Why there’s a huge blue marquee in Digbeth and you can visit it for £5

If you’ve walked past the former Smithfield Wholesale Markets site, you may have noticed a huge blue marquee and wondered what it could be for. Birmingham Opera Company (BOC) will present their new production, New Years, in the Dream Tent this weekend.

The performances will take place on Sunday, July 7, at 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, July 9; Wednesday, July 10; Friday, July 12; and Saturday, July 13. Birmingham Opera Company, whose ethos is to make opera relevant and accessible to everyone, by making the whole city opera house and by charging just £5 a ticket.

Michael Tippett’s New Year tells the intertwining stories of Somewhere Today and Nowhere Tomorrow. It had its world premiere in Houston, Texas in 1989, followed by a series of performances in Glyndebourne, UK in 1990. Since then, not seen as a new production, Birmingham now makes New Years its own.

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The show will be led by Opera Director Keith Warner and BOC Music Director Alpesh Chauhan OBE, the volunteer actors and chorus will be accompanied by an international cast of eight professional soloists and one dancer from the UK, USA, South Africa and Italy and the Complete City of Birmingham Orchestra (CBSO) for the premiere production.

Managing director Richard Willacy says Birmingham Opera Company has been given permission to adapt sections of the work and, while the music remains intact, the team will aim to bring a 21st-century authenticity to the characters. He said: “Our work is as always about the world we live in, and Michael Tippett was perhaps the first major British composer to attempt to draw modern urban life in all its diversity into the world of classical opera.

“The work is extremely eclectic musically, drawing on ska, jazz and more traditional western classical music. There is even a rumor that he wanted The Communards to sing one of the parts! It was all about breaking down barriers.”

What makes the show even more unusual is that there are no seats for the New Year. The audience will move with the action of the show. There are a limited number of places for people with access requirements, which must be booked in advance.

Tickets start from £5 to £24.99 and can be booked by visiting www.ticketsource.co.uk/birmingham-opera-company or calling 0333 666 3366. £5 ‘Explorer Tickets’ are available for:

• 16 – 25 years old,
• People with care experience over the age of 16,
• People who are unemployed or live in low-income households,
• People who qualify for government and/or voluntary assistance, including food banks and benefits,
• People living in Erdington, Northfield, Perry Barr and Ward End.

If you need an Explorer ticket, email [email protected] for your access code.