University News Last updated 28 February
Sixth form students from Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA) paid a visit to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) recently for their first taste of opera.
The group of 18 students watched a 10-minute snippet of RBC’s upcoming Spring Opera, Albert Herring, by Benjamin Britten. The comic opera was performed by Vocal Studies students Abigail Bayliss, India Harding, Harry Brookes-Owen, Ethan Jacobs and William Swinnerton, as well as Ashley Wagner as Repetiteur.
The performance was followed by a creative workshop, which was supported by the Learning and Participation team, where the sixth formers composed their own songs in any genre based on the thoughts and feelings of the characters in the opera.
The BOA visit was organised by RBC’s Opera Outreach Officer Rose Johnson, whose position is supported by the Linbury Trust, to spread the word about this 400-year-old art form.
Rose said: "We were thrilled to welcome sixth form students from BOA to the Conservatoire for their first taste of opera. They were extremely creative, and it was wonderful to work with them."
Pictured: (l-r) Ashley Wagner, Harry Brookes-Owen, Abigail Bayliss, Rose Johnson, India Harding, Ethan Jacobs and William Swinnerton.