Jericho Youth Opera – final performance

Did you know that Jericho had its own opera company? Well, we do, in the form of the Jericho Youth Opera. Over the last four years, St Barnabas Church has been host to a range of entertaining and high-class performances featuring singers of all ages, both local and from further afield, as well as other accomplished musicians.

This enterprise is the brainchild of Sue Glaisher, singing teacher, voiceover artist and impresario extraordinaire. Sue founded it in 2022 following the closure of a children’s choir with which she was involved and in order to give her young pupils a chance to perform.

Leading roles in all the productions have gone to Sue’s two most committed pupils, twins Hannah and Frieda Uhlig. With their lovely voices and strong technique, the twins have been a notable feature of all the performances; but there are many other parts too, and often a chorus. Adults, sometimes professional singers, play some of the roles or sing in the chorus.

Jericho Youth Opera’s first production was Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, which is thought to have been written for young singers, as it was probably first performed at a girls’ school. In addition to the main characters, it featured a coven of young witches, whose lively dancing and enthusiastic acting heightened the drama. The following year, during Lent, there was a staged performance of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, with a string orchestra playing the accompaniment.

As well as directing the performances, Sue adapts the operas. She also manages to provide refreshments, including home-made cake, after the performance, when the cast mingles with the audience.

In April 2024, Jericho Youth Opera became yet more ambitious, staging The Marriage of Figaro, again at St Barnabas. It was accompanied by a grand piano this time, played by Emma Lowe. Sue’s adaptation of this opera featured two wedding planners and some bridesmaids with mobile phones, whose texting and filming moved the plot along. Children from the Jericho Youth Choir made up the chorus of wedding guests and locals. The magic of Mozart’s original was retained though, with prize-winning baritone Ben Gilchrist as the Count and Andrew Chim as Figaro joining Frieda Uhlig as Susanna and her sister Hannah as Cherubino to bring the famous arias to life once more. Over 150 people came to enjoy this production, with many of us wishing it could be repeated.

March 2024 saw a production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Like Figaro, this was given a contemporary setting. Hansel and Gretel were the children of poor migrants living in the inner city with their drunkard father and down-trodden mother, while the witch was a drug dealer.

During all this time, the support of Father Christopher and St Barnabas has been indispensable, and in return Jericho Youth Opera have been delighted to support both the organ and the clock funds. This has been a real community enterprise.

Hannah and Frieda are due to leave home for university in the autumn, so Sue has decided to hang up her baton after this year’s performance, which will be a staged version of Handel’s oratorio Theodora. This time, the venue will be the Holywell Music Room. The exciting story of a young Christian martyr and her devoted Roman admirer, a secret convert, Theodora is full of drama and wonderful tunes. The performance will be on Saturday 27th June at 7pm. Tickets are available through Eventbrite and on the door. This is your last chance to see this distinctive community group in action; so forget about the World Cup for one night and immerse yourself in Handel’s rarely performed masterpiece.