LIFE IS A DREAM

Birmingham Opera Company commissioned leading UK composer, Jonathan Dove and writer, Alasdair Middleton to write a brand new opera for us. In March 2012 Life is a Dream received its World Premiere at the Argyle Works in Birmingham to a wondrous reception.

A MAN OF FEELING

A Man of Feeling by Stephen Oliver is a 30 minute operatic jewel. The performance begins with a young man reading a letter and then shooting himself - what could have driven him to such an extreme act? The next 25 minutes tells us the story…

OTHELLO

"Arrestingly impressive, edgily unnerving and organised with terrific bravado. It amounted to a theatrical tour de force."
Rupert Christiansen - The Daily Telegraph

"Rarely have I been so moved by an opera performance. More to the point, the tear-streaked faces around me were all sorts of ages and backgrounds. If this art form is to flourish in the future, here is one powerful example of what it might look like."
Kate Molleson - Opera Magazine

"Othello is unforgettable drama: Immersive, thought-provoking and emotionally wrenching. Unmissable."
Richard Bratby - Birmingham Post

Staged in December 2009 in a former chemical works in the heart of industrial Digbeth this was, remarkably, the first professional production staged in the UK with a Black tenor, Ronald Samm, in the title role. The production was also broadcast on BBC Two with a companion documentary about Artistic Director, Graham Vick, called 'Verdi: The Director's Cut'.