Songs on the Steps, a series of free lunchtime recitals for picnickers and passers-by, returns to Opera Holland Park for a second season. The concerts are held on the steps of the company’s purpose-built theatre in west London.
Performances take place fortnightly at 1pm on a Friday lunchtime and last about 40 minutes. The next event is on 19 May, with further recitals on 2, 16 and 30 June, and 14 and 28 July.
Artists from the company will perform songs and arias from Opera Holland Park’s 2022 season. Audiences can look forward to a varied selection of music from the company’s new productions of classic 19th-century tragedies Eugene Onegin (1879) by Tchaikovsky and Carmen (1875) by Bizet, the UK premiere of Mark Adamo’s Little Women (1998), Delius’s Parisian melodrama Margot la Rouge (1902), Puccini’s Gothic fantasy Le Villi (The Fairies, 1884), and Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore (1878).
No booking is required for these informal outdoor concerts and audiences are invited to bring something to sit on and a picnic. Clothing suitable for a British summer is also advised!
Songs on the Steps was launched last year and proved popular with everyone from opera devotees to dogwalkers enjoying the surroundings of Holland Park. “Join us at the steps to the theatre and enjoy 40 minutes of free music in the fresh air of Holland Park,” the company said in a statement.
The Opera Holland Park Theatre is located in the centre of Holland Park, London W8 6LU. Check the company’s website before heading out as the weather may affect the schedule. The nearest Underground stations are High Street Kensington (Circle and District Line) and Holland Park (Central Line). Public toilets and a café are also located in the park.
Several of last year’s recitals were recorded and are available on Opera Holland Park’s Facebook page. In this video, you can see British baritone Tom Mole, who performed the role of Escamillo in last year’s production of Carmen, singing alongside British mezzo-soprano Anna Cooper who was Olga in Eugene Onegin, with répétiteur Charles Kilpatrick on the keyboard.
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Join principal artists from Opera Holland Park on the steps of the company’s theatre for Songs of the Steps, a series of free lunchtime recitals (Laima Arlauskaite).