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About COGChelsea Opera Group was formed in 1950 by David Cairns and Stephen Gray to give concert performances of opera. Then, as now, the Group was amateur in the best sense of the word. The Group's first performance was of Don Giovanni in Oxford. Since then it has performed three operas every year. At first, performances were given in Oxford, Cambridge and London. Now COG gives one performance of each opera in London. The history of COG's first 50 years is given in "In Concert": 50 Years of Chelsea Opera Group. David Cairns has written the early history, Robert Montgomery and Philippa Toomey the later. The book contains a CD with extracts from recent performances, together with lists of performers and operas performed. Click here to order a copy of "In Concert": 50 Years of Chelsea Opera Group. Click here to view a complete list of COG's performances since 1950. Although chorus and orchestra are amateur, the Group employs professional soloists and conductors and does not have a permanent musical director, preferring to have a different conductor for each opera. Chorus rehearsals take place over the six weeks before each performance, and orchestra rehearsals during the previous three weeks. All are in the evenings except for one tutti rehearsal on the Sunday before the performance. Since 1950 COG has provided invaluable experience for conductors and singers at the beginning of their careers, as well as the opportunity for talented amateur musicians to experience opera at a very high standard. Operas performed recently were: Ermione (Rossini) conducted by Dominic Wheeler; Andrea Chénier (Giordano) conducted by Brad Cohen; A Life for the Tsar, (Glinka) conducted by Alexander Walker; a double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) and Le villi (Puccini) conducted by Andrew Greenwood; and Giovanna D'Arco (Verdi) conducted by Dominic Wheeler.. In addition to its opera performances, the orchestra visits Salisbury twice a year to play with the Salisbury Musical Society and there are occasional other concerts. For forthcoming operas see Future Plans. |