The Cumbria Opera Group was founded in 2016 to bring world class opera to Cumbria, and to educate young Cumbrians in the arts. Cumbrians have historically had to travel long distances in order to witness excellent opera. Astronomical ticket prices further make opera seem elitist and inaccessible.
The David Snowdon trust donated £2,000 towards the Festival of Cumbrian Musicians 2025, the aim of this festival was to highlight everything magical about Opera, with a variety of operatic performances throughout the County; including Appleby, Barrow, Carlisle, Grange, Kendal, Keswick and Penrith.
One of our trustees Ruth attended a wonderful production of Britten’s ‘The Turn of the Screw’ at Victoria Hall, Grange-over-Sands on 30th August 2025.
Joe Davies – Founder and Artistic Director of Cumbria Opera expressed his gratitude for the help and support received from the David Snowdon Trust saying “We’re truly grateful and really can’t thank you enough”.
Figaro – copyright Christopher Tribble
Joe was delighted with all the events and projects that formed the Festival, particularly their inaugural Young Artists’ Scheme and their second Young Composers’ Competition. They received large audiences throughout the Festival, with sold-out events at two of the Opera by Candlelight evenings, both the Porgy & Bess Reimagined shows, and the last night of The Marriage of Figaro.
Joe said “We were very proud with the reviews of the events, with Seen and Heard International writing of The Turn of the Screw: ‘How does a reviewer do justice to the difference between a performance that is excellent in every respect and one that he knows he will remember for the rest of his life? I pose the question because these performances (there were two) fell emphatically into the second category.’
ITV Border also did a brilliant feature of the Festival, which you can view here alongside pictures, reviews, and interviews from the Festival: https://www.cumbriaoperagroup.com/2025operafestival