Opera where you least expect it.
Our Courtroom Opera series reimagines opera scenes and arias for unexpected civic spaces — from council chambers to real courtrooms — putting passion, justice, and human conflict centre stage.
Each performance is tailored to its space, with singers and audiences sharing the same floor. The result is opera at its most exposed and visceral: no distance, no fourth wall, just voices, stories, and space.
In partnership with: Ed Viney at Shire Hall, Dorchester
The Trial of
Iago
Idomeneo
Mozart’s storm of gods & politics — performed by and for the next generation.
In 2024, we presented a concert version of Idomeneo to a sold-out audience at Sherborne Abbey, featuring over 140 students from across Dorset and Somerset performing as the chorus.
This was the culmination of our unique mentoring scheme, designed to inspire young people toward careers in classical music. Students worked alongside professional singers and instrumentalists, gaining first-hand experience of the rehearsal and performance process.
The result was not only a powerful interpretation of Mozart’s rarely staged masterpiece — it was a life-changing introduction to the world of opera for a new generation of performers.
In partnership with: Schools and music hubs across
Dorset and Somerset conducted by Andrew Griffiths
Voices
Unbound
Opera for everyone, sung by everyone.
In July 2025, we launched Voices Unbound — a bold, participatory opera project at Portland’s dramatic High Angle Battery. Over seven weeks, members of the local community worked alongside professional opera singers to rehearse and perform some of opera’s most powerful choruses.
On a windy Saturday, their voices rose in harmony with the cliffs — transforming this historic site into a living instrument of collective sound.
In partnership with: B-Side Festival
In performance with: The Dorset String Quartet