Children's opera based on Old Testament makes debut

Opera by children for children made its debut in the West End last night in a production inspired and performed by inner-city youngsters.

The London Coliseum, home to English National Opera, has been taken over by a cast of children performing in The Early Earth Operas, a production of three new one-act operas inspired by Old Testament stories. Tonight is the second and last performance by 320 children aged nine to 13. A total of 850 children from 10 inner London schools and multicultural backgrounds have collaborated in the three-year project to create the opera run by Baylis, ENO's education programme.