The Singing Will Never Be Done – an update from OperaUpClose
It has been heartwarming and comforting that so many of our audiences and artists have been in touch at this worrying time to ask about OperaUpClose. Thank you so much for your concern and your ongoing support. We hope you and your loved ones are finding a way through these difficult circumstances.
We completed our tour of Madam Butterfly last Monday in Exeter, and want to thank everyone involved with the production, from the wonderful performers and creative team to our all-important audiences. We hope to be able to revive this production and take it to more venues around the country in future, so if it hasn’t yet come to your local theatre, here’s hoping it may happen yet.
Like our colleagues across the arts, we have spent the past week working with venues and responding to the changing situation and advice from government. Our priority is the health and safety of our staff, artists and audiences, and therefore it is with great sadness that we have postponed our performances of Peace at Last in partnership with English National Opera in April. We hope to reschedule these at some point in the future and will update you as soon as we have any news.
Music and creativity can raise spirits and bring people together (remotely, of course!) in tough times. As everyone adjusts to this unfamiliar new world, we are looking at how we can offer our artists work they can safely do from their homes, and our audiences new ways to experience the arts in their homes. We’ll not only be streaming footage from past productions, but also commissioning new audio and visual content. This could include a song from Peace At Last to sing with your children; one of our singers sharing a warm-up and practice session; a talk from one of our musical directors or librettists; or an aria for you to enjoy at home. We are excited by the possibilities and are brainstorming self-isolation-compliant ideas as we write.
The more content we can commission, the more support we can give to OperaUpClose artists and freelancers, who are being hit particularly hard by the financial repercussions of COVID-19. We know this is an incredibly difficult time for everyone and you will have many demands on your generosity, so we have been really touched by audiences asking how they can donate to OperaUpClose. If you are in a position to do so, it will enable our artists to keep on making the music we all love and need more than ever just now, and ensure that OperaUpClose can emerge from this crisis ready to bring opera to everyone once again. £150 will commission a talk or solo performance from one of our artists. You can donate here.
If you would like to discuss a larger donation or an idea for how we can support artists during this period, please contact me (Robin) at robin@operaupclose.com.
In the meantime we thought we’d share this poem by Siegfried Sassoon, which we hope will raise your spirits.
Everyone suddenly burst out singing;
And I was filled with such delight
As prisoned birds must find in freedom,
Winging wildly across the white
Orchards and dark-green fields; on - on - and out of sight.
Everyone's voice was suddenly lifted;
And beauty came like the setting sun:
My heart was shaken with tears; and horror
Drifted away ... O, but Everyone
Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.
Our thoughts are with you all at this difficult time and we are so looking forward to the time when we can burst out singing once again.
Take care,
Amy, Flora, Laura and Robin.