Peterborough Opera

Peterborough Opera (originally Peterborough Opera Company) was founded by Clive Fairbairn in 1969. It had two aims, to give talented local singers  the chance to perform in opera, and to bring regular productions of live opera, sung in English, to local audiences. Live opera had become very rare in Peterborough since the closure of the Embassy Theatre.

Peterborough Opera is a member of

WHO (OR WHAT) IS PETERBOROUGH OPERA?

About Us

The first production in 1970 was Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and since then we have mounted at least one production every year. Click here to see a full list of our productions. Our early performances took place mainly in local schools, but when the Key Theatre in Peterborough opened we were very pleased to make it our home.

In 2009, we sadly lost the services of our musical director John Walmsley through ill health. John had been MD for 36 years, and we are very grateful to him for his leadership during that time. It is largely thanks to his enthusiasm, dedication and hard work that Peterborough Opera has survived till now. We now have a new MD, Marc Murray, and are looking forward to a new era.

In addition to live performances, we give a number of concerts each year, and are always happy to receive invitations to entertain. Our concerts usually consist of a mixture of opera highlights and some lighter numbers.

Our singers come from a wide area, and we have a valued reputation for presenting performances to a professional standard. Of course doing so is not cheap, and we always welcome offers of sponsorship.

If you would like to get involved in any way, either on or off stage, please contact our secretary Sue Benjamins on 0777 999 8132