operahouse is a small scale opera company with a big outlook, seeking to present opera in a distinctive style - opera with a difference -focussing completely on the music and drama.
The operahouse style offers a few surprises on the way too! By using illuminating, informative and humorous anecdotal interludes to punctuate the drama, unexpected plot developments to stretch the intellect, and a cast list of thousands reduced into single figures, operahouse guarantees to provide truly rewarding and entertaining productions.
All operahouse operas are sung in new English translations that fully reflect the character of the work whilst still recognising the need for modern audiences to fully connect with the drama. These new translations are available for hire or purchase under licence from operahouse.
Productions are small scale, enabling access any venue and environment, from the conventional theatre to village hall, even your living room if you so desired! All props, costumes and scenery are kept to a minimum - without being minimalist - to keep the audience's attention on the important aspects of opera - the music and drama.
Every opera production is available in an "operahouse opera pack" which enables any group of performers to tackle opera with the minimum of production experience. Each pack contains an English operahouse translation, a cast list with full character outlines, a prop-list, staging suggestions, amendments to the score, these along with additional information and ethos providing a background to the production which is sure to bring out the very best of the work at hand. "operahouse opera packs" are available for hire or purchase under licence from operahouse.
Casts are generally kept to single figures with performers sometimes playing more than one role in a production and a chorus being used when necessary to enhance the drama. This allows the more intimate nature of large-scale operas such as Aida and I Pagliacci to become fully apparent to the audience and brings these operas into the realm of smaller groups.
operahouse productions use piano as the main accompaniment but uses single instruments to good effect where necessary such a flute in Mozart's Magic Flute and a violin obligato in the love duet from Madame Butterfly. All operahouse 'performance accompanists' are experienced and accomplished musicians who have a natural sympathy with the voice and an empathy with the operatic genres being performed.
Singers and performers vary from opera to opera but there is a common core of experienced and very talented artists that perform in every production along side others who are invited to take part in individual productions. If you are interested in taking part in a coming planned production let us know, we are always interested in finding and using new talent.
operahouse offers a unique operatic experience, different from the norm, an improvement on the best, a welcome breath of fresh air to the operatic scene.
Opera performed with a distinctive style.