Press Release
25 January 2012
New Partnership for Opera North and the RNCM
Opera North, England’s national opera company based in Leeds, and Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) are delighted to announce a new partnership aimed at nurturing and inspiring young musical talent in the North.
The partnership, which officially launches on Wednesday 29 February, will provide exciting professional development opportunities for RNCM student singers and instrumentalists at Opera North as they prepare for their future. In addition to raising awareness of the many career paths available to students, the partnership will offer hands-on experience of auditions and mentoring from singers working at Opera North. Students will also benefit from opportunities to engage with the breadth of Opera North’s programming; from mainstage operas to more eclectic and contemporary work presented in the Howard Assembly Room.
In turn, Opera North will have a base in Manchester from which to explore and develop its artistic programming and outreach work, giving both partners the opportunity to work together artistically outside their own boundaries.
Opera North has been working on an informal basis with the RNCM over the last three decades, regularly hearing students recommended by vocal department, but the formal partnership will now allow for tailored and more structured programmes to be created for individual students.
Richard Mantle, General Director, Opera North, comments:
Opera North has enjoyed a long association with the RNCM and many of its alumni appear regularly with the Company. This new partnership takes our relationship to a new level and one which will bind the two organisations together in a way which will strengthen us both as we collaborate to develop talent, professionalism and creativity in the world of opera and music.
In recent months, through the Company's collaborative partnership with the University of Leeds, DARE, we have been developing a research agenda and we firmly believe in the potential synergy between this new RNCM partnership with the DARE programme, which we hope will bring about enhanced research, learning and professional training opportunities here across the North.
Lynne Dawson, the RNCM’s Head of Vocal Studies previously sung with Opera North andcomments: 'I'm really delighted that we shall work with Opera North; this collaboration will hopefully presenta wonderful opportunity for our young singers to have contact with the real world. We're hugely looking forward to working together.'
Caroline Clegg, freelance director, academic and Director of Manchester-based Feelgood Theatre Productions, has been instrumental in developing this partnership and will be based at the RNCM one day a week for the next six months to set up the framework for the programme. Caroline previously taught in the RNCM opera department from 1992-1997 and has directed a number of operas for Opera North. She has also worked with Welsh National Opera and English National Opera and brings a wealth of experience to the organisations as she continues to work in the profession.
As part of the partnership, the RNCM will work closely with DARE, Opera North's ground-breaking collaboration with the University of Leeds. This unique initiative will probe new ways of thinking about excellence in learning, performance and academic study.
The event on 29th February will feature a short performance by artists from Opera North’s highly acclaimed current production ofGiulio Cesare, Kathryn Rudge and Ann Taylor,both of whom are previous alumni at the RNCM. Opera North’s Normawill be performed that evening in The Lowry, Salford Quays.
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For further information and images, please contact:
Hannah Stockton, Press & PR Assistant
0113 223 3528
Julia Gregg, Press Officer
0113 223 3522
Lindsey Porter, Press & PR Manager
0113 223 3526
Liz Rowley, RNCM PR and Media Relations Officer
0161 907 5369
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