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THE INVESTOR | 21
LIFESTYLE
singers and musicians,’ says Haddock.
‘I think Carmen looks a million dollars,
but it doesn’t cost a million dollars.’
Despite the need to be commercial,
OperaUpClose believes in developing
new talent. Because the shows are
staged in smaller venues, younger
singers whose voices have not yet fully
matured but who are the correct age
for the role, can perform the key parts.
‘The character of Mimi in La Bohème is
in her mid-20s, and for a person to die
so young is very moving. But the role is
normally sung by someone in their 40s
or 50s, making it considerably less
powerful,’ says Haddock.
The charity also runs an annual
competition, called Flourish, to select
and produce a brand new opera.
Composers and librettists from around
the world are invited to write a piece for
up to seven performers, including the
musicians. Extracts from five shortlisted
operas are then performed in a showcase
at Kings Place in London and the winner
is given a year to develop the piece into
a full-length opera, which is then
produced by OperaUpClose.
The 2014 winner, Ulla’s Odyssey, was
written for a family audience. It tells the
story of 14-year-old Ulla who sets off to
sail round the world single-handed with
only her cat for company, encountering
mythical creatures en route.
Children as young as seven have been
to see the opera.The charity also runs
workshops for schools, involving
members of the cast and orchestra, to
help children understand what opera is;
to recognise the different voices and
instruments, and why the composer
would use them in a particular moment
or place.‘To do that with seven-year-
olds is amazing,’ says Haddock.‘We want
to catch them before they think opera is
not for them.’
For more information about tickets and supporting
OperaUpClose, visit
We have to produce
work that peoplewant
to see. We also run
a very tight ship
Balance sheet OperaUpClose is looking to nurture
a new generation of opera-lovers with its prestige
productions at affordable prices.
You might expect a trip to
the opera to experience
Bizet’s Carmen to cost
somewhere in the region
of £200 for the best seats
in the house, but at theTheatre Royal in
Bury St Edmunds, the top price ticket is
a modest £26.
Comedian Chris Addison, who has
been performing a speaking role in
L’Étoile at the Royal Opera House,
recently told Channel 4 News that you
could buy tickets to this opera for just
£6,‘which is cheaper than going to
watchArsenal, and no one’s waving a big
flag in front of you during the good bits!’
However, Dominic Haddock,
Executive Producer of OperaUpClose,
the charity that has brought Carmen to
Bury St Edmunds, does not believe this
is a particularly good comparison.‘Yes,
you can go to Covent Garden for under
£10, but if you do, you’ll be sitting a long
way away from the action and not getting
the full experience,’ he says.‘It’s a big
part of why OperaUpClose was started
– by a group of artists and producers
who loved opera but weren’t going as
much as they would like because the
tickets were so expensive.’
The charity, which was founded
initially as a company in 2009,
immediately set to work to find out why
regular theatregoers were not also
buying opera tickets.The general
response was:‘It’s not for me.’ Many
were uncomfortable with the grand
surroundings.Then there’s the opera
itself, usually performed in a foreign
language; even if it’s been translated into
English, the diction can be an issue.
OperaUpClose has tried to resolve
these problems by staging performances
in English and taking its productions to
small and medium-sized venues around
the country – mostly to theatres, but
also to arts centres, festivals and schools.
It even performs in workplaces to
company staff, as well as private parties
and weddings – in fact, anywhere
that will help to expand the audience
for opera.The artists’ acting skills
and clear articulation mean it is
possible for the first-time opera-goer
to follow a storyline simply from the
performance, rather than the synopsis
in the programme.
But perhaps the biggest transformation
has been to ticket prices. OperaUpClose
started off by charging £10 for all its
tickets, then gave 10% of tickets away
via charities to ensure that people who
would not normally get the opportunity
to see a live opera due to cost concerns
could do so. Now the company has taken
to the road and ticket prices range from
£10 to £26. Sustaining prices at this low
level is impressive, especially when you
consider that ticket sales account for 70%
of the charity’s funding.
‘It means we have to be commercial,’
says Haddock.‘We have to produce
work that people want to also
run a very tight question every
single thing we buy.’
OperaUpClose is able to control
ticket prices by scaling down the cast
and orchestra. Carmen, for example, has
eight singers, and the ‘orchestra’ consists
of a piano, violin, cello and flute.This
does not compromise the quality,
however.‘We rely heavily on good
reviews for marketing, so we work with
great designers and use the very best
Matthew Stylianou, OperaUpClose/Andreas Grieger