ONCE upon a time, ITV used to fill its Sunday evening schedules with opera. But gradually it got pushed to the margins, as shenanigans of Love Island and Celebrity Juice took priority.
And in the process, opera started being seen as elitist and for the nobs. But a local operatic company is preparing to stage one of the greatest love tragedies of all time, and say that if you give it a go, you’ll be hooked.
From Wednesday, February 26, through to Saturday, February 29, Park Opera will be at South Hill Park performing, in English, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.
The fully-staged show is set in 19th century Russia, and focuses on what happens when a woman loves a man behaving badly.
He rejects her and flirts with her sister. But a tragic duel means he is forced to flee the country.
When he returns some years later, at a ball in St Petersburg, the path of true love is somewhat mangled – she is married to someone else and he must nurse a broken heart.
The finale is, we are promised, explosive. Who needs Love Island when you have all this action?
Park Opera has been performing since 1981, and brings together local people who love singing. As a staged production, Eugine Onegin features sumptuous costumes, an all-age cast and a chorus and orchestra. And it’s sung in English to ensure that the work is accessible.
The cast has been hard at work rehearsing for this show since September last year.
During a break in rehearsals, held at All Saints Church in Ascot, the organisation’s chair Sallie Ward said: “We were founded at South Hill Park as an evening class for people who liked singing opera. Gradually, we’ve developed into quite a large company.
“Most of the opera are local, though some travel quite a distance to come here: Farnborough, Reading, Wokingham and Sandhurst. They’re just people who love to sing opera.
“Our principal singers audition – our lovely principals Alex Berman and Eleanor Janes – are people who have just turned up.
“I think we’ve got a fantastic line-up of principles and Elena, our leading lady, is quite beautiful.”
Sallie is passionate about opera: “It’s a unique art and beautiful to listen to.
“It’s often beautiful to look at – and Eugine Onegin will be because the costumes are absolutely stunning, they’re going to look really gorgeous.
“But opera conveys emotion in a way that ordinary straight plays, I don’t think, can. It’s got the added advantage of music with it. It conveys emotions better than almost anything else I think.”
And that’s why the cast have taken their time.
“They have to learn the music first. We probably have about two months of music rehearsals before we start on staging.
“There’s a lot of dancing in this show, and that always take a lot of rehearsals.”
Sallie adds that the costumes have been extensively researched “they are pretty”, she promises.
And for anyone wanting to stay at home and stick the telly on? Sallie has better ideas.
“The themes still resonate with people today,” she says. “Eugine Onegin is one of the most realistic operas, because it’s all about the torment; the happiness and sadness of young love.
“It’s about how a young girl falls madly in love with a young man, he rejects her. I think most people have had the experience of rejection.
“It’s got those sort of deep emotions that we’ve all felt most of us have had the experience of being rejected.”
Eugine Onegin is performed by Park Opera at South Hill Park from Wednesday, February 26 through to Saturday, February 29. For more details and tickets, log on to parkopera.org.uk
