Community of Bridlington Celebrates Beach Life

BRIDLINGTON, England, July 17, 2011 -

“I feel like a rock star” sums it up for Bailey,
aged 5, who starred as a fish in Saturday’s performance of
Beached at the Bridlington Spa. Another participant,
Peter, aged 68, commented, “The experience is
something I will carry with me for the rest of my
life“.

Opera North’s community opera Beached,  written
by composer Harvey Brough to a text by Lee Hall, was performed
twice on Saturday by hundreds of local residents. Performers
spanning ages 2-82, took part in the creative, innovative and
liberating show based around ‘a day at the beach’ in the small
seaside town of Bridlington.

Some of the highlights of the one and a half hour production
included old ladies whizzing around the ’sand’ on mobility
scooters, thirty toddlers dressed as sea creatures and outstanding
performances from local community members.

Comments Richard Mantle, General
Director, Opera North:

“Harvey Brough and Lee Hall are incredible writers and
Opera North was delighted to be able to engage artists with such
high profiles and credibility for our community project - this is
something to celebrate.“

“We commissioned a new piece of work with the
knowledge that it would be bold and exciting and in the current
economic climate where works like this are few and far between, we
took a brave step to nurture and broaden the artistic landscape of
this community and the talent within it.“

“The last two years are a fantastic achievement - we
have worked with over 2,700 individuals looking at how singing can
be used to address important local issues, such as
regeneration. Beached has been a wonderful opportunity for
many of those people to come together and celebrate their town and
what they have done together. We hope that firm foundations have
now been laid for Bridlington to continue its singing
journey.“

The performances of Beached were made up of the
following:

• Pupils from Bay Primary School
• The Bridlington Community Chorus, set up by Opera North
• Mums and toddlers from East Riding Children’s Centre
• Teenagers from local secondary schools
• Members of MENCAP Music and Movement Group
• Professional singers; Meeta Raval, Ann Taylor, Mark le Brocq
  and Richard Burkhard
• Nine musicians
• Director Karen Gillingham, designer Ruth Paton and animateur
  Lea Cornthwaite worked with the groups in the run up to the
  performance
• Composer and Musical Director Harvey Brough

Two Years of Highlights:

• The Big Sing - 1,000 7-11 year olds from eight different
  schools perform in The Spa.
• Little Brid Sing - 400 4-6 year old from eight different
  schools perform in The Spa.
• 2,700 individuals work directly with Opera North during this
  period
• Weekly visits for two years into Bay Primary School, where
  singers enhance the school curriculum.
• All schools in Bridlington take part in workshops, training and
  performances
• A new choir for 7-11 year old boys - Boys of Bridlington Sing
  (BoBS)
• A Bridlington Youth Chorus for teenagers
• Training for 150 local teachers, playworkers and artists

Beached was performed at The Spa, Bridlington on
Saturday 16 July 2011 at 2pm and 6pm.

Notes to editors:

In 2009 Opera North received funding from Sing Up, the Music
Manifesto’s National Singing Programme, East Riding of Yorkshire
Council and Yorkshire Forward to run a large-scale programme of
singing and creative activity in the town.

The programme aimed to provide access to high quality singing
activity for local people of all ages, and promote the benefits of
singing through fun, engaging and sociable activities that enhance
quality of life.

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