Genesis Opera Project 2

The Umbrella, like a snow-shaker or a dome, creates its own world, one which might be construed as pure escapism or simply pure. The opera will combine sym-metry and cycle with emotional eruption to show how our psychological sophistication counts for nothing at the moment when we recognise our dreams, and how our dreams are undermined by our insight into them.

GOP 2 was launched in October 2002. A call was put out internationally for people to put forward their own teams and proposals to the Genesis Opera project panel. The first such call, made in January 2001, had resulted in proposals from 37 nationalities. This time we have had around 200 applications for consideration with even more nationalities applying, making this a truly international event.

In practice, this meant that the six short-listed teams were commissioned to produce a full libretto by the end of 2003 and enough music (ten to fifteen minutes) fully composed and scored to give a good idea of the work.

The Aldeburgh Festival was founded in 1948 by Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears and Eric Crozier. The idea for a Festival sprang from their desire to find a home for their touring opera company, the English Opera Group.

Six teams have been chosen for the next stage of the Genesis Opera Project 2

The six teams that have been chosen for the next stage of the Genesis Opera Project 2 are now working towards the several days in which they will be doing workshops with teams of actors, singers and musicians to work on a core sample of each opera.

The culmination of these days or rehearsal and workshop built around a 10 - 15 minute segment of the individual works will be a presentation of each segment that will take place in the first half of March 2004 in London.

Genesis Opera Project 2

Musicians and Casting for the Workshops
Sunday 14 & Monday 15 March 2004

The next stages of the Genesis Opera Project.

Once the panel and its advisors have chosen finalists for the GOP 2 workshops, there is still an interviewing process for the teams before the final selection is confirmed. Once that happens, each team will be commissioned to produce a complete libretto and about 15 minutes of music for the workshops.

When the new Sadler's Wells opened its doors in 1998, it not only welcomed back its loyal friends and supporters but a whole new generation of arts enthusiasts. Since then, Sadler's Wells' programme has grown in scope and range each year. With its contemporary, stylish ambience and splendidly eclectic range of dance, music and opera, the theatre now attracts some of the most diverse audiences in London.

I want to thank every one of you who has made the effort to attend these workshops of the second Genesis Opera Project (GOP) and to welcome you. I remember vividly the excitement and sense of discovery as well as the accomplishments at the first GOP workshops in this same venue - and I hope we are establishing a tradition of an event that is an important part of the process of refreshing opera as a genre and an inspiration in itself.

Second Genesis Opera Project (GOP2) reaches first stage of commissions

Workshop performances at Sadler's Wells

The second Genesis Opera Project (GOP2) completed a major phase of its process with the workshops held in March 2004. After several days of intense rehearsals and workshop tryouts, each of the six projects chosen was presented to invited audiences of around 100 people - mainly opera professionals - as work in progress.