The company performs prestigious concerts throughout the year and stages a full opera in the autumn. We offer a rare opportunity for singers, especially students and graduates, to enjoy and gain experience of an operatic repertoire. Our next project is our own Opera Creation
INTERNET TROLLS INVADE NEW OPERA
Mischief and mayhem abound in traditional opera and Sheffield City Opera’s new productio
n is no different. Except that here in a new twist, the mischief-makers are internet trolls. Their weapon of choice: the mobile phone. The opera’s light-hearted title ‘LA DONNA È MOBILE OR DONNA AND HER MOBILE’ reflects the comedy of errors that fills the piece. However the opera has its darker side too: ‘Online bullying can ruin people’s lives’, says SCO Director Matthew Palfreyman. The lovers in this opera are almost destroyed by malicious postings and thoughtless sharings on social media. It’s a problem for our times powerfully explored here through the energy of opera. Taking their cue from some of the major opera houses, SCO set out here to create something ground-breaking and new. Under the guidance of Musical Director, Robert Webb, whose initial concept comes to life in this production, SCO created an original story, then took traditional operatic arias and choruses and breathed new life into them. Some are well-known and loved, others rare treasures. Expect muscular music by Verdi, Bizet, Puccini, Donizetti, Mascagni, Mozart and others. The opera is sung in English with the traditional libretto re-worked in a contemporary idiom. Favourite arias spark in startling new ways – it is a truly innovative production, and suitable for opera lovers, and those who have never seen opera before. “We wanted to dispel the myth that opera is elitist” says Musical Director, Robert Webb, “and this show is suitable for everyone, be they opera buffs, or, until now, have never ventured to see one.”
It is a traditional tale of heroes, villains and thwarted love, but with some innovative staging. The real star of the show is the mobile phone – the source of so much grief to the main characters - with live postings shared with the audience via a suspended screen. The action mainly takes place in Des’s Bar, not a million miles from Sheffield’s West Street. A sparkling cast of characters includes party-goers and a group of mobile-toting women - edgy sisters bent on bother. It’s the hottest show in town. Thursday 2nd & Friday 3rd November at 7.30pm,
Saturday 4th November at 2.00pm
High Storrs School, High Storrs Rd. S11 7LH
Tickets: £15 or £5 (Students / Under 16s)
Ticketline: 0114 223 3777
Online: www.sivtickets.com / www.sheffieldcityopera.com
Media enquiries: Robert Webb, 07971 248733; [email protected]
For more details visit https://www.sheffieldcityopera.co.uk/
