BRINGS SEASONAL SOUNDS FOR ALL

Opera North is unpacking the sleigh bells and carol sheets to bring the sounds of Christmas back to Yorkshire, as families and friends are reunited and there’s a chance to celebrate with music and singing in person once again.

The Kirklees season continues on 21 December, with a double bill of favourite Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler animations for all the family, shown on the big screen at Huddersfield Town Hall with the full Orchestra of Opera North performing the soundtracks live.

If the tribulations of 2021 have left you anticipating the New Year a little more eagerly than usual, the Orchestra will be on hand for some traditional waltzes, marches, polkas and song in Viennese Whirl, at Huddersfield Town Hall on 30 December and Hull City Hall on 31 December.

One of Leeds’ most atmospheric, intimate venues, the Howard Assembly Room comes into its own at Christmas, with the Victorian vaulted space candlelit and decked out for the season. After two years of closure for Opera North’s redevelopment, the hoardings have been removed to reveal a fully accessible venue with a beautiful new atrium, bars – and an expanded programme of seasonal events as imaginatively curated as ever.

On 11 December the Howard Assembly Room’s Christmas Concert returns, with performances at 5.30pm (limited availability) and 7.45pm offering festive sounds from a hand-picked ensemble, including excerpts from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Britten’s Festival of Carols, as well as folk carols from around the world.

For younger audiences, Tom Hanks narrates the reawakening of a young boy’s belief in Santa Claus via a runaway train ride in The Polar Express, with Christmassy crafts and colouring-in before the screening on 19 December.

School-aged musicians can take their instrumental skills to the next level during the holidays with a Winter Orchestra Academy, running from Monday 20 – Wednesday 22 December at Opera North’s brand-new education facilities in the Howard Opera Centre, Leeds.

Limited places are available, but there will be a chance for everyone to see the results of their hard work at a free concert of festive music, bringing the young players together with members of the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North in Leeds Corn Exchange from 3.45pm on 22 December.

To book tickets for any of the events in Opera North’s festive programme  visit operanorth.co.uk.

The Howard Assembly Rooms pictured above. Photo by Tom Arber