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Anticipation is building in Leicester for the next round of performances in our Year of Snappy Operas which will take place at Queensmead Primary Academy and The Venue, Evington on 7 and 8 April 2022.

Over 250 children from four Leicester schools are working on on six different Snappy Operas - ten-minute operas created by and for primary school children with some of the UK's top composers and writers. Next week includes the first public premiere of Teacups & Tentacles, a brand new opera by composer Raymond Yiu and writer Russell Plows, as well as performances of five other Snappy Operas: Counting Sheep, The Itch Witch, The Lighthouse Wave, Machine Dream and The World’s Beating Heart. For each performance the children will be accompanied by a small chamber ensemble of professional musicians.

Since February a team of artists (Director Andy Bewley, Music Director Caroline Slade and Repetiteur Alice Beckwith) have been working in four primary schools (Queensmead Primary Academy, Sparkenhoe Community Primary School, Mayflower Primary School and Uplands Junior Academy) to collaborate and rehearse with the children before these upcoming performances. The work over these two months celebrates the power of children’s creativity and the importance of music and theatre making in schools.

This activity in Leicester forms part of Mahogany Opera’s ‘Year of Snappy Operas’ in partnership with Edinburgh International Festival, Hull Music Service, Leicestershire Music, North Tyneside Music Education Hub and Villages Music Festival. Over 750 children, aged 7-11, from 21 different schools are participating joining Mahogany Opera in a year of singing, making and theatre. As children recover from the impacts of the pandemic the ‘Year of Snappy Operas’ is providing an opportunity for school communities to reconnect through the joy of singing and the restorative power of music and theatre.

Performances:

Thursday 7 April, 2.30pm, Queensmead Primary Academy, Winstanley Dr, Leicester LE3 1PF

Friday 8 April, 11.30am & 2.30pm, The Venue, 101 Gwendolen Rd, Leicester LE5 5FL

To attend a rehearsal, performance and/or to find out more about Snappy Operas please email Marc Dunleavy, marc@mahoganyopera.co.uk