UK Edition
Opera North to use second-hand props and costumes for a carbon neutral spectacle
Opera company sets itself ambitious task of staging environmentally sustainable productions
With its exuberant stage sets and lavish period costumes opera can be the most grandiose of the performing arts by far.
But when environmental sustainability is the watchword of the day there are those who question whether the carbon footprint produced in performing the works of Mozart, Rossini and Handel is worth all the drama.
Now, in an attempt to tackle the mountains of waste generated by each performance, one British opera company has set itself the ambitious task of staging productions which are entirely environmentally sustainable.
Opera North is to stage three touring productions where nothing seen on stage is bought as new and where all the set and costumes are fully recyclable.
Beginning with a production of Handel’s 1735 opera Alcina in February next year, the majority of the sets for three touring productions will be built by reusing materials and parts from existing productions, currently stored at Opera North’s warehouse in Kirkstall (see photograph below).
Opera North’s ambitious target of establishing what it calls “an environmentally sustainable production and touring model” will also see designers and technicians scour second hand and retro shops and suppliers across the north of England to source materials, objects and clothes for its set design and costumes.
The move comes after Glyndebourne last week announced it is banning disposable coffee cups and corks from the wine and champagne it sells will be recycled in a bid to reduce its environmental impact.
It follows a trial run of a fully sustainable production of Not Such Quiet Girls, a smaller-scale production held at Opera North’s Howard Assembly Room venue, in Leeds, in 2018. This told the stories of three women on the front line of the First World War, using only recyclable and reused material in its set and costume design.
Opera North said: “One of our key objectives is proactively establishing an environmentally sustainable production and touring model. Following the trial of a fully recycled set for Not Such Quiet Girls, we have identified the new production of Handel’s Alcina as the next milestone.
“Alcina’s set will be fully recycled and nothing that appears on stage - set, props, costumes - will be newly purchased. The majority of the set will be sourced from existing productions and all other items will be bought from second-hand sources from within the Yorkshire and Humber region.
“The process of making the set, props and costume will also be considered. This is not just to include the direct environmental impact of the production itself, but the wider associated impact of Opera North and its supply chain.”
The three sustainable operas will be performed in February and March 2021 in Leeds before going on tour to Newcastle, Nottingham and Salford Quays.
The move is one of a number of initiatives at the opera company designed to reduce waste and cut its carbon footprint to zero by 2030, from its current footprint of 350 tonnes CO2e, which includes energy, water use, waste and production travel.
Others include scrapping the practice of handing out sheets with song translations for the audience at the Howard Assembly Room and replacing them with screens displaying surtitles; printing brochures on fully recyclable and carbon balanced paper and installing water saving devices and LED lighting throughout their buildings.
Richard Mantle, general director of Opera North said: “As one of the largest touring arts organisations in the UK, we are committed to becoming an industry leader in sustainability and environmental responsibility in response to the climate emergency.”
Alcina, one of Handel’s most popular operas, was composed for his first season at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, and tells the story of a young man, Ruggiero, has fallen under the spell of an enchantress who transforms her discarded lovers into non-human form.