Box office opens for SPO's 10th Anniversary Gala

Ten years ago, three music lovers got together and had a wild idea: why not stage an opera, using St Paul’s Church in Clapham’s Old Town as the stage?

The trio – the-then vicar of St Paul’s Deborah Matthews, Australian opera singer and teacher Jennifer McGregor and Clapham-based soprano Patricia Ninian – decided to stage a performance of two short operas, Gianni Schicchi and Der Schauspieldirektor. The rest is history.

To celebrate this 10th anniversary SPO is staging a special gala concert featuring favourite arias and scenes from SPO’s back catalogue, a ‘greatest hits’ compilation from operas staged over the years.

And, as befits a birthday, there will also be the chance to join the cast’s after party: tickets for the concert only are £25 and £35 for the concert and party.

The evening will feature excerpts from:

Der Schauspieldirektor, Gianni Schicchi, Turandot, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, Orpheus in the Underworld, Così fan Tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro and Albert Herring

Soloists include:

Tamsin Birch Charlotte Brosnan Antonia Cviic Fiona Hymns

Tanya Hurst Olivia Lewis Patricia Ninian Louisa Tee

Alexandra Dinwiddie Natasha Elliott Sophie Horrocks Jenny Samuel

Alex Ackhurst Hugh Benson Adam Brown Stephen Cviic

Owain Evans Ross Fettes Peder Holtermann Louis Hurst

The concert starts at 7.30pm and tickets are £25 including a celebratory drink, or £35 for the concert and an invitation to the after party.