Jubilee Opera

The background

Jubilee Opera was formed in 1987 as a result of a production of Britten’s 'Noye’s Fludde' in Aldeburgh Church, the first time it had been performed there. Such was the enthusiasm in the local community that it was decided to start an opera company for young singers and musicians to work with professionals on productions of the highest possible quality and standard. An important fact was give children who did not have much opportunity to discover their own abilities the chance for them to develop their musical and performance skills.

The first production in 1988 was 'The Little Sweep' from Britten’s 'Let’s Make an Opera'. The following year saw a production of Malcolm Williamson’s 'The Happy Prince', based on the story by Oscar Wilde. A number of works were performed over the next few years, in close collaboration with the Aldeburgh Festival’s Saturday Club. These included two commissions, 'James and the Giant Peach' and 'Alice'.

Millenium year brought another production of 'Noye’s Fludde', followed by 'The Little Sweep' and 'The Happy Prince', both of which involved a new generation of children.. These operas are three of the finest in the comparatively small repertoire of works for young people and merit being produced on a regular basis. Richard Rodney Bennett’s 'All the King’s Men', preceded by Jonathan Willcocks’ 'Pied Piper of Hamelin', was performed in 2006 and gave a large number of children aged from 6-16 the chance to perform on the Jubilee Hall stage, accompanied by an expanded orchestra of professional and young players.

In 2007 Hans Krása’s 'Brundibár' was performed, this time preceded by some Czech and Russian folksongs, giving the younger performers a taste of Eastern European music. The orchestra was made up of members of Aurora Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Collon.

2008 saw the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of 'Noye’s Fludde' and a special new production was mounted in Orford Church, where the piece had been premičred in 1958. This was directed by Frederic Wake-Walker and conducted by Steuart Bedford.

2009 was the sixtieth anniversary of the première of Britten’s 'Let’s make an Opera', performed in the Jubilee Hall in the 1949 Aldeburgh Festival. In November 2009 Jubilee Opera presented not only a new production of 'The Little Sweep' (the opera which is performed in the second half of this 'entertainment for young people') but also an entirely new first half, which introduced the audience to the background and different elements involved in putting on an opera.

2010 was the centenary of the birth of Sir Peter Pears and to celebrate this Jubilee Opera mounted a semi-staged production of Britten's 'Saint Nicolas' in Aldeburgh Church, where the piece received its first performance in 1948 with Peter Pears in the title role. Andrew Staples sang the title role in the 2010 production, conducted by Steuart Bedford.

In the spring of 2011 a new version of The Tailor of Gloucester was created as a fully staged, dramatised reading with music, songs and dance.

The foreground

There are exciting plans for the future, with children from Jubilee Opera making an appearance in the 2012 Aldeburgh Festival. In the autumn this year there will be a new production in the Jubilee Hall - shortly to be announced. This production will concentrate on developing three areas of performance - music, acting skills and movement - specifically targeted at our younger members and new recruits.

2013 is the centenary of Britten's birth and Jubilee Opera will be mounting a specially devised production entitled 'A Time There Was'. This will be fully staged, with orchestra, taking scenes and excerpts from a number of Britten's operas and works, woven together to form a dream journey of childhood as seen through the eyes of an adult tenor.

2013 will also see a collaboration between Mahogany Opera and Jubilee Opera with a tour of Britten's Three Church Parables to Aldeburgh, London, St. Petersburg and Tokyo. Jubilee Opera will be producing the trebles for these works.

The original idea of young raw talent and enthusiasts working with professionals is central to the ethos of Jubilee Opera, but community involvement is also a crucial element and we rely heavily on local goodwill and volunteer help. It is hoped that the experience is beneficial to all and has a lasting influence by stimulating young peoples’ love of music and performance.

The response to our efforts has been building steadily, so much so that we started Jubilee Opera Chorus three years ago, which comes together periodically for a number of sessions during the Spring and Summer terms. This gives committed children the chance to work on their singing and performance skills in readiness for an autumn production. Jubilee Opera Chorus forms the nucleus of Jubilee Opera and is the first port of call for casting the next production.