We are pleased to report that our October concerts went very well. Rehearsals were a bit strange to start with due
to social distancing and all the sanitising required to keep Covid at bay and similarly we took every precaution in the
concert venues in order to keep everyone as safe as possible. Ticket sales were a bit on the low side but we had
anticipated this would be the case not only because of on-going public concerns related to Covid but also the much
publicised petrol “shortages”. Fortunately the latter eased shortly before the first concert and sales picked up
including some last minute purchases on the day.
Audience members seemed genuinely delighted to be back out in public listening to music again and as well as many
complimentary remarks we also gained one or two new followers. It was lovely to look out into the audience and
recognise some friendly and familiar faces so if you managed to get to one of the concerts thank you for your
support and hopefully you enjoyed the experience. Certainly for our singers it fulfilled a long-awaited wish to sing
together and perform in public once again.
So, moving on – normally we would be looking at providing carols for The Bluebell Railway throughout December but
as they are not running their evening dinner trains again this year our services are not required. This has been a good
fundraising exercise over the past several years so we shall miss that seasonal influx into our coffers.
Looking ahead to 2022 we are still deciding what might be possible bearing in mind the recent government warnings
that Covid is still with us and restrictions may be tightened up again. We are considering moving our next production
into October but obviously this depends on a number of things such as singers’ availabilities so we cannot make any
firm announcements just yet. Recruitment is also a big issue - we have a few people waiting to audition but it would
be really good to get some younger people involved so if you know of anyone who is interested in singing, and
importantly, fit and active, do ask them to get in touch for more details.
We will post news on our website as and when there is anything to report and meanwhile once again, thank you all
for your support which we really do appreciate.
Stay well and all good wishes from everyone at Heber Opera.
