Bridlington Community Opera to go Ahead as Planned

BRIDLINGTON, England, July 7, 2011 -

Opera North today announces that the community opera,
Beached, by Harvey Brough to a text by Lee Hall, is
continuing as planned.

We have been at pains to work closely with the writers at all
times, and have supported their rights of artistic expression
throughout. We have also worked equally hard to ensure that the
schools and community groups involved in the project have positive
feelings of ownership and identity within the production.
Thankfully rehearsals have been taking place throughout the
week.

We have been able to keep this project on track thanks to
intense negotiations behind the scenes with all parties.

We are delighted that we can now move forward to perform the
piece next week; over 400 participants from Bay Primary School and
the community groups established as part of the residency have been
working and rehearsing very hard and are extremely enthusiastic
about the project.

At its core, Beached is not simply about sexuality, it is
much more about the life and community of Bridlington, and other
similar towns and communities in the UK. It is fiction, but it
speaks directly, and often with humour, about the experiences of
the community, its joys and its tensions.

Opera North has a highly regarded track record for commissioning
new work for young people and community groups; Beached was
commissioned for the young people and communities in Bridlington
and the choice of writers was in itself a bold step to create an
exciting and visionary work.

The result is a superb, inspirational and ground breaking new
community opera. We have enormous admiration for Harvey’s and Lee’s
work, which we believe will prove a fitting culmination to Opera
North’s Bridlington residency.

Our two year residency in Bridlington has celebrated the joys of
singing and performing and we hope that it will be an inspirational
experience for participants and audiences alike.

Beached will be performed on Saturday 16^th
July at 2.00pm and 6.00pm

Royal Hall, The Spa, Bridlington Box Office:
+44(0)1262-678258

For further information please contact:
Lindsey Porter, Press & PR Manager, lindsey.porter at operanorth.co.uk +44(0)113-223-3526