“There were moments when the whole performance seemed to transcend itself and the lack of any theatrical setting ceased to matter” – Andrew Clements, **** The Guardian, ‘Siegfried’ 2017
Saffron Opera Group (Music Director Michael Thorne) was established in 2014 to give concert performances of complete Operas and Music Dramas in Saffron Hall at affordable prices.
Saffron Hall has world class acoustics and the ability to accommodate the largest orchestras. This allows us to do justice to the composers’ original scorings in a way only the largest international opera houses can manage.
We cast soloists with existing national and international reputations together with promising young artists. They, and the Saffron Opera Group Orchestra, have established a growing reputation for high quality performances, particularly in Wagner’s Ring Cycle, which we presented in 2016/17.
The Saffron Opera Group Chorus is drawn largely from the many Choral Groups in the Saffron Walden/Cambridge area but is open to all competent singers.
“….with this production of Götterdämmerung we have seen the Saffron Opera Group’s own dawn through to the era now occupied by the mainstream Wagner-capable companies” – Roger Lee – Wagner News on Götterdämmerung; 2017
“….it is a tribute to the determined vision, passion and commitment of all concerned in Saffron Opera Group, at every level, that such a fine Ring Cycle has been produced, outside London, to widespread acclaim in Wagnerian circles” – Charlotte Valori – Operissimawhispers on the whole Ring Cycle. 2016/17
“It was also a performance that triggered the Ring Cycle’s drama with considerable panache, building on an incandescent first act” – Peter Reed – Opera Magazine on Die Walküre; 2016
“I cannot remember ever attending a better concert performance of an opera” – Jim Pritchard – Seen & Heard International on Das Rheingold; 2016
“This was quite an event. The Saffron Opera Group, now in its second year, put on a concert performance of Stravinsky’s biggest work, with an excellent all-round cast, a decent local chorus and orchestra, and Michael Thorne conducting” – Michael Tanner, Opera Magazine on The Rake’s Progress 2015
“Michael Thorne proved himself totally ‘at one’ with the expansive spirit, geniality and dramatic architecture of the work … Saffron Opera Group’s Die Meistersinger was something I felt lucky to have been present to hear and will never forget” – Jim Pritchard Seen and Heard International on Die Meistersinger 2014