Thelma Opera

The world premiere of the opera Thelma, is one of the main highlights of the year of celebration of the life of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Britain’s black composer who died aged 37 in 1912.

The opera is being performed by Surrey Opera at Croydon Fairfield Halls as part of the Croydon Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Festival.

Thelma is romantic opera on the grandest scale, and will be treated in that way: a full dress performance, with the chorus of Surrey Opera, professional orchestra and hand-picked professional principals.

Jonathan Butcher, says: “Surrey Opera are absolutely thrilled to be able to stage the long-awaited World Premiere of what can justly be described as a masterpiece. The composer, dead at 37, would never have heard this work in its entirety. We are honoured to be able at last to fulfil his intentions. The opera is rich in melody and inventive orchestral writing, and its plot, based around a Norse saga, is equally absorbing. You will not be disappointed!”

‘Thelma, a poetical setting of a Norse legend, is a thrilling saga of deceit, magic, retribution and the triumph of love over evil. With a score rich in melody and musical invention, plus Coleridge-Taylor’s brilliant trademark orchestrations, Thelma might indeed supersede Hiawatha in popularity! The opera was the result of three years’ intense composition, but did not reach the stage, most probably due to Coleridge-Taylor’s untimely death at the age of 37.’

Tickets (£18-£25) are on sale now from 020 688 9291, or the Ashcroft Box Office, on-line at www.fairfieldhalls.co.uk.