The Story of West London Opera
The First Twenty Five Years – 1961-1986
Anthony Underwood, Founder (extract from the Carmen programme, 1986)
Twenty five years is a big chunk of anyone’s life and when I started West London Opera in 1961 I had not idea that it was going to last that long. By now I must have conducted well over 100 stage performances, not to mention numerous Concert Versions and concerts.
After the first production, RIGOLETTO, I arranged what I called a workshop of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO. The workshop idea was attractive because it enabled us to play operas that we could never hope to perform on stage for various reasons. Among those workshops we did FIDELIO, DER MOND, THE FLYING DUTCHMAN and HUGH THE DROVER in those early years.
Our next production was BARTERED BRIDE, but we still had no permanent home; then in 1964 we came to Ealing Town Hall with LA TRAVIATA and we have been here ever since.
The next opera, IL SERAGLIO, was chosen for a particular singer, the Australian, Diana Munn. Diana sang in the next one as well, IL TROVATORE, with the Ealing tenor Alex Hood. This was followed b one of my beloved Mozart operas, DON GIOVANNI.
The following year we embarked on another Mozart gem, COSI FAN TUTTE and in 1968 we became an Evening Class and for the first time employed a professional producer and we moved into a new era with NABUCCO. Now of course we had a large chorus to consider, so the works from then on have tended to be large chorus operas. Mozart operas have been relegated to Concert Versions. Many members of the chorus have been with us for years now. Their prowess as vocalists, actors and even dancers has grown through experience, as a string of the world’ greatest operas has flowed from Ealing Town Hall to delight the audiences. You can read the list of our productions and very impressive it is too.
How do we choose the operas? Well, sometimes they are chosen for a particular singer, sometimes they are chosen by the committee and sometimes they are chosen by me for various reasons! We are of course repeating works now because there are only so many operas that are suitable for a largely amateur group such as ours.
The orchestra has always been a source of great interest to people because, unlike most groups, we have our own largely amateur orchestra which I formed at the same time as I founded WLO. It has bound the group together in a way that nothing else would have done and although, now, the passing years are taking their toll and new faces are appearing, the orchestra is still a unique feature of the organisation.
Many people have told me how to run the group over the years but in the end our friendship and group identity have proved the lasting quality which has ensured our continued existence. We have made mistakes and miscalculations but we have never pulled a show off in 25 years which is no mean achievement; and I am very proud to be the founder and musical director of this splendid bunch of people we call West London Opera.
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Ann Woolley (eldest daughter)
The year West London Opera started I was 7 years old; although I do not recall very much about the first productions I do remember the first performance of LA TRAVIATA in 1964. Dad used to rehearse the principals at our home, and I would sit in our front room following the music in my score. LA TRAVIATA is still my favourite opera. West London Opera was part of our family for many years - helping backstage, Mum making costumes, painting cocoa tins to make orchestral lights (not allowed now because of health & safety!), numbering the tickets, selling programmes and ice creams at the performances and of course singing in the chorus.
The Next 25 Years
The opera group continued to flourish under Tony’s baton, although following two strokes he had to give up conducting and Gary Peacock took over as Musical Director in 2003. In 2001 West London Opera performed CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA and I PAGLIACCI at the Questors Theatre for the first time, and the Questors has continued to host productions ever since. That year the group celebrated its 40th anniversary with a Ruby Dinner. Although Tony was no longer able to conduct for long periods of time, he still attended rehearsals whenever he could and the productions until his death in 2005.
West London Opera has continued to flourish mainly due to Tony's second wife Sheila taking up the reins and constantly pushing the group forwards and now in its 50th year, the group will be performing THE MERRY WIDOW for the first time in May. Although Tony's daughers did not have an immediate musical involvement in the opera group, his eldest daughter Ann maintains the website and has taken the role of "distance" auditions secretary, his youngest daughter Helen has designed this website, and his grand-daughter Vikkie has taken a degree involving film and theatre studies and may get more involved in the future!