GO Create | Garsington Opera

GO Create, is a new digital resource created to engage young people with opera in an inspiring, accessible and fun way.

Aimed at ages 11-16, this short series introduces young people to the world of opera and everything that goes into making it.

GO Create is filmed at Garsington Opera’s home, a beautiful opera house nestled in the Chiltern Hills at Wormsley. On stage, we are used to seeing a wonderful spectacle with singers, dancers, an orchestra and captivating design, but backstage and beyond there is an extraordinary company of people who make this happen. Through GO Create, we lift the bonnet on opera and look at what and who really make it work. We hope this will inspire and inform the next generation of theatre makers to reach their full potential.

The films can be experienced individually or collectively and teachers can also play them as part of lessons to show a different way of working.

Curriculum links written by Dr Robert Legg.

Directing

Directing Duets

Director Feature

Conjuring a Storm

Key roles mentioned:

Director
Assistant Director
Designer
Artistic Director

Director is a glossary term in the OCR (p. 64), AQA (p. 13) Drama GCSEs and ‘the ability to recognise and understand the roles and responsibilities of … [a] director’ is required in the Edexcel Drama GCSE (p. 9).

Role of a director described as

Lead but also empower.
Have a strong vision.
Be a representative of the audience.
Understand the importance of teamwork.

Physical theatre is a glossary term for the OCR Drama GCSE (p. 59).

Tableau (and/or still image) is a glossary term for OCR Drama (p. 62). Edexcel Drama GCSE cites tableaux as a means of ‘creating and developing a devised piece from stimuli’ (pp. 11-12).

This activity could be employed effectively at KS2- and KS3-level Drama.

Production & Design

Designing a Duel

Design Journeys

Backstage at the Opera

Introducing students to the work of a theatre designer works towards nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance. The role is described as:

Starting with listening to the work.
Relying upon an understanding of the libretto.
Working closely with the director.
A process involving problem solving.
Being support by the use of scale models.

Nicky Shaw describes her own journey to her current role:

Going to the theatre often.
An interest in art, drawing and creativity is important.
An interest in the world around us.

Key roles mentioned:

Production Manager
Set and Costume Designer
Technical Director
Production Designer
Costume Supervisor
Costume Buyers
Costume Makers
Prop Supervisor
Prop Buyer
Prop Makers
Set builders
Carpenters
Metal Workers
Draftspeople
Scenic Artists
Hair, wig and make-up Supervisor
Lighting Designer
Production Electrician
Stage Manager
Wardrobe Operator

Introducing students to these professions works towards nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance.

Also links to T Levels such as Wardrobe assistant and Carpenter.

Music

The Conductor

Exploring Voices

Writing Arias

Operas or Oratorios?

Useful reminder of a key difference between the operatic and oratorio forms. This section describes the invocation of nature in the pastorale genre and explains how the simplicity and repetitive, scalic qualities of the aria enabled it to become a memorable and celebrated work of its time.

Reminder of the term da capo aria, as at 5.12. The description of the B section of this form as equivalent to a modern ‘middle eight or chorus’ would make an interested point for A-level Music students to debate …

The return of the A section is used to introduce the concept of ornamentation, which is a glossary term in the Edexcel (p. 66), AQA (p. 12) and OCR (p. 16) Music GCSE specifications.

Watch GO Create Onegin now

Three woman dressed in late-19th century dresses, inspired by the Russian courts at the time, dance with fans. An image from Garsington Opera's 2021 OperaFirst performance of 'Eugene Onegin' by Tchaikovsky.

GO Create: All Eugene Onegin Episodes

Watch GO Create Onegin now

Watch GO Create Semele now

A woman dressed in gold with large gold wings gives a woman in a silver jacket side-eye.

GO Create: All Semele Episodes

Watch GO Create Semele now

Watch the making of Dalia now

Girl wearing cricket sweater and white trousers running towards the front of the stage whilst smiling and surrounded by cheering friends.

GO Create: Dalia Full Film

Watch the making of Dalia now

Dalia Curriculum Links

Timecode: 3.05

Useful links are made by the creative team to how their process was shaped by their own experience, and that of their immediate families.

Roxanna Panufnik’s reference to cricket provides a cross-curricular dimension, potentially providing exemplification of the impact of sport and physical activity on society, which is an area of knowledge of social-cultural understanding stipulated in the AQA GCSE PE specification (pp. 32-37).

Timecode: 3.39

Useful links are made by the creative team to how their process was shaped by their own experience, and that of their immediate families.

Timecode: 19.20

Introducing students to the work of a theatre designer works towards nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance.

Rhiannon’s discussion of the 1:25 scale model principle and the equipment required could be useful for students of Art and Design GCSE (AQA, Edexcel, OCR), especially those working with the ‘Art, Craft and Design’ and ‘3D Design’ endorsements.

Other professional roles – lighting, audio, stage management – are also mentioned.

Timecode: 33.27

Improvisation is a concept explored in the OCR (p. 8) and AQA (p. 20) Music A-levels in the context of jazz, and in the Edexcel A-level (p. 10) in a performing context.

Ornamentation and quartertones are concepts that usefully relate to many of the ‘world music’ examples in the KS1-3 Model Music Curriculum.