Mahogany Opera’s Snappy Operas project – 10-minute works for and by children – will be working with schools in Aberdeen in June, as well as the Agila Culture and Tourism Information Centre in Nida, Lithuania, and the Frequenz_Festival Kiel in Germany in 2024.
Snappy Operas is an award-winning schools programme, making and performing new mini-operas with primary-aged children. Working with some of the UK’s top composers and writers, the children create a 10-minute opera which introduces all the essential elements of the artform in fun, colourful and bite-size chunks.
Mahogany Opera will be working with Aberdeen Performing Arts to deliver a special Snappy Operas project in the city. The new project will see four groups of primary school children present a Snappy Operas Gala Performance as part of the Light the Blue Festival, taking place from 16-18 June.
Aberdeen Performing Arts is an award-winning arts charity that delivers a diverse programme of musical theatre, music, dance, comedy, theatre and festivals within the city centre. The organisation runs several venues across Aberdeen, with the aim of creating a vibrant cultural hub at the heart of the city.
Facilitated by Aberdeen Performing Arts, Light The Blue is an innovative festival for young people, created by young people, which celebrates the creativity of young people aged 5-25. Taking place over three days across Aberdeen city centre, it comprises a line-up of gigs, theatre, film and workshops.
For the new project, Aberdeen Performing Arts and Mahogany Opera will work with four schools across the city of Aberdeen to provide pupils with the opportunity to engage with opera and stage their own performances at the festival. They will be working with professional stage directors, musical directors and accompanists to create their own short works.
This year will also see Snappy Operas go international as Mahogany Opera embarks on two new partnerships, one with the Agila Culture and Tourism Information Centre in Nida, Lithuania, and one with Frequenz_Festival Kiel in Germany.
Commenting on the latter project, Mahogany Opera said: “We’ve been awarded funding from the Cultural Bridge programme to develop this German partnership, and we’re looking forward to co-delivering a composer symposium in Kiel later this year and developing a Snappy Operas strand for the 2024 Frequenz_Festival.”
Cultural Bridge is a platform of artistic exchange between the UK and Germany. For its 2023-24 programme, 15 partnerships between UK and German-based organisations have been awarded funding to develop cultural projects exploring issues facing communities across both countries.
The collaboration between Mahogany Opera and Frequenz_Festival Kiel is called Co-creating with young voices and will explore new ways of making music for and with children.
Frequenz_ is an annual festival of contemporary experimental music, performance and audio-visual art held in May each year. A key component of the programme is Frequenz_ EDU, a series of creative, interactive projects which connect the contemporary arts with the topics of young people’s lives, as well as socio-political themes such as identity, digitalisation and alienation.
Bridget Rennie, Mahogany Opera’s executive director, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded funding through the Cultural Bridge programme, which will enable Mahogany Opera and Frequenz_Festival Kiel to collaborate on the development of Mahogany Opera’s successful young people’s programme Snappy Operas in an international context.
“We will explore the potential of co-created participatory work with young people, engaging German and British composers in a symposium to be held in Kiel in autumn 2023.”
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Mahogany Opera’s Snappy Operas project is going international this year, with projects in Lithuania and Germany. Previous Snappy Opera The World’s Beating Heart was created by Seven Mills Primary School, Tower Hamlets, with composer and librettist Gwyneth Herbert (Izzy Romilly).