What we do
INTIMATE IN SCALE, MIGHTY IN IMPACT
OperaUpClose is a chamber-scale opera company and arts charity with storytelling, innovation and partnership at its heart, rooted in the Solent region and touring across the UK.
From our home at Mayflower Studios, Southampton, we are creating a legacy of excellence at a chamber scale, commissioning and producing bold reinterpretation of known operas and stories that, alongside multi-disciplinary, co-created companion pieces, distil the essence of classics into new, contemporary works with their own artistic integrity and identity.
Our work challenges perceptions of what opera is, who makes it, and who it’s for, diversifying the way audiences engage with the artform, broadening access across communities and generations, and making a vital contribution to the evolution and sustainability of the sector.
We commission, produce and tour re-imaginings of classics, bringing together contemporary voices and inherited repertoire in new chamber scale operas with their own artistic integrity and excellence.
We build legacy and impact, platforming new work for new audiences, and creating a library of chamber scale reinterpretations that have future value for the sector.
We develop all performers as storytellers with equal agency, extending their creative practise whilst breaking down traditional barriers between pit, stage and audience.
We place partnership at the heart of all our activity, with a growing network of local, national and international collaborators to commission and produce work.
We make new operas for very young children and their families, through a co-creative process in Early Years Foundation Settings (EYFS) with our local community, engaging a new generation in the power of musical storytelling.
We engage local community in our creative process with workshops, focus groups, and platform events, ensuring our work reflects and explores the interests and environment of our audience.
We extend the pipeline into the opera sector with paid opportunities for creatives, producers and technicians from diverse backgrounds.