After taking part in an inspiring rehearsal by North Shields’s Opera Chorus, Suzanne Coulson revisits the music and magic that opera offers at Gala 2024…
I was brimming with excitement for the Gala 2024. The anticipation of experiencing the full performance had me eagerly awaiting the evening, ready to immerse myself in the magic of the event.
Gala 2024, featuring the North Shields Opera Chorus in association with the Tête à Tête Opera Company and the Royal Northern Sinfonia, promised to be a spectacular event. Since its inception in 2019, the Gala has grown significantly, now including partnerships with the Can’t Sing Choir, the Backworth Male Voice Choir, Penella Bee’s Falling on Your Feet dance group, as well as the Parks Sports Centre and North Tyneside’s Music Education Hub; an impressive collaboration highlighting the Gala’s commitment to community engagement.
As I took my seat in the Parks Sports Centre on Sunday 7th July, surrounded by excited family and friends of the Gala’s participants, I noticed an inclusive audience filled with members of the community, some there to support their children, husbands, wives, partners and then, like me, an independent with no ties but to immerse themselves into something brand new.
As the gentle hum of the Royal Northern Sinfonia’s strings turned into a three-dozen strong grand crescendo of woodwind, brass, and percussion, the choral tones of the Opera Chorus joined in, creating an overwhelming sense of togetherness.
The presence of children from local North Tyneside schools performing music they had composed specifically for the Gala added a touch of magic. The contemporary dance, inspired by a mythical theme and featuring the focal dance piece ‘Azra Glow,’ captivated everyone.
Led by the animated Tim Burke, both participants and audience were entranced by his every movement as he conducted. The strength of voice from principal opera singers Helen Bailey, Graeme Danby, and Austin Gunn – all talent from the North East, hailing from Middlesbrough, County Durham, and Whitley Bay respectively – added to the local pride of the event.
Gala 2024 was a captivating blend of opera and symphonic beauty, rooted in the community’s exceptional talent. Accepting the invitation to explore and discover was truly rewarding; from the cautious tones at the early rehearsal to the powerful choral sea that greeted its audience on a wet and windy Sunday afternoon in Shields – it left me inspired and eager for an encore.
conductor and composer at the Royal Northern Sinfonia in Newcastle and music director at Tête à Tête (image courtesy of Timothy Burke)
As a representative of I Love North Shields, I had the privilege of conducting a Q&A with Tim Burke prior to the event, which allowed us to delve into the heart of what the Gala is all about.
What is the North Shields Opera Chorus, and what inspired its creation?
North Shields Opera Chorus is set to explore the most thrilling and beautiful musical stories from Britain and across Europe from the past 400+ years, as well as brand new opera being written here in North Shields telling the stories of life here right now.
It takes its inspiration from the creativity that is brimming over here in North Shields – we’ve been building a community opera initiative here since May 2019, Looking further afield, the work is inspired by initiatives like Birmingham Opera Company who really reflect the city they work in, working with some of the world’s most exciting artists and working with hundreds of volunteer participants that make up their chorus, creating large-scale performances that are the envy of the classical music world.
It is important to Tête à Tête that the community of North Shields feels that they own North Shields Opera Chorus, and a big part of this concert is introducing the members of the NSOC to as wide a variety of different kinds of opera as possible – we have music from the very first major opera composer, Monteverdi, written in 1630s Venice, we have music from Britain, France, Bohemia, Austria, Italy and Russia from the 17th to the 21st centuries, including a brand new piece of music being composed specially for GALA 2024 by North Shields and North Tyneside school children.
How do you hope the North Shields Opera Chorus will impact the local community and the broader North East region?
We want to offer the members of NSOC, as well as artists and audiences, to go on adventures that will touch everyone involved in a way we’ll never forget. I could imagine this chorus growing into a fully-fledged company that stages spectacular operas every two years, for instance – it could be a real jewel in the crown of culture and arts in the North East and beyond.
Can you tell us more about the collaboration with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and what audiences can expect from this partnership?
Royal Northern Sinfonia is the orchestra of The Glasshouse (f.k.a. Sage Gateshead), and as we’re planning to do here in North Shields, it has built a worldwide reputation for the North East through the creativity and jaw-dropping talent of its musicians.
