OPERA IN OBORNE

Opera is not accessible. It is not easy for someone to experience opera for the first time. Who is going to travel to an opera house and spend over a hundred pounds on a ticket for something which they don’t even know they are going to enjoy? As a result, many people will go through their lives never having seen an opera. Enter stage door left, Opera in Oborne. What sets Opera in Oborne apart is how easy it is to see opera. We hope to get people to come to an opera for the first time and to change people’s minds about opera. And so, in the spirit of doing exactly that, I thought it would be a good time to debunk a few myths about opera in general and to tell people why they should make a visit to Oborne their first trip to the opera.

It is too long and boring. Each year our main opera is two hours long, including the interval. OiO’s director, Stephen Anthony Brown, abridges the operas largely by cutting the recitative (the wordy bits that are sung) and adding ordinary dialogue where necessary. And the stories are anything but boring, crazy perhaps, but not boring – cross-dressing, falling in love with the person you are already in love with, but without realising it is the same person, dressing as a goose, betrayal, jealousy and murder. This means that you get to experience the comedy, or the drama, along with the beautiful music in a short, manageable format.

I don’t understand it. True, many operas are sung in Italian or French and that makes it tricky to follow the plot. At Opera in Oborne, we use screens on each side of the church to give plot prompts so that you know what is happening in the story.

It is expensive. At OiO, we have professional singers, all soloists in their own right but we stage operas which have a smaller cast. The musical accompaniment is from just one piano, rather than a full orchestra. The piano is played by OiO’s musical director, the masterful John Cuthbert. Costs are also kept to a minimum as many of the back-of-house duties are carried out by volunteers – the wonderful Siobhan who designs and makes the costumes, Jenny on the lighting desk and Pete and his endless supply of props. All of this means that we keep costs as low as possible and this year, tickets are between £20 and £40. At Sunday’s Opera in the Park, children are free.

It is stuffy. Opera in Oborne is about as relaxed as it gets. There is no dress code. Have a glass of wine outside the church before the performance, then head inside, sit back and listen to some beautiful music.

I don’t like the music. This is where we must disagree. Opera music is everywhere and is loved by people who don’t realise they are listening to opera music. Do you remember that famous helicopter scene in Apocalypse Now? Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner’s opera, Die Walküre. The scene in the Shawshank Redemption where Andy Dufresne locks himself in the warden’s office and plays the music over the loudspeaker? The letter duet from Figaro. The famous British Airways advert that had everyone humming the tune for about a decade? The Flower Duet from Delibes’ Lakme (which was also used in Sex and the City, Tomb Raider and True Romance). Sunday Bloody Sunday has Soave sia il vento from Cosi fan tutte; the Overture to The Marriage of Figaro is used in The King’s Speech; Sempre libera in Pretty Woman; Au fond du temple saint is used in Gallipoli. And probably the most famous aria of them all; Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s Turandot used at Italia ’90, in Mission Impossible, The Killing Fields, The Sum of all Fears and Bend it like Beckham, to name just a few. If you don’t know them by name, type them into Google and listen – I guarantee you will know many of the tunes. We think we have created something rather special in Oborne. Each year we transform a little church into a theatre, with a stage, backdrop and lighting. We have a cast of professional opera singers come to Oborne and in just a few days, rehearse and stage a weekend of music. With just eighty seats in the church, it makes for a very intimate performance where you can see every expression on the performer’s faces. operainoborne.org

This August we have three different performances. Our opera this year is Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. A story of two men, who begin to doubt their fiancées’ love for them and decide to put it to the test. Friday 4th and Saturday 5th August, 7.30pm. Tickets £40.

Our Saturday matinee is The Telephone. A one-act comic opera by Menotti, lasting just one hour. A GI is desperate to propose to his girlfriend before he goes off to war but the telephone is a source of endless interruptions. Saturday 5th August, 3pm. Tickets £30.

Lastly, the weekend is finished with Opera in the Park – a concert of popular arias and some show tunes, held outside in Oborne playing field. If you have never been to an opera before, this is the perfect taster. Bring a chair, bring a picnic and we will supply the music and the Pimms.

If you have never been to an Opera before, come to Opera in Oborne this August, we might just change your mind.

Friday 4th - Sunday 6th August

Opera in Oborne

St Cuthbert’s Church and Oborne Playing Field

Tickets £20-£40 via operainoborne.org

Mondays & Thursdays 1.30pm-4pm

Sherborne Indoor Short Mat Bowls

West End Hall, Sherborne 01935 812329. All welcome

Mondays 2pm-5pm & Tuesdays 7pm-10pm

Sherborne Bridge Club

Sherborne FC Clubhouse, Terraces 01963 21063 bridgewebs.com/sherborne

Tuesdays 10am-12pm

Fine Folk Dancing

Charlton Horethorne Village Hall £2.50 per session. Beginners welcome. 01963 220640.

Every 1st & 3rd Thursday 10am-12.30pm

Castleton Probus Club

The Grange, Oborne, DT9 4LA New members welcome. edwardhiscock6@gmail.com