OUR MISSION
Background
Since there is little opera tradition in Hull, audiences are not bound to a notion of repertoire but stand ready to engage with a vital, living and infinitely mutable art-form. This allows us at HUO to tip our focus towards new work built for the city whilst dipping into great works of the past.
The company is run on socialist principles of fairness and equality which inform everything from casting, auditions and pay to repertoire and venues. We welcome approaches from artists from groups which are less well represented in opera and we continue to champion the work of female composers.
Practical promises
We promise the people of Hull, East Yorkshire and beyond, that we at HUO will always be cognisant that we spend public money and that our work will always be accessible in venue, disability access, price, subject matter and types of engagement.
Artistic promises
We promise to be friendly, welcoming and playful in our engagement with audiences and to share with them an exciting journey of discovery and experimentation inspired by our ongoing dialogue.
Our work, whether indoor, outdoor or in workshop form, may entertain, challenge and provoke but is always founded on a passionate belief in communication.
HUO exists to create work which ignites in the people of Hull a passionate relationship with the visceral power of opera.
The Collective
Hull Urban Opera is an expanding collective and currently comprises:
Artistic Director Russell Plows
Outreach Director Charlotte Fong
Adminstrator George Gooden
Music Director Sonia Ben-Santamaria
Designer Joseph Bisat Marshall
Designer Liz Dees
Makeup Venice Marshall
Stage Management Luke Dankoff
Composer Lente Verelst
Librettist Lena Vercauteren
Repetiteur Caroline Blair
Soprano Poppy Shotts
Soprano Kimberley Raw
Mezzo Joanna Gamble
Tenor Alex Grainger
Baritone Edward Robinson
Bass-baritone Neil Balfour