As Opera North prepares to take The Marriage of Figaro on tour, a very special project is nearing completion in Nottingham and Manchester, where people with experience of homelessness will be performing their own reimagined versions of Mozart’s comic masterpiece.
Director Rosie Kat has been working with Streetwise Opera in Nottingham to help them create their piece which will be performed at the Theatre Royal on Saturday 7 March. We asked her to tell us more about the project.
“‘Reimaginging the Classics’ gives the Streetwise Performers in Manchester and Nottingham the opportunity to write a short new opera with professional composers in response to The Marriage of Figaro,” Rosie says. “The Streetwise Artists will perform their new operas with the members of the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North on the set of Opera North’s new production of Mozart’s work. Since the summer, I’ve been attending weekly sessions with the Nottingham group, who will perform their new opera at the Nottingham Theatre Royal”
Streetwise Opera in Nottingham. Photography by Rey Trombetta
“Our opera is set in a warehouse, owned and run by the Count, where the workers are increasingly unhappy with the poor working conditions,” Rosie explains. “Figaro and Susanna work on the warehouse floor and have plans to get married, but they can’t currently afford it, and the Count won’t give them a day off to tie the knot. They try to speak to the Count, but he punishes the workers for speaking up, so they go on strike to fight for their rights. Eventually, the Count realises he can’t run his business without the workers, so he relents.”
With a wealth of experience in directing, including as assistant director on Opera North’s current production of Peter Grimes, Rosie’s skills have proved invaluable in helping the group bring the piece to the stage: “I’m directing the project, which has also involved facilitating the process of devising the piece, including writing new text and music. In the summer, we explored the story, themes and characters of the original opera, and wrote a creative brief for our two composers (Alex Ho and Tim Lole) to give them a sense of what we wanted our piece to be about. In the autumn, we wrote new text for three existing songs from The Marriage of Figaro, and our own recitative to link the songs. The piece was completely written by Christmas and, since January, we have been devising the staging and rehearsing, ready for the performance in March.”
Streetwise Opera in Nottingham. Photography by Rey Trombetta
Composing a new opera with people who have experienced homelessness sounds like a world away from Rosie’s usual work with professional opera singers or youth companies. How is she finding it? “I really look forward to my Tuesday afternoons at Nottingham Playhouse, because the group is so joyful. For many of the performers, it is the highlight of their week to come and sing together in the Streetwise sessions. There is a real sense of community and mutual respect, which is strengthened by our values, which we sing together at the start of each session.” As she remarks though, in many ways this is no different from any other group of performers, “We have a lot of laughs, but the artists also have a fierce commitment to quality and want to make sure the performance is the best it can be.”
Reflecting on the relevance of opera to the group, Rosie muses, “Storytelling with music is relevant to everyone if you are telling a story that speaks to them. The group really enjoyed exploring The Marriage of Figaro, and became especially interested in the Count’s abuse of power, especially as an employer of Figaro and Susanna. One exciting aspect of our performance is that the roles of Figaro, Susanna and the Count are shared amongst the whole cast, so everyone has a chance to embody a main role at some point in the performance, and everyone sings throughout.”
Streetwise Opera in Nottingham. Photography by Rey Trombetta
A truly collaborative effort, ‘Reimagining Figaro’ promises to be a memorable occasion for both those on and off stage. “It will be very special for the Streetwise Artists to have the words and music they helped write performed by the Orchestra of Opera North at Nottingham Theatre Royal, and to be part of that performance themselves,” says Rosie. And, with tickets priced at just £6.50 each, it is a great way to experience something new while supporting Streetwise Opera’s work.
With the show promising “Exciting new music, enthusiastic performances, and best of all, seeing the tyrannical Count overthrown!” Rosie is keen to stress the importance of projects like this, “Anyone who has participated in creating a performance at any point in their life knows what a powerful tool this is for building confidence, community, and joy. The genesis of Streetwise Opera was a sense that people who have experienced homelessness are normally shut out of participating in the arts, especially opera. Opera North values inclusion and diversity, and we are all richer through sharing resources and collaborating with each other.”
‘Reimagining Figaro‘ is being performed by Streetwise Opera at Nottingham Theatre Royal at 4pm on Saturday 7 March , with a performance by the Manchester group taking place at 4pm on Saturday 14 March at Lowry. Ahead of the performances, Streetwise Opera will share how the operas were co-created in a short, practical workshop on ‘How to Create an Opera’.
