the whole group will then explore the music and story, devising their own music, words and movements.

The Barber of Seville OperaFirst will take place on Tuesday 18 July 2023 from 12-2pm.

For more information, please review the full details linked below. Places are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Primary OperaFirst Details

Please note: Due to high demand, all Primary OperaFirst spaces have been allocated. 

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the project, please contact learning@garsingtonopera.org.

Would you like your school to get involved with Garsington Opera?

Express an Interest

2023 Opportunities now open - Sign up now to guarantee your place!

OperaFirst gives an exceptional opportunity to a new generation of young people to study musical and dramatic themes of an opera through an in- school workshop before experiencing a full-scale performance at Wormsley. Ordinarily this is a schools’ performance, specially put on to offer our young understudy cast the valuable opportunity to perform with orchestra to a warm and enthusiastic audience. We are passionate about introducing young people to the wonderful and varied genre of opera and our teams enjoy collaborating and exchanging ideas with pupils on arts projects that wouldn’t ordinarily happen in their school.

The Bartered Bride
In this story of thwarted love and arranged marriage, the spirited heroine, Mařenka, must use every last ounce of determination, charm and cunning in order to marry the man she loves, Jenik. Her parents and their marriage broker want her to wed the son of a rich man, yet rumour has it that a second son exists, but has disappeared. Bargains ensue and relationships are tested. There’s a circus, an escaped bear, heart-stopping love duets and deliriously infectious tunes. Dance is at the heart and soul of this piece, from the gloriously vibrant overture to a riotous and festive polka. It’s an irresistible combination.

Format
Rob Gildon (Director) will be joined by Emily Leather (Vocal Director) and a professional singer to deliver intensive one-day workshops using the successful ‘Create an Opera’ format. Starting with warm-ups and team building activities, the whole group will then explore the music and story, devising their own music, words and movements.

The Bartered Bride OperaFirst will take place on Wednesday 12 July 2023 in the late afternoon/early evening, finishing by c. 9pm.

To sign up, please review the full details linked below and fill in the sign up form. Places are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Secondary OperaFirst Details Sign up form

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the project, please contact learning@garsingtonopera.org.

Would you like your school to get involved with Garsington Opera?

Express an Interest

Would you like your school to get involved with Garsington Opera? 

Express an Interest

Garsington Opera Youth Company

Love singing, acting, art and design or stage management? Take the opera challenge and join our Youth Company. Develop singing, creative skills and stage experience and perform on stage at Garsington Opera.

Each year we meet young people aged 9-25 from across the county with a view to offering places to join the company from April. The word 'audition' can be a terrifying thought if you have never done anything like this before and as we are looking for potential rather than polished performance we try to make it feel like a fun workshop where young people can reach their potential. 

Malakhi has been in the company for several years: 

"When I first heard about opera I thought it was just people singing as loud as they could out to an audience of mostly older people dressed in suits and long dresses. Then Garsington came into my primary school and I experienced how exciting and adventurous opera is. After this I auditioned to be in the company and got in. As a member of the Youth Company I feel I can be myself, make new friends and reach my full creative potential."

Places to join this company are fully funded through the generous support of the Helen Hamlyn Foundation and as such we seek to recruit young people from a diverse range of backgrounds.  Please get in touch if you would like to attend 2021 auditions later this year. 

Express an Interest

For each OperaFirst project a resource pack is created. Click the link below to access resources. 

Resources

Garsington Opera for All was an exciting three year project partnership between Garsington Opera, the charitable trust Magna Vitae, and the Coastal Communities Alliance, and was supported by Arts Council England's Strategic Touring Fund.

Although the original Opera for All project has now finished, the programme model remains transferable to other locations and we would be delighted to discuss opportunities with potential partners. For further information please contact learning@garsingtonopera.org. 

With particular focus on isolated coastal communities, Garsington Opera for All worked in collaboration with local authorieis and cultural organisations across four main areas of the UK; Thanet (Kent), Grimsby, Skegness and Somerset. In these partnership areas the programme delivered free public screenings of live performances from Garsington Opera, alongside a wider programme of participatory learning sessions for schools and adult groups aiming to promote, develop and sustain cultural opportunity in each area. 

The programme also offered other interested non-coastal venues and festivals the opportunity to deliver their own opera screening and community event through an associate package. 

Opera for All and Looping the Loop Fesitval (Thanet) - 2016 Schools' Workshop:

"Residencies were faultless. The Garsington team has the ability to connect with people of all ages. The approach is youthful and spontaneous, making the work feel different and fresh even when the workshops follow a common format." Music Service Project Manager, Grimsby

"They made quick judgements on the student abilities and adapted work to suit their needs. The Key Stage 4 students will take their ideas and improved confidence to their performing arts course." Secondary teacher, Skegness

"Composition is not my strength and seeing it in action has really helped to stimulate other ideas that I have since done with my class." Primary teacher, Grimsby

"I really liked making up the songs for the opera. I also liked playing the games. Thank you." Year 4 student, Somerset

"I am in awe of the work you do and the way you handle the material so that it is fun and accessible and meaningful for the children. Lucky kids is all I can say." Vicky Banham, Sedgmoor District Council