We are in the process of sorting things for 2026, and if you are not already aware, our main performances will be

"La Traviata" in English on 2nd and 3rd May in Dawlish and Chudleigh.  

Start time for the performances will be 7pm, and the opera is shorter than our last two full operas, so it should be a more sensible finish time too.  We have bought the rights to sing the Graham Billing translation, written for White Horse Opera.

Chorus rehearsals will start on 1st March (Sunday afternoons) and the first three rehearsals will be held at Evelyn's home (The Church, Heathfield Lake Hill, Chudleigh) from 2 - 5pm.  From the 22nd onwards we shall be back in the Town Hall and inviting the orchestra to fill out the sound.

We have principal auditions on 17th January.  We are still accepting applications for the smaller roles which we hope to cast locally (Flora, Anina, the Doctor, the Marquis, Gaston and various servants).  These parts also sing with the chorus so you need to be available for chorus rehearsals, and to learn the choruses off book.  There will be space for acting chorus, dancing chorus and static chorus (with books).  If you want to be considered for a small role, please let me know as soon as possible - before 17th January, athough we may be able to hear you sing on another date if you can't make 17th.

The production fee this time is £50.  Chorus scores will be £5 as usual, and will also be available online for those who prefer to use a tablet.  Anyone who has not sung with us since September will also need to pay a membership fee to South Devon Singers of £7 unless they sing with another SDS group.

Please can you let me know if you want to join us this time, and I shall keep in touch as we run up to the start of rehearsals.

redearthopera@gmail.com

https://www.redearthopera.net

Red Earth Opera was formed in 2013, to perform at the Teignmouth Classical Music Festival in March 2014.

The idea came from a meeting of performers looking for opportunities to sing and play opera in Devon and to involve local musicians.  

We started from a base of nothing - no funds, just enthusiasm and determination.  The performance of Dido and Aeneas was a great success and we were immediately invited back for 2015.  We gave two performances of Mozart's Idomeneo in March 2015, and we continue to develop.  Our third opera was Gluck's Iphigenia in Tauris at the 2016 Teignmouth Classical Music Festival in Teignmouth and in Chudleigh. We also gave a very successful supper concert at St Michaels Church, Teignmouth on 17th October 2015.  Since then, we have presented two more concerts - this time with orchestral accompaniment, a "come and perform" weekend of Cavalleria Rusticana, and two more opera performances - Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, and Rossini's Cinderella (both in English translations by Amanda Holden).

Our singers and players are drawn from Devon, Somerset and Cornwall (and beyond) and range in age from under 18 up to past retirement.  We also offer places in the orchestra and chorus to talented young musicians from Torbay - supported by a donation from the Torbay Music Hub.

Our aim is to present affordable opera which is complementary to that offered by the large touring companies or the corporate opera pops, and which is approachable and enjoyable for those who are not already keen on opera.  We also want to give performers opportunities at all levels.  It is our policy to present our full length operas in English.

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