"Preconceptions of opera are skewed by a disproportionate focus on the work and profile of opera’s ‘big six’: Opera North, Welsh National Opera, the Royal Opera and Ballet, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne and English National Opera... According to a report by the Audience Agency for Arts Council England (ACE), just 25 opera titles made up 43% of all operas staged in the UK between 2017 and 2023. Of those 25, the most recently written (Madama Butterfly) is over 100 years old." (Amanda Parker in The Stage, 06/01/2026)
The Music Troupe flies the flag for new opera and seeks further support for doing so.
The Music Troupe flies the flag for new opera and seeks further support for doing so.
Recently...
Audience reactions to our recent production of
In Five Years' Time
In Five Years' Time
- "What a brilliant show, hauntingly beautiful music and exceptional singing!"
- "This is an unusual and thoroughly entertaining show that deserves to reach a wide audience looking for an unconventional and fun evening”.“Saw this last night. It’s a wonderful dream like music theatre piece with outstanding singing and performances from the ensemble cast. Highly recommended!”
- “What an enjoyable evening.I could not believe that I was at the premiere because it was so well performed. And what a cast ! Not one weak link… I loved the three Clowns and my favourite part of the whole work was the sextet in Scene 10.”
- “Thanks again for an absorbing and fascinating evening, performed with immense skill and commitment by all concerned.”
- “Just caught stunning production of @musictroupe new opera ‘In Five Years Time’ a Lorca adaptation @thespacetheatre wonderful music by Edward Lambert, outstanding singing and performances by cast and MD pianist @alistairjfburton and direction by Walter Hall. Don’t miss this show! On Thurs, Fri but Saturday sold out!”
- “Those of you in London who have not seen local, small-scale opera or smaller local productions, I would highly encourage you to go to this one! Please do pop down to E14 for Music Troupe’s last few shows in London! I’ve been to plenty of smaller operas staged in theatres in London, but nothing was quite so intimate as “In Five Years’ Time” … The singing was top notch (I felt like I was back at the Coliseum), and the music was highly atmospheric and beautiful, managing the delicate balance between eerie and lyrical, grounded and ethereal. The story was complex and a reimagining of an experimental play by Federico Garcia Lorca. Expect lots of surrealism and dreaminess. I do think this show deserves to be seen by more people, so please do come. Pay what you can and enjoy the show!”
|
The Rapture: Donald's Crusade looked at political power and US foreign policy that is influenced by Christian Zionists who believe in Armageddon. This performance at The Cockpit, London marked our tenth appearance in Tête-à-Tête: The Opera Festival.
The Music Troupe gratefully acknowledges the recent support of the following trusts and foundations:
Vaughan Williams Foundation The Marchus Trust Gemma Classical Music Trust The Fidelio Charitable Trust The Greenham Trust Our productions' associated workshops have been sponsored by the Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory at the University of West London 
The Duchess of Padua at The Space, London and other venues
"Lambert’s music is spot on, fusing a traditionally dynamic Bel Canto score without feeling the least bit dated. It is always dramatic and flows seamlessly… glimpses of stunning beauty in the love-focused duets and arias... a tight score that never drops the excitement, Lambert’s gothic-inspired music fits so well, and the performers do such a strong job, that it is difficult not to enjoy it." (Broadway World) |
Masque of Vengeance at The Cockpit, London and The Stoller Hall, Manchester
"... a taut and driven eighty minutes in which there is very little dead time. Powered along by a dynamic, pulsating score for piano duet, with soaring bel canto vocals and dramatic recitatives, there was never a dull moment to be experienced..." (Planet Hugill, November 2023) 
Our most slimmed-down operas have been The Parting & Buster's Trip for 3 singers and accordion performed September 2024 at Tête-à-Tête: The Opera Festival
|
|
The Music Troupe was founded in 2014 by composer Edward Lambert and colleagues to perform, amongst other things, new small-scale operas. We wanted to bring back the art of beautiful singing into pieces that are designed for smaller spaces: works that aren't scaled-down productions of grand opera but new chamber operas in which the music and drama are tailored, not trimmed, to an intimate experience. We want our shows to be as entertaining as they are economical. 15 productions later, the group has given valuable opportunities to a wide range of over 100 performers and creatives (see below). We have delivered performances in Manchester, Brighton, Yorkshire and Berkshire as well as London, and given workshops in schools and for those living with dementia. In 2020 we made a unique opera movie on location. We have further projects in the pipeline and are keen to secure funding to support an expansion of our activities.
|
”…the next generation is looking to buy their vegetables at a farmers' market, not a supermarket. They want that taste, that crunch, that flavour. I think they're looking for more intimate musical experiences where you're close enough to taste the quality of the work. Opera can operate on many different levels, for many different metabolisms and on many different social scales and that diversity is a very good thing."
Peter Sellars, The Independent, 26/02/2015 The Music Troupe is a registered charity no. 1161386 Trustees: Ian Caddy, Susan Holmes, Richard Foster, Jenny Weston BEM Thank you to all the artists, venues, audiences and funders who have supported us. |
|
The Butterfly's Spell
In the world of insects, a Poet Beetle rejects the love of the devoted Sylvia in favour of an impossible infatuation with a fragile Butterfly whose destiny it is to fly away. A sad tale, but a comic opera which also features a drunken Scorpion, an overbearing Mother and Two Fireflies which glow in the dark. Suitable for all ages. From an early play by Lorca. Cast of 7; accompanied by an ensemble of 7 instruments 70 mins more info → |
|
Swellfellow the Tyrant
King Swellfellow is a tyrannical dictator who gorges himself while his subjects starve. Can he and his sleazy ministers cling to power when the Countess returns from exile? And whose side will the Press be on? Still pertinent today 200 years after it was written, Shelley's satire is here made into an opera which is as comic as it is bizarre Written for community performance with some roles for amateur singers Cast of 10 and chorus; accompanied by an ensemble of 7 instruments 80 mins more info → |
