Leeds Youth Opera is an opera company whose performers are aged 12 to 25, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The '' Yorkshire Post'' described the group as a "national cultural treasure".

Background

Formed in 1971, Leeds Youth Opera (LYO) caters for singers aged 12–25. Since its creation, the company has gained a reputation for performing rare works, as well as the standard operatic repertoire. LYO generally performs two productions each year, as part of the Leeds Civic Arts Guild, which is based at the Carriageworks theatre in central Leeds.

Noted productions

The UK premieres of ''

Satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...

'' and '' The Voyage'' by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

were performed by LYO. In July 2008 the group performed the world staged premiere of Oliver Rudland's ''The Nightingale and the Rose''. In July 2009 they performed the European Premier of '' Appomattox'' by Glass. The company's 2006 production of Sondheim's '' Sweeney Todd'' was described by the BBC as "excellently performed".BBC Review of ''Sweeney Todd''
(2006)

Selection of past performances

*Feb 2020 -

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

( Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (Amanda Holden English Translation) *July 2019 - Die Fledermaus *Feb 2019 - Macbeth (opera) (

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

) *July 2018 - In Our Element (Devised piece by LYO with selections of pieces from operas and musicals) *Feb 2018 - La Bohème ( Giacomo Puccini) *July 2017 - A Masked Ball *Feb 2017 - Les Misérables (musical) *July 2016 - West Side Story (

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

Lyrics by

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

) *Feb 2016 -

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

( Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) *July 2015 -

The Elixir of Love ''L'elisir d'amore'' (''The Elixir of Love'', ) is a ' (opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's ' (1831). The opera premier ...

( Donizetti) *Feb 2015 - Sweeney Todd ( Sondheim) *July 2014 - The Magic Flute (

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

) *Feb 2014 - Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck) *July 2013 - Carmen (Bizet) *Feb 2013 - Candide (Bernstein) *July 2012 - Manon (Massenet) *Feb 2012 - The Poisoned Kiss ( Vaughan Williams) *July 2011 - Eugene Onegin ( Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) performed in English. *Feb 2011 –

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

( Verdi) *July 2010 - Faust (Gounod) *Feb 2010 - Orpheus in the Underworld (Offenbach) *July 2009 – Appomattox *Feb 2009 – I Lombardi ( Verdi) *July 2008 – The Nightingale and the Rose (Oliver Rudland) and Carmina Burana (

Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata ''Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Carl O ...

) *Feb 2008 – Idomeneo (

) *July 2007 – Der Freischütz (

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

) *Feb 2007 – The Love for Three Oranges ( Prokofiev) *July 2006 – Sweeney Todd ( Sondheim) *Feb 2006 – Cinderella ( Massenet) *July 2005 – The Magic Flute (

) *Feb 2005 – The Tales of Hoffmann ( Offenbach) *July 2004 – The Voyage ( Glass) *Feb 2004 – The Pearl Fishers (

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

) *July 2003 – Turandot (Puccini) *Feb 2003 – Merrily We Roll Along ( Sondheim) *July 2002 – A Masked Ball (Verdi) *Feb 2002 – Candide (Bernstein) *July 2001 – Peter Grimes (Britten) *Feb 2001 – A Little Night Music ( Sondheim) *July 2000 – Carmen (

)

References

External links

Box OfficeLeeds Youth Opera homepage
{{authority control Music in Leeds British opera companies Musical groups established in 1971 1971 establishments in the United Kingdom