ABOUT US
Small Beginnings
Heritage Opera was founded in 2006 by the conductor Chris Gill, with the aim of presenting chamber operas in period costume in stately homes across the north of England. The operas were sung either in their original languages with surtitles or in English versions translated specially for the company.
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The venues in the first few years were carefully selected for their ambience and intimacy, usually in areas which would not otherwise have benefited from professional opera performances. Opera Now observed:
"Gill had gathered together a stylish, homogenous team, with the gifts of intimacy and immediacy that go with compact, even attenuated, forces… perfectly satisfying and involving."
Bold Ambitions
Heritage Opera has always had a commitment to pushing boundaries, and to celebrate the company's fifth anniversary in 2011, we launched a successful fundraising appeal to raise over £50,000 for the commission and production of Mansfield Park, based on Jane Austen’s novel, by the composer Jonathan Dove and the librettist Alasdair Middleton. The new work was given its premiere in 2011, and was toured around the UK, with performances as far afield as Boughton House (Northamptonshire) and the Grimeborne Opera Festival (Dalston, London).
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In the same year, the company attained charitable status, Sarah Helsby Hughes was appointed Artistic Director and Nicholas Sales became Company Manager.
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Reaffirming the company's commitment to new opera, in 2017 Heritage Opera performed its second world première: The Arsonists by the composer Alan E Williams and the librettist Ian McMillan.
Continued Excellence
With extensive experience of bringing opera to both intimate spaces, as well as large theatres, Heritage Opera’s reach has now extended to venues across England, Scotland and Wales. We have also toured productions to numerous musical festivals, including the Northumberland Music Festival, and Lamberhurst Music Festival. We specialise in bringing opera to historic heritage venues, and have performed in many major stately homes including Chatsworth, Hatfield House and Boughton House.
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Heritage Opera and its team are at home performing operas from a wide range of periods, styles and genres. The company has toured productions of operas from the baroque era, including Purcell's Dido And Aeneas, and Pepusch's The Beggar's opera. as well as four of Mozart’s best-loved operas (The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte and The Magic Flute). The Romantic Italian opera tradition has been represented by Rossini’s Barber of Seville, Donizetti’s Elixir of Love, Verdi’s La traviata and Rigoletto; and Puccini’s La bohème, Tosca and Madame Butterfly. French opera has appeared in the form of Carmen. Light opera has not been forgotten: Heritage Opera has performed Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, HMS Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance, and Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. Even Slavic opera has been given its due, with Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and the UK professional première of Poland’s national opera, Moniuszko’s Halka.
Artistic Director
Sarah Helsby Hughes
Having completed her studies at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Sarah’s opera performances to date have included the title role Madame Butterfly for Nottingham Festival Opera; Violetta La traviata for New Devon Opera and Chiswick Opera; title role Tosca for Focus Opera; Senta The Flying Dutchman for Focus Opera; title role The Merry Widow for ClassicFEST, Harrogate and Lanzarote; and Elsie Maynard Yeomen of the Guard for the International G&S Festival in Gettysburg, USA. She has also been a member of Carl Rosa Opera and the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. One of many highlights in her time with Heritage was in 2011, when the company commissioned Mansfield Park from the renowned composer Jonathan Dove, in which Sarah created the role of Mary Crawford. Her widespread concert experience includes Wagner’s Wiesendonck Lieder (Italian Tour), Verdi Requiem, Britten’s Phaedra and Mozart Davide Penitente in Haarlem, the Hague and Amsterdam.
A word About
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Nicholas Sales
Formerly a Quantity Surveyor, Staffordshire-born Nick left the building world behind in 2002, and has enjoyed a rich and varied career ever since. His work has taken him to 42 different countries across 5 continents. He recently made his debut at the Royal Opera House and the BBC Proms, where he played Leibboyar in Boris Gudonov, and was both principal tenor and Company Manager for Heritage Opera until the start of 2019.
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On 5th January 2019, Nicholas suffered a brain aneurysm from which he is still recovering. He has now moved out of hospital into home-based care in Cheshire as he continues to recover. We at Heritage Opera wish our dearest friend and colleague a full recovery.
