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Operagasmic Francesca Geach I was seven when I first went to see an opera and I absolutely hated it! I thought the story was naff, I didn’t understand a word they were saying, and the music went completely over my head – surprising for a music student and former Chair of the Opera Society. Even more embarrassing was that it was Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, an opera written for children. My Dad continued to take me to the opera but I could never admit that I hated it because he loved having a companion. How grateful I am that I did not: when I hit my teens I saw an English National Opera production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville starring Leslie Garrett and everything just clicked. It was not instantaneous love, but it was the start of what would become one of my greatest passions. As I grew, so too did my understanding of the music in opera and of the intense emotions that spurs the music and plots. Adolescents and students should be perfect targets for opera companies – opera is an incredibly emotional art form, and between the ages of 16 and 25 (assisted by hormones) we are extremely emotionally volatile. I believe that, at this age, we are able to sympathise with heroines such as Madame Butterfly because we know (or at least we think we know) what it is like to be heartbroken. Unfortunately, opera has a stigma attached to it and is often seen as ‘uncool’. One of the most frustrating things I have found as an ambassador for opera is that even music students can be closed minded when it comes down to it. Too many times, when asking students to come to a production (either my own or one by Opera North) have I been answered with ‘I don’t really like opera.’ I find it strange that people can come to university and approach contemporary music or Gamelan with an open mind, but not opera. I admit that some opera companies are to blame for this stigma; the high ticket prices and hostile atmosphere can appear inaccessible to many students. However, one opera company that is working hard to attract a student audience is Opera North. Their TONAL (The Opera North Ambassador Link) scheme entitles students to a £10 ticket for a seat in the stalls, as well as discounted drinks. My aim in my solo project, Operagasmic, was to make opera even more accessible to students. I did this by changing many of opera’s tradition aspects. My primary objective was to reconsider possible venues: I wanted to remove the music from the stuffy confines of a concert hall or opera house. Jazz is often more enjoyable in a bar, where the audience can relax and have a drink – free from the formality of a concert hall. I applied this principle to opera. I chose to produce Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro as I believe it to be an excellent introduction for the ‘opera virgin’. It is a saucy opera about love, sex and scandal that can translate to any setting. Mozart was very successful in using the music to tell the story; in this opera the plot is clear and the music successfully portrays the characters’ emotions. I though that recitative, however, could seem alien to the inexperienced audience, so I decided to replace it with a compere to explain the action. I also made the decision to perform the opera in English rather than Italian, furthering accessibility. I have, however, maintained the original plot, but have altered the setting. Rather than being about the eighteenth century aristocracy owning their servants, it is about a twenty-first century Bar Mogul who owns half of York. Characters have been updated, as have some of the lyrics: for example in Non piu andrai I have inserted a few ‘martinis’, ‘cocktails’ and ‘ASBOs’ to fit with the bar setting. I also wanted to make opera more accessible for the performers; I did this by limiting the rehearsals to one weekend – a scary prospect! I really hope that Operagasmic has been successful in showing that opera is more than screaming fat ladies, frocks, frills and overpriced tickets. I hope that my audience walked away knowing that opera is forever changing, and accessible to all of us. YUMU would like to congratulate Francesca on an exciting, innovative and very enjoyable event!