Streetwise Opera
giving homeless people a voice
Productions
The Canticles, 2002
A Ceremony of Carols, 2003
Time Flows, 2004
Rückert Lieder, 2005
Whirlwind, 2006
Critical Mass, 2007
Allegri, 2008-09
Utterly extraordinary
Natalie Wheen, Classic FM
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Annual Opera Productions

One important area of our work is to stage annual, professional-quality opera productions with our participants. This is because homeless people often feel that the public have low expectations of them and they are rarely given the opportunity to work on anything of professional quality. The productions give all our participants, with no auditions, the chance to star in a professional show which result in sell-out audiences and rave reveiws in the press.
 
What it means for our participants is that they have the chance to excel at the highest level - to show people and themselves what they can achieve. Time and again they say that these productions are the area of our work that has really made the difference for them:

‘The determination from them [the professionals] has rubbed off on us. Had they not been there I don’t think we’d have been as confident as we were. It has given me a lot of confidence but it’s also made me think if I can achieve this with Streetwise, surely I can take on anything else.’

‘The feelings of elation and accomplishment which I felt standing on the stage at the end of the production were something I will never forget, and played a large part in helping me to overcome my difficulties and start putting my life back into order.'

‘It’s great! I never thought I’d actually do anything like this. It even made us who definitely aren’t professionals feel like we were. It’s unbelievable there were that many people clapping us.’

These public events also promote positive attitudes and understanding of homeless people and homelessness in general, putting homeless people in a very positive light.

The reviews we have received give our participants a huge morale boost: The Times (5 stars), Guardian, Independent, Independent on Sunday, New York Times and have been featured on BBC2 Culture Show, BBC Radio 4 (Today, Front Row, Midweek, Pick of the Week) and BBC Radio 3 (In Tune, Music Matters). Please see Critical Acclaim for more information.