Opera in the Orchard is now in it's 7th Year !

OPERA IN THE ORCHARD

The now annual event of open air opera was held on the 12 and 13th July at Bouncers, Wickham Bishops, the family home of the Bishop Family. Seven years ago Robbie Bishop brought the idea of opera to the English countryside after he had worked for many years in Italy. There, opera is family entertainment and not at all elitist. After a conversation with a neighbour, Steve Rumsey, a teacher and conductor of music, the idea came to fruition.
Considering the rain we have had recently the weekend weather stayed fine. Saturday was a cooler evening and Sunday had the advantage of being warm but overcast. On both nights the sunsets were glorious and the sun shone sometime on both evenings.
The gates opened at 2.00pm and the performances started at 5.00pm both to a full house. The setting, an Essex garden full of old trees and green lawns is very special. Chickens wander freely about and appeared unannounced in the performances according to their whim, much to the amusement of the audience and the cast. So far as we know, chicken soloists/performers in Grand Opera are unique.
The Opera is the icing on the cake as there are other events organised for the weekend such as carriage driving and camping. Behind the audience there was a beer tent selling special Maldon beer, Nelson‘s Blood and Pucks Folly, a tea and cake stall, BBQ and top quality ice-cream by Capprilatte Ice Cream of Abberton, Colchester.
Chelmsford Opera with the help of Steve Rumsey took care of the music and singing and the first half of the performance was The Impresario by Mozart. This is a one act opera about the fierce rivalry of two divas. An interval of one and half hours was arranged so everyone could eat and drink at leisure. A lot of people brought luxurious picnics and set them up complete with tablecloths and wine, others enjoyed the delicious BBQ.
The second part of the evening was Cavalleria Rusticana, a blood thirsty Sicilian melodrama ending up with the death of the hero and distraught women on the stage completed with horse and carriage on the stage..
The whole evening was enjoyed by everyone who can’t wait for next year’s performance, yet to be decided. We have many regulars who have been coming to Opera in the Orchard every year for the last 7 years.
A big Thank You for the success of the evening must go to Robbie’s family who not only helped backstage, catering and also with the general administration. Also many thanks must go to the maintenance team lead by Steve of Maldon District Council for all work carried out before and after the weekend and not forgetting Chelmsford Opera for their excellent music and singing.