Mozart in Ditchling from Pop-up Opera

Spokeswoman Suzie Jacobs said: “2014 saw Pop-up Opera tour for three seasons, with over 60 performances at 42 different venues all over the UK and in Corfu. For Spring 2015, they’re coming back with Mozart’s comic opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) about a hero, Belmonte, and his servant, Pedrillo, attempting to rescue their lovers Konstanze and Blonde from an Ottoman harem.

“All kinds of high jinks and mishaps occur as they don disguises, make merry with the servants and sing an ode to Bacchus, god of wine, in an attempt to save their beloveds. The music contains some of Mozart’s most spectacular and virtuoso arias and is richly embroidered with his interpretation of Turkish music - an opulent and highly entertaining treat.”

Company director Clementine Lovell added: “The operas we have chosen for 2015 are full of fast-paced comedy and glorious music well-suited to the unique venues where we perform and to the cast and crew who bring them to life. The exotic harim of the Mozart original will be more of a hamam - a bathhouse rather than a whorehouse - and the torture is really an overly excessive routine of beauty treatments. The girls retreat to a spa, under the leadership of guru Pasha, but realise it’s not the relaxing get away they’d had in mind. The boys want their girls back, and pop up in the spa ready to create a plan of action to make the great escape.

“Pop-up Opera will be touring to various unusual and intimate venues across the country including the majestic Stoke Rochford Hall in Lincolnshire and a Grade I listed barn in Essex, where Anne of Cleeves kept hay for her deer. Plus, they will return to old favourites including the extra special Thames Tunnel Shaft.

“Pop-up Opera endeavours to make opera entertaining, without compromising quality – all operas are performed in their original language. Their intimate use of props, story-telling and interaction makes audience members feel as if they have been given a backstage pass. Pop-up’s operas are skillfully adapted to each individual venue, making every performance unique, while always maintaining the highest standards. The combination of amazing venues, along with an informal atmosphere and engaging productions, offers a greater connection to the singers and the music, something even seasoned opera-goers often miss.

“Summer 2015 will see the company present Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri with the formidable Isabella taking centre stage.”