Make your voice heard at auditions for Bedfordshire Youth Opera’s new production

Bedfordshire Youth Opera is inviting young singers along to an Opera Taster Audition Weekend which will be casting for its 2026 production of Orpheus in the Underworld, by Jacques Offenbach.

The auditions, on March 28 and March 29, are open to people aged from 14 to 26 years old and take the form of a workshop offering singers the chance to meet other performers and the creative team at Bedfordshire Youth Opera.

Vanessa Cole, Bedford Youth Opera course manager, said: “The Taster/Audition weekend gives a great introduction to this comic opera which takes a satirical look at the Greek myth of Orpheus and his wife Eurydice.

“The story is not quite the sad tale you might expect; our artistic director Fred Broom has written a new English translation for this production, which is funny with a contemporary edge, suitable for a young modern audience as well as those who are slightly longer in the tooth.

“The music is energetic and fun, and people may even recognise some of the tunes, most famously the Infernal Galop, or Can-Can.

She added: “The Youth Opera performers are 14 to 26 year olds who are passionate about singing and performing. The course led by our industry renowned artistic team, involves two weekends in July and three weeks in August and culminates in four full performances at the Bedford University Theatre, at the end of August.

"And, as we have been hearing this week with the launch of the BBC’s - ‘Get Singing’ project, brilliantly championed by Julia Fraser (Head of Luton Music Service) on Woman’s Hour, collective singing has so many positive effects on mental and physical wellbeing.”

Last year’s stunning production of Bedfordshire Youth Opera’s The Enchanted Pig by Jonathan Dove, received great reviews with this year’s production promising to be just as exciting.

Full details of the course can be found on the Bedfordshire Music Trust website under the youth opera tab.