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Barefoot Opera
Barefoot Opera is creating a bold, emotionally charged production of Donizetti’s romantic tragedy – Lucia di Lammermoor, staged with the company’s inventive, collaborative spirit, for a 14-night tour from September 2025.
The score will be reimagined for the Barefoot Band, who bring together classical music and gypsy jazz instrumentation, and several of the cast will be multi-tasking, seamlessly moving between playing an instrument and singing on stage.
Recommended 13+. Contains scenes of mental health trauma that may be triggering, as well as notions of death and suicide
Introducing Lucia….
For those new to opera, Lucia di Lammermoor offers a powerful introduction – an intense, emotionally charged work fusing Gothic romanticism with psychological unravelling. Composed by Gaetano Donizetti and based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Bride of Lammermoor, the opera tells the tragic story of Lucia, a young woman caught between forbidden love and family obligation.
Her secret romance, forced betrothal, and eventual descent into madness unfold against a backdrop of hauntingly beautiful music. At the heart of the opera is Lucia’s iconic “mad scene” – a virtuosic display of vocal brilliance and dramatic depth. In this moment of psychological collapse, a soprano stands alone onstage, covered in blood, spinning out ethereal, impossibly high notes that seem to float from another realm. It is one of opera’s most unforgettable scenes, where grief, betrayal, and fragile sanity are laid bare through music that is both otherworldly and deeply human.
Whether you’re an opera veteran or a curious newcomer, this Barefoot Opera production invites you to experience Lucia di Lammermoor as you never have before: not as a historic artifact, but as a living, breathing work of art with enormous contemporary relevance. It’s edgy, gripping, and urgently alive.
Creative team
Increasingly known for uniting theatre, music and movement, Barefoot Opera’s new production offers an innovative interpretation of this classic work, brought to the stage by an inspiring creative team.
Director Rosie Kat, known for her highly physical performances exploring power imbalance in interpersonal and political drama, is working alongside designer Fenna de Jonge, known for her experimental, multi-layered approach to set and costume. As ever, the aim is to break away from traditional opera conventions to create dynamic theatre that truly connects with audiences.
Laurence Panter (Barefoot Opera’s Associate Musical Director), has reworked the score for the Barefoot Band (piano, double bass, saxophone and accordion), ensuring the music retains its emotional weight while gaining vibrancy, rawness and spontaneity. This transformation remains faithful to the soul of the score, infusing it with fresh textures that electrify the drama further.
Musical Director and Pianist – Laurence Panter
Lucy Mulgan – Double Bass
Lydia Kenny – Saxophone
Alistair Sutherland – Accordion
The Cast
Driven by a bold vision to create fresh opportunities for singers and performers, this Barefoot Opera production shines a spotlight on a new wave of operatic talent. These emerging artists blend technical mastery with raw, emotional power, and they share the stage with seasoned professionals to create a truly electrifying experience.
Beren Fidan, who captivated audiences in last year’s celebrated La Traviata, returns to lead as Lucia.
Baritone Phil Smith with a track-record from Royal Opera and Ballet, Welsh National Opera, and BBC Radio 3 broadcasts, sings Lucia’s controlling brother, Enrico.
Adding a dynamic edge to the cast, tenor Jack Dolan (Edgardo, Lucia’s true love) infuses the production with the soulful energy of his rock and blues background, while tenor Eamonn Walsh (Arturo, the man Lucia is forced to marry) brings with him warmth, charisma, and vocal brilliance. The entire ensemble promises both artistic depth and vibrant chemistry.
The cast approach Lucia di Lammermoor with both reverence and risk, bringing to life the psychological complexity and volatility that lie beneath the bel canto elegance. Every aria and ensemble is rendered not just with precision, but with a deep intensity that reflects the opera’s dark heart.
Lucia – Beren Fidan
Edgardo – Jack Dolan
Edgardo – Davide Basso
Enrico – Philip Smith
Raimondo – Alistair Sutherland
Arturo – Eamonn Walsh
Normanno – Laurence Panter
Partners and collaborators
This year, the Barefoot Opera team is delighted to collaborate with Soundcastle, a Hastings-based charity that highlights creative music-making in promoting positive mental health – perhaps an especially relevant focus for the Lucia project: the entire team and cast will be taking part in mental health awareness training. The team is also continuing its outreach work, including with long-term partner Seaview, which supports society’s most marginalised.
Working with choirs and local people
At Barefoot Opera, inclusivity is at the heart of everything we do – on stage and off. Opera should be for everyone, not just to watch, but to experience and take part in! We are delighted to work alongside FHODS and their members for this performance in our tour.
Through our vibrant outreach work, we open the door to opera and singing for those who may never have encountered the artform before. Across our tour, many performances feature local choirs, school groups, and community singers who join the professional cast on stage. Singing side by side, they create a powerful, deeply human sound that resonates far beyond the theatre – immediate, emotional, and unforgettable.
Tour/ticket info
This year is Barefoot Opera’s biggest tour yet.
With our mission to bring opera to new audiences, our tour will take us across East Sussex and Kent, introducing our work to new audiences, as well as to the Grimeborn Festival in London.
Funders and supporters
With thanks to ACE (Arts Council of England), as well as Magdalen and Lasher, for their continued support.
Barefoot Opera pioneers a transformative approach to opera by uniting theatre, singing, and movement dance to inspire collaborative storytelling – empowering both emerging and established artists, redefining the art form through innovation, inclusivity, and a vibrant community ethos.
Barefoot Opera, a registered charity, pioneers a transformative approach to opera by uniting theatre, singing and movement to inspire collaborative story-telling – inspiring both emerging and established artists, redefining the art form through innovation, inclusivity and a vibrant community ethos.
At Barefoot Opera, we do things a little differently – and that’s exactly the point. We collaborate, experiment and innovate, aiming to create productions that push boundaries and redefine operative conventions. We bring together thrilling young professional singers at the start of their careers, full of energy and fearless emotion, and place them shoulder to shoulder with people from choirs and schools, creating a rich, human sound that is as immediate as it is moving.
Our productions don’t hide behind velvet curtains or full orchestras – we work with a live band right on stage, giving the music a punchy, intimate feel that draws the audience in from the first note. Audiences often tell us they feel the power of the music more deeply because they’re right there with the performers, close enough to see every breath, every tear, every triumph. It’s opera with no safety net—vibrant, raw, and real.
Tickets
Standard – £20
Concessions (Under 18s and over 65s) – £18