"Meriel Cunningham is hysterical"
THE TELEGRAPH
CALENDAR
2024 Season Engagements
2024 Season
2024
march
The Barber of Seville
| Rosina
CHARLES COURT OPERA
WILTON'S MUSIC HALL
Charles Court Opera make a welcome return to Wilton’s with a sizzling production of Rossini’s comic masterpiece, The Barber of Seville, which has been given a thoroughly inventive CCO twist and transported to the Wild West in a new translation by David Eaton.
Directed by John Savournin
Musically directed by David Eaton
2024
jun - aug
The Sorcerer
| Constance
CHARLES COURT OPERA
UK TOUR
Based on Gilbert’s story An Elixir of Love, it tells the tale of Alexis, a man obsessed with the idea that all should fall in love. He enlists a ‘Family Sorcerer’ of J.W. Wells & Co. in London to administer a love potion to the entire village - via a teapot - and soon mayhem ensues… This highly anticipated production is the first time that CCO has produced The Sorcerer.
Directed by John Savournin
Musically directed by David Eaton
2024
jul - sep
The Gondoliers
| Tessa
NATIONAL G&S OPERA CO.
BUXTON OPERA HOUSE
The Gondoliers is a love story and a talk of mistaken identity. Marco and Giuseppe have just married but have been informed that one of them is the heir to the throne of the fictional kingdom of Barataria. But which one? To complicate matters, the heir was married when an infant to Casilda, who has come to Venice to claim her husband …
Directed by Simon Butteriss
Conducted by Murray Hipkin
2023 season
2023
feb
Le Nozze di Figaro
| Cherubino
DEBUT OPERA IN A DAY
BISHOPGATE'S INSTITUTE
A unique, inspiring and energetic day bringing together community chorus with DEBUT’s Horizon Orchestra and professional soloists to play through an opera in a day in Bishopsgate Institute’s Great Hall.
Conducted by Benjamin Hamilton
2023
feb
Concert
| 16 Feb, 25 Feb
DEBUT
BRUNEL MUSEUM / SHOREDITCH
DEBUT's flagship secret concert series offering awe-inspiring performances wth time to chat to your favourite musicians in the heart of London.
Meriel Cunningham mezzo-soprano
Manu Brazo saxophone
Claudia Gallardo violin
Flutes & Frets Beth Stone and Danny Murphy
Lizzie Holmes soprano & host
Sam Peña resident piano improviser
2023
mar
Concert
| 16 March
DEBUT
BRUNEL MUSEUM
DEBUT at Brunel Museum offers awe-inspiring performances, time to chat to your favourite musicians and the chance to learn more about Brunel’s remarkable feat of engineering.
Meriel Cunningham mezzo-soprano & host
Thomas Chenhall baritone
Pedro Lopez flute
Sam Peña resident piano improviser
2023
apr
Concert
| 29 April
DEBUT
SHOREDITCH TREEHOUSE
DEBUT's flagship secret concert series offering awe-inspiring performances wth time to chat to your favourite musicians in the heart of Shoreditch.
Meriel Cunningham mezzo-soprano
Corinna Boylan cello
Thomas Ang pianist
Lizzie Holmes soprano & host
Sam Peña resident piano improviser
2023
may
Concert
| 11 May
DEBUT
SHOREDITCH TREEHOUSE
DEBUT's flagship secret concert series offering awe-inspiring performances wth time to chat to your favourite musicians in the heart of Shoreditch.
Meriel Cunningham mezzo-soprano & host
Jorge Carlo Mariani tenor
Kang Yang guzheng
Vavara Tarasova pianist
Sam Peña resident piano improviser
2023
may - aug
The Mikado
| Milly King
CHARLES COURT OPERA
UK TOUR
The “masters of G&S in small spaces”, Charles Court Opera, present their stylish, highly successful 5 star London production of the most loved of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic masterpieces, The Mikado.
Behind closed doors at a British Consulate, the scheming Lord High Executioner is about to hatch one plot too far, with far-reaching and hilarious consequences for everyone involved.
Directed by John Savournin
Musically directed by David Eaton
2023
jul - aug
The Yeomen of
the Guard
| Phoebe
NATIONAL G&S OPERA CO.
BUXTON OPERA HOUSE
The Yeomen of the Guard is set in the Tower of London. Colonel Fairfax, a gentleman, soldier and scientist is wrongly accused of sorcery, imprisoned in the Tower and sentenced to be beheaded within the hour. However, Fairfax escapes, throwing the Tower into confusion and setting in motion a number of intriguing plot twists ending in tragedy for one of the players.
Directed by Simon Butteriss
Conducted by Murray Hipkin
2023
jul -aug
The Mikado
| Pitti-Sing
NATIONAL G&S OPERA CO.
BUXTON OPERA HOUSE
Set in the fictional Japanese town of Titipu, The Mikado satirises British society, customs and pretensions through a farcical Gilbertian plot brimming with humour.
Directed by Sarah Helsby-Hughes
Conducted by Murray Hipkin
2023
aug
The Pirates of Penzance
| Edith
NATIONAL G&S OPERA CO.
BUXTON OPERA HOUSE
One of the most enduringly popular of Gilbert and Sullivan’s great comic creations, The Pirates of Penzance is full of memorable melodies. Jam-packed with sentimental, swashbuckling pirates who are really peers of the realm, a completely dotty Major General and a bumbling bunch of hopeless but hilarious policemen, what could possibly go wrong?
Directed by Simon Butteriss
Conducted by Murray Hipkin
2023
sep
The Mikado
| Milly King
CHARLES COURT OPERA
GRIMEBORN @ ARCOLA THEATRE
The “masters of G&S in small spaces”, Charles Court Opera, present their stylish, highly successful 5 star London production of the most loved of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic masterpieces, The Mikado.Behind closed doors at a British Consulate, the scheming Lord High Executioner is about to hatch one plot too far, with far-reaching and hilarious consequences for everyone involved.
Directed by John Savournin
Musically directed by David Eaton
2023
nov -dec
Odyssey:
A Heroic Pantomime
CHARLES COURT OPERA
JERMYN STREET THEATRE
Charles Court Opera and Jermyn Street Theatre join forces to turn Homer’s epic tale on its head in a bonkers new take on one of the oldest adventures. A legendary part Christmas in London, Charles Court’s boutique pantos are utterly irresistible and not to be missed.
By David Eaton & John Savournin
Directed by John Savournin
2022 Season
2022
may
- aug
Patience
| Lady Angela
CHARLES COURT OPERA
UK TOUR
Gilbert’s pen was rarely sharper than when he wrote this delicious satire on artistic movements, hero-worship and meaningless fads. Patience brims with biting humour, over the top characters, and music that is by turns toe-tapping and sumptuous. It is a satire of the aesthetic movement that gained the support of Oscar Wilde, which the team bring into the 21st century in this inventive reimagining.
Directed by John Savournin
Musically directed by David Eaton
2022
may
The
Chocolate
Soldier | Louka
OPERA DELLA LUNA
WILTON'S MUSIC HALL
A rehearsed reading of the opera bouffe by Oscar Straus, based on Bernard Shaw’s play: Arms and the Man.
Following their hugely popular semi-staging of The Arcadians at Wilton’s, Opera della Luna presents a rehearsed reading of another Edwardian classic.
Conducted by James Ham
Directed by Jeff Clarke
2022
jun
Concert
| 16 June
DEBUT
BRUNEL MUSEUM
DEBUT at Brunel Museum offers awe-inspiring performances, time to chat to your favourite musicians and the chance to learn more about Brunel’s remarkable feat of engineering.
Meriel Cunningham mezzo-soprano
Guillermo Ramasasa clarinet
Lizzie Holmes soprano & host
Sam Peña resident piano improviser
2022
jun
Concert
| 26/27 June
MAESTRO TOURING
CHET CENTRE, LIVERPOOL
Meriel Cunningham mezzo-soprano
Lizzie Holmes soprano
Gamal Khamis pianist
2022
jun
It's in the Air!
| Multi-role
HOPE MILL THEATRE
MANCHESTER
First performed in 1928 with chanteuse Marlene Dietrich in the starring role, the musical encapsulates the alienation within society and mindless extravagance of Weimar’s inter-war years.
Join us for a night of glittering comedic satire and be transported back to cabaret’s golden days in Weimar Berlin.
Direction: Anna Cabre-Verdiell
2022
jul
Concert
| 2 July
DEBUT
SHOREDITCH TREEHOUSE
DEBUT's flagship secret concert series at Shoreditch Treehouse offering awe-inspiring performances wth time to chat to your favourite musicians in the heart of Shoreditch.
Meriel Cunningham mezzo-soprano
Guillermo Ramasasa clarinet
Lizzie Holmes soprano & host
Sam Peña resident piano improviser
2022
aug
Iolanthe
| Iolanthe
NATIONAL G&S OPERA CO
BUXTON / HARROGATE / MALVERN
Life in the fairy kingdom has been pretty miserable since Iolanthe was banished for marrying a mortal but things start to look up when the Fairy Queen pardons her...
Conducted by John Andrews
Directed by John Savournin
2022
aug
Utopia
Limited
| Princess Kalyba
NATIONAL G&S OPERA CO
BUXTON / HARROGATE
Satirising the conceits of the mighty British Empire, its politics, monarchy and press, Utopia, Limited is as incisive now as ever it was.
Full of sparkling wit, Utopia, Limited is packed with show-stopping patter, brilliant choruses and music that is, at times, of almost Verdian beauty.
Conducted by John Andrews
Directed by Jeff Clarke
2022
oct
Concert
| 7 October
MAESTRO TOURING
CRICCIETH MEMORIAL HALL
Meriel Cunningham mezzo-soprano
Anthony Flaum tenor
Gamal Khamis pianist
2022
nov
Becoming
Carmen
| Carmen
PROLOGUE OPERA
STABLES THEATRE, HASTINGS
Part theatre, part opera company, Prologue Opera is passionate about pulling audiences into the world of opera. A fast-paced and enthralling reduction of the full original opera, prologued by an original dramatic performance supported with songs from a range of musical styles that tells the stories of key characters within the opera
Conducted by Liz Rowe, directed by Eleanor Strutt
2022
dec
Christmas Concert
| 14 December
DEBUT
BRUNEL MUSEUM
DEBUT returns for their signature style DEBUT Christmas Concert
Join us for festive favourites, sing-along carols and mulled cider - a night not to be missed!
Meriel Cunningham mezzo soprano / Jonathan Cooke tenor /
Thomas Chenhall baritone / Emma Arizza violin /
Stefano Marzanni piano / Lizzie Holmes soprano & host /
Sam Peña resident piano improviser
2022
dec
Christmas Concert
| 18 December
DEBUT
SHOREDITCH TREEHOUSE
DEBUT returns for their signature style DEBUT Christmas Concert
Join us for festive favourites, sing-along carols and mulled cider - a night not to be missed!
Meriel Cunningham mezzo soprano / Alex Aldren tenor /
Thomas Chenhall baritone / Emma Arizza violin /
Stefano Marzanni piano / Lizzie Holmes soprano & host /
Sam Peña resident piano improviser