Enjoy Live Opera
| Convenor : | Nick Soper |
| Meeting Times : | Dates variable |
An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house. Maria Callas
In opera, there is always too much singing. Claude Debussy
Whatever your perspective, opera's power to move and its epic scale are unrivalled among the performing arts. The Enjoy Live Opera group makes good use of this, attending performances throughout the year in Glasgow and, occasionally, further afield.
Scottish Opera generally puts on 4 operas a year while another couple are staged by the Conservatoire, the latter also putting on several showcase events with students performing extracts from operas old and new. In addition, Clyde Opera Group and Opera Bohemia each stage a full opera every year, Glasgow hosts opera companies from elsewhere in the UK and there are always at least a couple of operas on offer at the Edinburgh Festival. (Links to all the companies mentioned are provided at the side of this page, along with a link to Opera Scotland, a really comprehensive compendium of opera performances in Scotland.) And if all that wasn't enough, there are also cinema screenings of operas from Covent Garden. In sum, we are spoilt for choice.
The convenor circulates details of forthcoming performances around 3 - 4 months ahead and, having established who is interested, buys and distributes tickets along with a synopsis of the opera and background information on the composer. Please note: tickets have to be paid in advance (ideally by bank transfer) to secure a booking. A list of the forthcoming operas is available through the link at the top of the page, and there are separate pages to remind us of (a) performances thus far in 2024, and (b) the ones we saw in 2023.
The group caters for anyone who is interested and no prior knowledge or experience of opera is required: all you need to do is join the group, buy a ticket and enjoy. If you would like to join or want to ask any questions, please click on the Message Bird (top right) to send an email to Nick. It would be very good to hear from you.