Local Singers To Star in Summer School Operas

Two young local singers have won leading roles in two new opera productions being staged by Dartington International Summer School in August.

Following an extensive nationwide search and audition process, 12-year old Sebastian Beamish from Harbertonford and 20 year-old soprano Keri Fuge from Ivybridge have been cast in lead roles in The Turn of the Screw and The Marriage of Figaro respectively.

Sebastian plays Miles, a young child haunted by his past, in Benjamin Britten’s chilling operatic ghost story The Turn of the Screw, while Keri plays Susanna, Figaro’s bride-to-be in The Marriage of Figaro.

Auditions for the Dartington production were held in London in January, where Keri, currently a Masters student at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, won her part against an outstanding pool of 25 talented young singers. But the lead male role was found much closer to home, following a recommendation from Exeter Cathedral School.

Dartington International Summer School producer Emily Hoare said, “It’s a huge undertaking and privilege to be able to stage these incredible operas within just a couple of weeks. We scoured the colleges, conservatoires and choirs of the UK to find a cast that would be up to the challenge. We are absolutely delighted to be able to give leading roles in these productions to two such hugely talented local young people.”

The Turn of the Screw was written by acclaimed British composer Benjamin Britten, a regular visitor to Dartington, and is based on the short ghost story by Henry James. The eerie story will be atmospherically staged in the old Dartington Church Graveyard between 4th and 6th August at 8.30pm.

Mozart’s classic comic opera The Marriage of Figaro takes place in the Great Hall at Dartington on Thursday 26th, Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th August. Tickets for both productions are available from the Dartington box office on 01803 847070.

The two operas take place at the Dartington International Summer School, which every year stages over 100 concerts and invites musicians of all ages and abilities to take part in a wide range of week-long music courses, from composition and conducting to jazz, rock and Latin dance.