Kent Opera
| Company type | Opera company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Performing arts |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Norman Platt |
| Defunct | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Ashford , United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom, international tours |
Key people | Norman Platt (Founder and director), Roger Norrington (Music Director 1969–1984), Iván Fischer (Music Director 1984–1989) |
| Products | Opera productions and tours |
Kent Opera was a British opera company that operated from 1969 until 1989, headquartered in Ashford. Its regular performance locations encompassed The Orchard Theatre in Dartford, Assembly Halls in Tunbridge Wells, the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Kings Theatre, Southsea, Theatre Royal in Norwich, and the Derngate in Northampton. The company presented operas in English, often featuring fresh translations created by professor Michael Irwin, Norman Platt, or Anne Riddler. Initially collaborating with the Midland Sinfonia orchestra, Kent Opera eventually established its own orchestral ensemble.
History
Established in 1969 by Norman Platt (1920–2004), Kent Opera was England’s pioneering regional opera company aimed at delivering high-quality opera productions beyond major metropolitan centers, with a focus on composer-driven works. The first Music Director was Roger Norrington (1969–1984), followed by Iván Fischer (1984–1989). Chorus masters who contributed to the company included Jonathan Hinden, Timothy Dean, and Mark Tatlow.
The company’s debut production was The Coronation of Poppea staged in 1969 at Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells, conducted by Norrington using Raymond Leppard’s edition. In 1974, Kent Opera toured Lisbon with a version more faithful to Monteverdi’s original manuscripts. That same year’s staging also toured within Kent and featured at the City of London Festival, earning widespread critical praise. A new translation by Platt was presented at the Proms in 1975 with mezzo-soprano Sarah Walker. Under Iván Fischer’s leadership in 1986, the company toured a fresh production of Poppea starring Patricia Rozario and Eirian James.
By the mid-1970s, the standard repertoire usually comprised three operas: one Baroque work, one Mozart opera, and one piece from the 19th or 20th century. The company emphasized reviving productions with their original creative teams and performers to maintain artistic integrity. Performances were frequently broadcast on radio and television; TVS created a series titled Staging an Opera, while Channel 4 aired King Priam in 1986 as part of Michael Tippett’s 80th birthday celebrations. Additional televised productions included Monteverdi's Orfeo and Judith Weir's A Night at the Chinese Opera.
Kent Opera also focused on cultivating audiences by commissioning children’s operas from composers such as Alan Ridout, Adrian Cruft, Judith Weir, Christopher Brown, and Ruth Byrchmore. Starting in 1971, summer concerts were organized across southeast England.
The company performed at numerous prestigious festivals including Edinburgh (1979), City of London, Aldeburgh, Bath, Lisbon and Porto (1974), Venice (1980), Schwetzingen (1976), Singapore, and notably became the first British opera company to appear at the Vienna Festival in 1986 at the Theater an der Wien. Additionally, it presented The Coronation of Poppea at the Proms in 1975.
Kent Opera received recognition for its imaginative staging and clarity of interpretation. Norman Platt directed seventeen operas for the company; distinguished guest directors included Jonathan Miller—who made his opera directing debut with Così fan tutte there in 1974 and subsequently directed six more productions—alongside Adrian Slack, Elijah Moshinsky, Nicholas Hytner (in his first opera direction), Christopher Bruce, Adrian Noble, and Richard Jones.
Repertory
Throughout its history, the company showcased an extensive variety of operatic works covering multiple periods of the genre:
- The Coronation of Poppea (Monteverdi) (1969, 1974, 1986)
- Atalanta (Handel) (1970)
- The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) (1970, 1981–82, 1984–86)
- Dido and Aeneas (Purcell) (1971, 1986–87)
- Venus and Adonis (Blow) (1972, 1976, 1980–81)
- Don Giovanni (Mozart) (1972, 1983, 1988)
- H.M.S. Pinafore (Sullivan) (1973)
- The Patience of Socrates (Telemann) (1974, British première)
- Così fan tutte (Mozart) (1974, 1981)
- Ruddigore (Sullivan) (1975)
- Rigoletto (Verdi) (1975)
- The Magic Flute (Mozart) (1976, 1980, 1987)
- Orfeo (Monteverdi) (1976, 1997)
- Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky) (1977, 1981–82)
- Iphigenia in Tauris (Gluck) (1977)
- Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart) (1978, 1984)
- The Return of Ulysses (Monteverdi) (1978, 1989)
- Idomeneo (Mozart) (1979)
- La Traviata (Verdi) (1979–80, 1985–86)
- The Turn of the Screw (Britten) (1979–80)
- Il ballo delle ingrate (Monteverdi) (1980–81)
- Falstaff (Verdi) (1980–81, 1983–84)
- Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (Monteverdi) (1981)
- Aggripina (Handel) (1981, 1985)
- The Beggar's Opera (arr Britten) (1982–83)
- Fidelio (Beethoven) (1982–83, 1988)
- Robinson Crusoé (Offenbach) (1983–84)
- King Priam (Tippett) (1984–85)
- The Barber of Seville (Rossini) (1985)
- Pigmalion (Rameau) (1986–87)
- Carmen (Bizet) (1986–87)
- Il Re Pastore (Mozart) (1987)
- Le Comte Ory (Rossini) (1988)
- Peter Grimes (Britten) (1989)
- The Burning Fiery Furnace(Britten) (1989)
- The Prodigal Son(Britten) (1994)
- The Masque in Dioclesian (Purcell)(1995)
In addition to its established repertoire, the company was responsible for debuting several operas such as: Alan Ridout's The Pardoner's Tale in 1971, Judith Weir's The Black Spider in 1985, and the 1987 premiere of A Night at the Chinese Opera, alongside Adrian Cruft's Dr Syn in 1984.
Closure
Kent Opera ceased operations effectively in 1989 after the Arts Council withdrew its funding—a decision met with considerable opposition. Unlike many peers, Kent Opera did not benefit from debt forgiveness in 1983. A report issued by the Arts Council in 1987 threatened to terminate financial support starting April 1988; however, this was successfully contested due to errors within the document. The company experienced successful tours to Singapore and Valencia in 1988 and garnered favorable media attention ahead of its twentieth anniversary. Nevertheless, a subsequent proposal to reduce funding in December 1989 triggered resignations within the Arts Council's music panel, led to the cancellation of planned Covent Garden performances, and halted commissioned works from composers Michael Berkeley and Peter Maxwell Davies.
Between the years 1994 and 1997, Kent Opera produced three modest-scale operatic presentations before ultimately discontinuing its activities.