The Mid­night Sun

A new DIY Snappy Opera

The Midnight Sun is a new DIY Snappy Opera that will give schools the opportunity to stage their own Snappy Opera using their own skills, resources and timescales, without the need for regular visits from a professional delivery team. We see DIY Snappy Operas as an alternative to usual school productions, musicals or Christmas performances. This will provide an opportunity for schools that have the resources to introduce opera as an art form into their school, or a progression route for schools that have been involved in the traditional Snappy Operas delivery model. This approach will remove financial and time constraint barriers, enabling more schools to engage with Snappy Operas. To support schools to engage, Mahogany Opera will also offer training for teachers and a range of resources to help schools to stage their opera, much like the traditional Snappy Opera model.

The new piece is being developed by experienced Snappy Opera Delivery Artists Michael Betteridge (composer) and Freya Wynn-Jones (librettist), alongside Artistic Director Frederic Wake-Walker and Snappy Operas Programme Music Director Stephen Deazley, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience about the Snappy Operas programme and the challenges of in-school delivery, to ensure the new piece is developed with teachers and children its heart.

In 2025 we held consultation sessions with teachers and music educators from across the UK, as well as working with children in schools across Cumbria and North Tyneside to explore creative ideas for the new Snappy Opera. The new modular piece is now being refined, with a range of supporting resources being developed, ready to be rolled out in schools in Autumn 2026.