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History of Opéra de Baugé

Opéra de Baugé was founded in 2002 and mounted its first festival in the summer of 2003, performing one opera, Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten. Three performances were attended by an audience of about 400 in total. The general format for the festival was set in this year, since it has not changed significantly in succeeding seasons.

Since its inaugural season Opéra de Baugé has presented operas every year in late-July and early-August. The season has now grown to ten performances and to three operas, which we regard as our maximum, at least for the foreseeable future. The total audience has grown to 2,500-3,000 each year, and is expected to continue to grow. An important constraint, of course, is the size of the present theatre, which has 358 seats.

The performers are almost all professionals of today or tomorrow, and we are fortunate in having been able to attract some very talented singers and instrumentalists. Some of them are seasoned professionals, while other are students or recent graduates from music schools and universities. The master class, or what the French call "stage", is a crucial element of what we do. The more experienced members of the team transfer their knowledge and skills to the younger ones. Many of these experienced people give their services free of charge.

Opéra de Baugé's legal status in France is that of a not-for-profit association. It has no salaried staff and it is run entirely by volunteers.

Working together

Each opera festival is the culmination of 12 months of planning, design, manufacture of sets and costumes, selection and training of soloists and chorus members, and rehearsals. The learning element is very important, as mentioned above.

Opéra de Baugé benefits from the support of dedicated volunteers in France for some of its activities but it contracts the performance - i.e. the production including the engagement of musicians and technicians - to a UK company. Singing and dramatic rehearsals take place over several months prior to the festival, mainly in the UK since that is where most of the musicians are based.

The team of artistes arrives in Baugé a few days before the first performance of the season, and the final rehearsals take place at Les Capucins.