The Company
Opera del Mar
was founded in August 1995 by businessman Jeremy Delmar–Morgan and
soprano Irmgard Elisabeth Berry to give young singers the opportunity
to appear in professional performances of fully–staged operas. Since
its inception, the company has employed a happy blend of the brightest
talents from music colleges and experienced singers from companies such
as the Royal Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera and Glyndebourne
Festival Opera. Singers who began their professional careers with Opera
del Mar have gone on to work with English National Opera, Glyndebourne
Festival and Touring Opera, Scottish Opera and Opera North.
Opera del Mar’s
productions have been highly acclaimed for their dramatic intensity, musical
excellence and visual beauty. All operas are sung in sympathetic English
translations which are accessible to today’s audiences yet remain
faithful to the original intentions of the composer and librettist. Operas
are staged within the period stipulated by the composer with meticulous
attention being paid by the artistic team to the historical accuracy of
costumes, props and style. The productions are extremely adaptable and
venues range from the Grand Staircase at Holkham Hall to the Daffodil
Field on Brownsea Island, as well as more conventional locations such
as ballrooms, community halls, theatres and marquees.
Most of Opera del Mar’s performances are given for charity fundraising
events but the company may also be booked for private functions, corporate
hospitality, arts festivals and commercial theatres etc. From 1996 to
2003, Opera del Mar presented a week of open-air opera each August on
Brownsea Island, an idyllic National Trust property in Poole Harbour,
with audiences averaging 2000 per season.
One
of the most flexible of all small–scale touring companies, Opera
del Mar’s performances and concert programmes may be accompanied
by a piano soloist, string quartet and pianist, twelve–piece orchestra
or twenty–piece orchestra, depending on the requirements of the
engagement.
