Opera Up Close: Breaking down the boundaries of Opera

Opera Up Close was founded in 2009 to do something truly unique with Opera. As a company they create productions which are accessible nationally, changing the way opera is perceived and performed today. I spoke to Warwick alumnus and executive producer of Opera Up Close, Dominic Haddock about the ethos of the company and their latest show Carmen which will be coming to the Belgrade Theatre on Tuesday 19 January.

Haddock himself admitted to me ‘I’ve been bored in opera before and I think it’s important to admit that.’ Opera Up Close are creating current, cutting-edge opera which makes sense. They are challenging the notions of opera, as Haddock explained ‘with opera a lot of people think it’s not for me, either because I don’t understand it, or because I feel excluded from it.’ All of their shows are performed in English to be accessible to the audience, with age appropriate performers allowing young opera hopefuls to stand in the limelight, rather than be swallowed up in the chorus of large opera houses before getting their big break.

There is so much more to this performance art form than the common misconceptions, Haddock feels that ‘Opera is really total theatre,’ with engaging narratives of love stories, normally ending in a death, and ‘the music composed being equally as incredible.’

so much theatre on our doorstep here, with the Warwick Arts Centre and the Belgrade

As a company they are dedicated to helping young hopeful artists in the opera industry through annually producing an opera by a new writer and through showcasing young talent in their training programmes. Their programmes are important to them as Dominic expresses there are far too many young people doing internships where their ‘making tea and photocopying in an unpaid role.’ In Opera Up Close young people get the chance to gain real work experience and kick start their careers in a notoriously difficult industry to break in to.

National interest is increasingly important to this company who recognise that London is at a cultural privilege to the rest of the nation. They tour their productions nationally and even internationally to give opera the accessibility it deserves. Although they do still premiere their productions in London, this is something Dominic assured me was not set in stone for the future. Carmen was produced in association with The Belgrade Theatre, showing their close partnerships with regional theatres.

Haddock was on the award winning Theatre and Performance course here at Warwick and is now in an Oliver Award winning company. He praises the department as invaluable to his success, ‘it’s a great course and a great institution’. He expressed the importance of having so much theatre on our doorstep here, with the Warwick Arts Centre and the Belgrade. ‘It opened my eyes to a lot Physical theatre, something I had never really seen or been interested in before.’

 one in three women globally will experience violence from a male partner

Their take on ‘Carmen’ will be somewhat different from other interpretations of this classic show, focussing on issues of domestic abuse. Rather than Carmen being seen as the one to be blamed for her actions, it is clear that she is the victim of a violent relationship. This is a topic which is still so present in our society today, as one in three women globally will experience violence from a male partner. In 2015 the office for national statistics found that in England and Wales one woman is killed every three days by a current or former partner. Opera Up Close are performing about what matters now in a way that can be accessible to so many audiences.

Opera Up Close will be performing Carmen at The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry on Tuesday 19 January. Tickets are available from £15.75 at www.belgrade.co.uk/event/carmen. For Opera hopefuls there is also information about opportunities for young people on their website www.operaupclose.com.