Popular opera production set to celebrate 20 years

Noye’s Fludde, led by a partnership between Lichfield Cathedral School and Lichfield Cathedral School with significant funding from Arts’ Council England via The Music Partnership, is set to mark its 20th birthday with a series of performances at Lichfield Cathedral.

Celebrations will see the production of the community opera by Benjamin Britten performed in the cathedral on November 10 and 11, with both performances starting at 7.30pm.

The opera sets the medieval mystery play text about Noah’s Ark and has parts for amateur and professional musicians.

MusicShare, which helps to organise and produce the show, said this makes the opera the perfect piece to celebrate a singing programme and which has worked with all ages and abilities from 0 to 99.

A spokeswoman for Lichfield Cathedral said: "MusicShare runs 5 choirs, 3 of which will be directly involved as soloists and chorus within the opera.

"This is particularly astounding because the choirs are not auditioned and therefore we have young singers, some as young as seven, delivering solo roles in a major opera who, in some cases, have come to us with no singing background.

"The animals are, of course, played by local schoolchildren and across the performances will feature students from Lichfield schools of Chadsmead Primary Academy, Queen’s Croft High School, Lichfield Cathedral School, Rocklands School, St Michael’s C.E. (C) Primary School, Willows Primary School Lichfield plus students from Stoneydelph Primary School, Tamworth and Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Ashbourne."

The production will also feature professional soloists playing Mr and Mrs Noye and the Voice of God, a professional string quintet, piano duet and organist plus Lichfield Cathedral School orchestra, U3A recorder players from Lichfield and Stafford and the Alton Handbell Ringers.

Tickets are available for both shows on November 10 and 11 by going to trybooking,co.uk/46413