The UK music conservatoires excel in training and encouraging young singers and other musicians of exceptional talent who then require the next step up with their careers. A small and flexible company such as ours can hone and refine young talents and help bring these singers to greater public attention and critical acclaim. In addition the operatic repertoire of the larger companies tends to be driven by traditional tastes: we can take risks and offer alternatives, thus educating the public.

We will present staged opera performances which give emerging singers new experiences and exposure and enable them to work alongside more established practitioners. Our fourth biennial Young Singers' Competition (aimed at ages 21-32) provides a different type of public exposure and is exceptionally valuable in encouraging professional presentation skills and programme-building. Our rare operatic repertory fills a big hole in the public's musical experiences.