The small rewards of small-scale opera

Perhaps I should come clean straightaway and admit that, despite the fact that OperaUpClose is about to celebrate its fifth birthday, I’d never been to see one of its shows before last week. This has not been a conscious decision; maybe, though, I’d been unconsciously put off by the company’s early braggadocio — by the manner in which it gleefully trumpeted the Violetta-like decline of ‘traditional’ opera so that it could offer itself up as a timely cure. I can’t say that I’ve ever been attracted, either, by the prospect of a luscious Puccini score reduced for three instruments, or of singers, many only just out of music college, tackling demanding roles in tiny venues — the company, unlike other smaller operatic outfits, has never shied away from the big staples of the repertoire.

If I’ve stayed away up until now, though, others have come flooding: OperaUpClose has proved enormously popular and it has inspired a wealth of other small-scale companies.