Music Director: Jonathan Lyness
Artistic Director: Richard Studer
View their biographies
Reviews of Past Productions
Opera Now, Jan/Feb 2008 (Carmen, The Tobacco Factory)
The Tobacco Factory is claustrophobic, cramped, like the between-decks of a ship. But Opera Project, the amazingly resourceful touring company that did this show, knows how to make the most of awkward circumstances… the ensemble singing was so strong that nothing felt very obviously missing… with just 12 singers and 12 instruments playing a reduced orchestration by the conductor Jonathan Lyness, it had the energy and guts to bypass those little censors in the back of your brain that would otherwise demand more luscious textures… the director Richard Studer came up with some entertainingly original production ideas… a sparkling little show, robust and vigorous and swept along with brisk but well-controlled speeds. I enjoyed it.
Opera Now, Nov/Dec 2007 (Italian Girl in Algiers, West Green House)
‘cleanly directed and designed by Richard Studer, sharply conducted by Jonathan Lyness’
Opera Now, Nov/Dec 2007 (L’Heure Espagnole, West Green House)
‘elegantly done with big, bold clockface designs and an ingeniously abstract take on the technical problem of shunting Concepcion’s hidden suitors around the stage… the suitors were a joy, especially Wyn Pencarreg’s richly sung Don Inigo. The orchestra, playing a reduction authorised by Ravel himself, played with hip-swinging passion under Jonathan Lyness.’
Opera Now, Jan/Feb 2007 (The Turn of the Screw, The Tobacco Factory)
‘This outstanding little show was unsettling to a degree, thanks to effective lighting and some poised but highly charged performances. Like all Opera Project shows it was directed by Richard Studer and conducted by Jonathan Lyness, who are by now as experienced at putting together this kind of bare-bones touring show as anyone could be. They make it work, they deliver with punchy, impactful theatre, and they cast with strength…’
Opera Now, Nov/Dec 2006 (Don Giovanni, West Green House)
‘The pace and urgency was breathless… there was real exchange between the characters. Masetto’s hurt, Zerlina’s curiosity, Ottavio’s awkward solace, Leporello’s seizing on whatever momentary escape from powerless might come his way… it all delivered.’
Opera Now, Nov/Dec 2005 (Benjamin Britten’s The Beggar’s Opera, West Green House)
‘The impact of this bustling little show was extraordinary: full of life and lusty humour… and especially impressive in its handling of one critical factor: pace. The persistent alternation of speech and song can so easily drag as the voices adjust from one mode to the other and the orchestra wake up with a jolt to the fact that they’re on again. But here the conductor Jonathan Lyness achieved a near-seamless flow, and the director Richard Studer kept things moving too - on a small stage with a single set whose black and white etched design owed something to the memory of David-Hockney’s classic Rake’s Progress. Which was fair enough. Nicholas Smith made a wirily attractive Macheath, Margaret Rapacioli a ravishing Polly, and the rest of the cast were the very paradigms of robust elegance that the piece demands - as was the 12-man band which managed Britten’s tough, exposed and edgy instrumental writing with panache.’
Opera Now, Nov/Dec 2005 (La Bohème, Longborough Festival Opera)
‘The pleasure of La Bohème lay firstly in the cohesion of the staging, which was both directed and designed by the Opera Project’s Richard Studer. This was a taut and thoroughly enjoyable production, and the intelligence of the direction was matched by some first-rate string detail and numerous small touches - comic flutes for the landlord, Benoit, for instance, or a wonderful pianissimo for Mimì’s agonised first collapse - from the generally impressive Longborough orchestra, from which Jonathan Lyness drew some excellent playing. The garret antics were cleverly finessed, making full use of Studer’s stylish but agreeably uncluttered set, and full of nuanced detail, with Paul Keohone’s strongly delivered Marcello… the Rodolfo-Mimi exchanges revealed a marked warmth and tenderness: both shone vocally in the ravishing duets. Judith Gardner Jones was a nicely sympathetic Musetta. A highlight was the quartet at the end of Act III, which came across superbly; and following some imaginatively choreographed highjinks, Mimì’s death scene in Act IV was beautifully managed.’
Opera Now, Nov/Dec 2004 (Falstaff, Iford Festival)
‘a genuine theatrical experience from cut-down forces... the energy was undeniable. And there were genuine voices here, especially the Ford: a sturdy, strong but honey-toned young baritone called Adam Green whose singing stole the show. Nick Sharratt made a beautifully ardent, animated Fenton, and his kissing duets with Nanetta (Rebecca Ryan) were one of the few occasions when I’ve seen these characters on stage and really believed they were in love… Lyness held the whole performance together like a master. If you ever come across this group doing their summer rounds, don’t hesitate to go and see them. They’re one massive cut above the average’
New York Times, Aug 2004
‘one of the best small-scale touring companies in Britain’
The Sunday Telegraph, 18 July 2004 (Madama Butterfly, Longborough Festival Opera)
‘What I believe to be Puccini’s finest opera was extremely well performed. Jonathan Lyness conducted with passion and sensitivity and although he must have yearned for a larger body of strings, the festival orchestra played with finesse. Balance between pit and stage in this small theatre was admirable and the words came across with exceptional clarity. The greatest, noblest and most tragic of Puccini’s crushed heroines was portrayed with dignity and poignancy by Melinda Hughes. She had vocal power in the big climaxes and sustained the emotional impact of Act II without faltering. She also brought subtle control of dynamics to her singing of the text, which she delivered with expressive understanding… Craig Smith was a sympathetic Sharpless, Michael Bennett an outstanding Goro and the mezzo Cari Searle as Suzuki showed herself the possessor of essentially the best voice on stage. Richard Studer’s simple Japanese-house was all that is needed and his production wisely let the action take its course with minimal directorial intervention.’
Opera, Oct 2002 (Albert Herring, Iford Festival)
‘The Opera Project’s staging of Albert Herring - its first attempt at Britten and Iford’s too - worked very well indeed. There was inevitably some major scaling-down in terms of design, but it was so neatly accomplished by the director-designer, Richard Studer, that there was no sense of deprivation or compromise, only sharpening of the focus. Props were minimal, but went for maximum impact. There was a real sense of the claustrophobia and hypocrisy of village life, making the censorious tactics of Lady Billows et al. seem altogether more sinister than usual. The Opera Project’s cast was generally very strong, with ensemble work slickly engineered… his [Edward Lyon’s] handling of Albert’s long monologue in the second scene of Act 2 was artful and assured… Lyon made of him an entirely believable character… it was an indication of the sympathy that Lyon engendered for Albert that the collective threnody at his supposed death was quite so affecting. Just for a second, it was possible to believe that Britten and Crozier were making a tragedy of the whole thing… but it gave the humour and gentle satire of the final ensemble a real warmth. All credit then to the Opera Project’s music director, Jonathan Lyness, for balancing the parody and the emotion with such a deft touch.’
The Independent on Sunday, 12 September 1999 (La Bohème, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital)
‘La Bohème was done by a small touring company called Opera Project whose praises I sang about a year ago and who continue to count among the best enterprise of their kind around. Directed by Richard Studer, conducted by Jonathan Lyness, and with serious-impact singers, it was truly touching if not pretty damned heroic, given the conditions. And above all, it was just what opera should be doing: serving the community.’
Country Life, Aug 1999 (Così fan tutte, Doddington Place, Kent, in aid of the KAB)
‘It was compelling enough to entrance my nine-year old from start to finish. It was deceptively simple. It was fun. It was a triumph. It was the future of opera.’
The Independent on Sunday, 2 Aug 1998 (Don Giovanni, Iford Festival)
‘I’ve rarely felt so physically involved in a performance… the presentation was so keenly alive’