Intimate in scale, mighty in mischief: Gianni Schicchi hits the road with OperaUpClose
Based at Mayflower Studios in Southampton, England, OperaUpClose has built a national reputation for chamber-scale opera that prioritises storytelling and innovation. Juliette Barber talks to Artistic Director and CEO Flora McIntosh as the company prepares to tour Gianni Schicchi across the UK
OperaUpClose’s strapline is “Intimate in scale. Mighty in impact”. What does that mean in practice, and how did the company come about?
OperaUpClose was founded out of a desire to make opera differently, creating opportunities for people to experience opera without feeling that it had to be a vast, intimidating affair. As the company has evolved, that idea has deepened into a belief that opera needs to exist at multiple scales, and that working on a smaller scale is not a reduction or compromise.
What we are very careful not to do is simply present cut-down versions of existing works. Scale, for us, is not about doing “less than” the original. It’s about rethinking how a piece works theatrically and musically, and making something that feels complete and purposeful in its own right.
How does that philosophy shape the way OperaUpClose develops its productions?
We start by looking at a piece and asking why it still matters. Often that’s a work from the operatic canon – something with strong recognition – but we’re also interested in how that can sit in dialogue with contemporary ideas and new writing. Even within our current strand of productions, which focuses on very well-known composers, the brief to our artists is deliberately open.
We say: here are the bones of the piece, but beyond that, you have real freedom. The result is something that feels fresh, and often includes what feels like entirely new writing, even though it’s deeply rooted in an established work. That tension between the familiar and the unexpected is really important to us.
How does that work when it comes to rights and source material?
It depends on the piece. Last year, with Vaughan Williams’s Riders to the Sea, we worked closely with the Vaughan Williams estate and were supported by the Vaughan Williams Foundation. Although the opera itself isn’t widely known, Vaughan Williams obviously is, and there was a real appetite to see the work reach more people.
By creating a chamber version and pairing it with a companion piece, we were able to offer a fuller evening and bring that music to new audiences. With older works that are out of copyright, there’s more freedom, but even then, our approach is always rooted in deep respect for the source material.
Can you give a sense of how OperaUpClose operates day to day?
We’re a very small organisation. There are six of us running the company on a day-to-day basis, and we work with a wide network of freelancers who are absolutely the lifeblood of the industry. We don’t have an in-house technical team, which allows us to stay light and flexible and put our resources directly into making the work.
We joined Arts Council England’s National Portfolio in 2023, which has been hugely important in enabling us to be part of a broader conversation about what opera can be, and to move away from the idea that there is only one valid way for opera to exist.
Artistically, a core part of our identity is our ensemble approach. All performers – the singers and instrumentalists – are in the room from day one. Everyone is off-book, in costume, and fully part of the action. The musicians are characters too: they might speak, sing or move in ways that go beyond traditional roles. That parity between players and singers is fundamental for us. In our rehearsal rooms, everyone is a musician – I’m quite militant about that.
Your own background is as a performer. How does that continue to shape the way you lead OperaUpClose?
I trained as an opera singer at the Royal Northern College of Music and spent many years working as a performer, alongside outreach and teaching. Teaching, in particular, was incredibly formative, and I probably learnt more from that than from anything else.
I still sing, and I think it’s important that I continue to lead as a performer. That’s perhaps less usual, but OperaUpClose is an organisation led by artists, and that really matters to me. I first worked with the company as a singer under its founder, Robin Norton-Hale, and over time we developed a strong artistic partnership. In the run-up to, and during, the pandemic, I became more involved in shaping the company’s artistic strategy.
Stepping into the role of Artistic Director and CEO was the steepest learning curve of my life. You have to recognise what skills transfer and also be very willing to listen, learn and build brilliant people around you.
Touring is central to OperaUpClose’s work. What does touring look like for the company now?
Our primary focus is still the UK, where we tour to studio theatres and smaller mid-scale venues, often creating productions with those spaces very specifically in mind. International touring is a fledgling but exciting part of our future. At the moment, that includes our OperaCocktail programme on Cunard Cruises, which has been a really joyful partnership, and early-stage collaborations with experimental music theatre companies in Europe.
Like everyone, we’re still navigating a post-pandemic landscape. There was a period where audiences felt unpredictable, but now there’s a real sense that people are seeking culturally sustaining, joyful experiences. For us, that means building long-term relationships with venues and communities, and growing trust over time.
This season you’re touring Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (or Where There’s a Will). Why was this the right piece for OperaUpClose?
Quite simply, because Gianni Schicchi is brilliant, and it can take it. It has extraordinary structure, razor-sharp comic timing and an energy that works beautifully in intimate spaces.
I approached Hannah Kumari, who was new to opera, and invited her to respond freely to the work. She came back with an idea that framed it as a contemporary whodunnit, drawing on the cultural shorthand of shows such as White Lotus and Knives Out, which immediately felt right. The bones of the story remain the same, but the perspective is fresh, and that allows the piece to speak directly to a modern audience.
How does performing Gianni Schicchi up close change the experience?
Comedy thrives on proximity. When you’re close to the performers, every glance, every pause, every bit of physical storytelling lands differently. Hannah’s staging leans into that, with a design that evokes gamesmanship and manipulation, almost like a modern Cluedo, while allowing sharp commentary on class and entitlement without ever feeling heavy-handed.
Musically, we’re very clear that this is not about pretending a chamber ensemble is an 80-piece orchestra. It’s a different soundworld, telling the story in a different way. The instrumentalists are fully integrated into the drama, learning to “speak” through their instruments, which creates something playful, theatrical and immediate.
Accessibility is a recurring theme in your work. How does that play out in this production?
From the start, accessibility is built into the design. We use creative captioning rather than traditional surtitles, integrating text into the set so audiences never have to step outside the action. The captions reflect character, tone and rhythm through font, colour and movement.
All our productions are in English. For me, that’s about speaking the language of your audience. I love hearing opera in its original language, but it shouldn’t be treated as inherently “correct”.
What does the tour look like in practical terms?
We are touring from Blackpool to Plymouth on a two-week run, focusing on key relationships with venues. We’re part of the first season at the newly refurbished The Arts Theatre Cambridge, and artsdepot is a vital London partner for us too.
Ticket prices top out at £26, and performances run at around 75 minutes without an interval. That’s a strategic choice as it lowers the barriers of both time and cost and makes it easier for people to say yes.
Looking ahead, what’s next for OperaUpClose?
OperaCocktail remains a core part of our touring offer and will continue to evolve. Next year the company will turn to Salome, with an extensive research and development phase beginning this spring. The work feels ripe for a radical rethink as it’s already a piece that’s in conflict with itself, and I’m really excited to start work on it.
Looking further ahead, OperaUpClose will produce and tour Flotsam in 2028, an adaptation of David Wiesner’s picture book of the same name by composer and librettist Dr Kerry Andrews. Developed in partnership with Half Moon Theatre and co-created with groups of very young children, the piece is designed for performance in both theatres and schools and will bring operatic storytelling into the heart of local communities.
Gianni Schicchi will be on tour throughout the UK from 5 to 21 March, for more information, visit operaupclose.com
