OperaUpClose is a national touring

opera company Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

, led by Artistic Director Flora McIntosh, The company was founded in 2009 to produce its début production, Robin Norton-Hale's

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

-winning adaptation of

Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...

'' at The Cock Tavern Theatre. OperaUpClose produce new English language versions of the standard repertoire and World Premieres of new operas. Of the standard works, ''La bohème'' stands out as having been successful in runs for extended periods and has transferred to a West End location. Since being founded in 2009 OperaUpClose has produced twenty-five operas: six world premieres of contemporary operas and nineteen classic operas in newly commissioned chamber orchestrations and English librettos. Their production of ''La Bohème'' won the 2011 Olivier Award for Best Opera Production and the WhatsOnStage.com Award for Best Off-West End production; and their world premiere of The Blank Canvas won the 2015 Off West End Award for Best Opera. Between 2010 and 2015 OperaUpClose was the resident company at

The King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. It is the second oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2021, Mark Ravenhill became Artistic Director and the theatre focusses on producing LGBTQ ...

in Islington.Mortimer, p. 14 From that date "the company will work in a variety of larger venues in London, including

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

and

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

, and further develop its touring output across the UK."Imogen Tilden (25 September 2014)
"OperaUpClose to leave King's Head, Islington, for fresh challenges"
''The Guardian'' (London) The company is an Associate Company of

and co-produces with the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Tricycle Theatre, Kings Place and Malmö Opera (Sweden). It tours within the UK and internationally. OperaUpClose has produced at least four operas a year, all in new English versions. In 2014 OperaUpClose began operating as a charity. The company ended its residency at the King's Head Theatre in 2015.

''La bohème''

''La bohème'' opened on 8 December 2009 and ran for five months, making it the longest-running continuously performed production of that opera. The production was noted for its relocation of the audience to the pub area of The Cock Tavern for the second act, described by George Hall in ''The Guardian'' as "a masterstroke to transfer the Café Momus scene downstairs – to the bar – where it becomes impossible to be sure who is a member of the chorus and who is an innocent bystander having a drink." The OperaUpClose ''La bohème'' transferred to the Soho Theatre for a 6-week run from 27 July 2010 (followed by a further 6-week run in January/February 2011) and was the first opera to play at the theatre. The production won the 2011

for best new opera production. and the 2011

Whatsonstage.com Awards The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards recognise performers and productions of British theatre with an emphasis on London's West ...

for Best Off-West End Production. ''La bohème'' was revived in 2012 for a 3-month run at the

Charing Cross Theatre The Charing Cross Theatre is a theatre under The Arches off Villiers Street below Charing Cross station. Founded in 1936, the venue occupied several premises in the West End of London before locating to its present site. The current site was o ...

, at the

Ravenna Festival The Ravenna Festival is a summer festival of opera and classical music (as well as dance, jazz, ethnic, musical theater, ballett, sacred music, electronic music, drama, film, plus conventions and exhibitions) held in the city of Ravenna, Italy and t ...

in Italy in 2014 and continues to tour.

2015 season onwards

In 2015 OperaUpClose presented the world premiere of ''Unborn in America'' by composer Luke Styles and librettist Peter Cant, as part of the Vault Festival; revived their production of

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 ...

's La Traviata at

; opened a new production of

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 o ...

's Carmen at

; presented the World Premiere of Anthony Young and Leanna Brodie's family opera ''Ulla's Odyssey'' at

; and continued to tour the UK with their production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. In 2016 OperaUpClose created their first education and participation programme. Partnering with Theatre in Education company, Big Wheel, and funded by Arts Council England, they created a series of workshops that tour with their children's opera, ''Ulla's Odyssey''.

Past productions outside the standard repertory

* '' Manifest Destiny'' by Keith Burstein, directed by Valentina Ceschi at King's Head Theatre (2011) * ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmil ...

'' by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, directed by Edward Dick at King's Head Theatre (2011) * ''

L'incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' ( SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, and was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni ...

'' by Claudio Monteverdi, directed by

Mark Ravenhill Mark Ravenhill (born 7 June 1966) is an English playwright, actor and journalist. Ravenhill is one of the most widely performed playwrights in British theatre of the late-twentieth and twenty-first centuries. His major plays include ''Shoppin ...

at King's Head Theatre (2011) * ''

La Fanciulla del West ''La fanciulla del West'' (''The Girl of the West'') is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by and , based on the 1905 play '' The Girl of the Golden West'' by the American author David Belasco. ''Fanciulla'' follow ...

'' by

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

, directed by Robert Chevara at King's Head Theatre (2012)Rupert Christiansen
"''La Fanciulla del West'', Opera UpClose, and ''La Traviata'', Merry Opera Company, review"
''The Telegraph'' (London), 10 February 2012 * '' Two Caravans'' by Guy Harries, directed by Vincent van den Elshout at King's Head Theatre (2013) * ''The Blank Canvas'' (World premiere) by Spyros Syrmos, directed by Lucy Bradley at King's Head Theatre (2014) * ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was com ...

'' by Henry Purcell, directed by Valentina Caschi at King's Head Theatre (2014) * ''Young Wife'' (World première) by Katarzyna Brochocka, directed by Robin Norton-Hale at King's Head Theatre (2014) * ''Unborn in America'' (World premiere) created by composer Luke Styles and director-librettist Peter Cant, presented by Ensemble Amorpha and OperaUpClose at the Vault Festival (2015)

Flourish

Flourish is OperaUpClose's opera writing competition, supported by Arts Council England. The competition aims to provide a platform for emerging and established composers and librettists, and to raise awareness of contemporary opera. The winning opera is produced in full by OperaUpClose. Previous judges have included

Opera Holland Park Opera Holland Park is a summer opera company which produces an annual season of opera performances, staged under a temporary canopy in front of the remains of Holland House, a Blitz-damaged building in Holland Park, west central London. The venu ...

producer James Clutton,

Glyn Maxwell Glyn Maxwell (born 1962) is a British poet, playwright, novelist, librettist, and lecturer. Early life Of primarily Welsh heritage — his mother Buddug-Mair Powell (b. 1928) acted in the original stage show of Dylan Thomas's ''Under Milk Wood'' ...

Robert Saxton Robert Saxton (born 8 October 1953 in London) is a British composer. Biography Robert Saxton was born in London and started composing at the age of six. He was educated at Bryanston School. Guidance in early years from Benjamin Britten and El ...

, Imogen Tilden, Luke Styles, Anna Pickard and Clare Presland. The 2012 winner was ''Two Caravans'' by composer Guy Harries and librettist Ace McCarron. The 2013 winner, ''The Blank Canvas'', was written by composer Spyros Syrmos from a libretto by Fay Wrixon. ''Ulla's Odyssey'' by composer Anthony Young and librettist Leanna Brodie won in 2014. Last year's winner, ''They Came Back'', tells the stories of five individuals struggling to come to terms with dead people returning to life. Composed and libretto by Martin Ward, this production combines an electronic score with live performance and will premiere in autumn 2017.

References

External links

OperaUpClose official website
*Moss, Stephen
"OperaUpClose: Puccini in the pub"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 3 December 2009 (contains production photos) *Shore, Robert
"OperaUpClose takes Puccini to a pub. Now that really is bohemian"
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...