{"id":956649,"date":"2026-05-13T08:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T08:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/956649\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T08:29:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T08:29:19","slug":"leeds-youth-opera-celebrating-the-past-and-forging-a-future-in-armley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/956649\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeds Youth Opera – Celebrating the past and forging a future in Armley"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Noelle Williamson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leeds Youth Opera (LYO) has always been a place for young people to develop not only a love for singing, but also solid stage skills and the ability to connect with a wide range of audiences. <\/p>\n

It brought classic operas and thought-provoking modern musicals to new audiences for over 50 years, until Covid changed the cultural landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Facing down the existential challenge which Covid posed for many arts organisations, LYO made bold choices.<\/p>\n

It appointed brilliant artistic and musical directors Anita Adams and Se\u00e0n Gleeson with a brief to move away from full-scale operatic productions and take a different approach to secure the immediate future. They remain committed to building back up to those big productions in due course.<\/p>\n

Working with a small new cohort of young people at Interplay Theatre in Armley, Anita and Se\u00e0n focused on building confidence and wellbeing, celebrating all music, and helping LYO to thrive again. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Productions of \u2018Shackleton the Musical\u2019 and \u2018Children of Eden\u2019 built momentum and brought new members. Last year\u2019s glorious \u2018Seussical the Musical\u2019 was built on incredible ensemble and solo performances, and a set constructed almost entirely from foam noodles!<\/p>\n

After an Innovation Award, and a review talking about \u2018confidence untainted by vanity\u2019, testified to bucketloads of talent and the establishment of a very special community, it\u2019s hardly surprising that the young people wanted a new name for their group, to capture what was going on now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Leeds Young Creatives\u2019, take a bow!<\/p>\n

And beside Leeds Young Creatives under the LYO umbrella, another exciting new group has recently opened: The Drama Division.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At The Drama Division, members can develop acting and character skills, learn vocal techniques and look forward to performing a full-scale play each year. <\/p>\n

The first few sessions have been fun, collaborative, wacky and thought-provoking by turns \u2013 a really enjoyable mix of round-robin chats and activities in which everyone is encouraged to think and do, every contribution is welcomed but nothing is forced, everyone has a really good time and, incidentally, those acting and character skills are given a warm-up.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

The Drama Division team \u201cis dedicated to supporting young theatre makers to find their voice in a welcoming, safe space that celebrates individuality and encourages collaboration.\u201d Watching these early sessions, you could tell.\u00a0<\/p>\n