In 2027, Opera Holland Park will celebrate the 15th year of its renowned Young Artists Scheme with an expansion of the YA programme, offering two groups of emerging artists the opportunity to perform as party of the company’s summer season.
For the first time, OHP will present two Young Artists productions in a single season: The Pirates of Penzance and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. Our ability to produce a second production has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Laidlaw Opera Trust, enabling us to double the number of opportunities available to young singers, directors, conductors and répétiteurs.
Kate Roberts, CEO of Laidlaw Opera Trust, said: “At the Laidlaw Opera Trust, we believe investing in young artists is an investment in the future of opera. These opportunities can be genuinely life-changing, giving emerging singers and creatives the experience, confidence and platform they need to build sustainable careers. The opportunity for young artists to perform main roles to a paying audience with a full orchestra is truly transformational and we are delighted to support Opera Holland Park in doubling its Young Artists programme. So many Opera Holland Park Young Artists have gone on to establish hugely successful careers and the doubling of this programme creates a stronger pipeline for the next generation of talent.”
Launched in 2012, with the generous financial support of the late Christine Collins, Opera Holland Park’s Young Artists Scheme was created to open doors into the profession for emerging operatic talent. Fifteen years on, the program has supported the careers of 140 singers and 15 creatives, providing an important bridge between training and professional life.
The scheme is distinctive in the UK, offering Young Artists the chance to work within a professional opera company, rehearsing alongside the principal cast before developing their own production for performance on Opera Holland Park’s main stage to a paying audience. Participants are paid for their work and supported to perform at the highest professional level.
The expansion of the Young Artists Scheme within OHP’s 2027 season and the 15th year milestone of the scheme, reflects Opera Holland Park’s long-standing commitment not only to discovering new talent, but to building lasting relationships with artists as their careers develop. In the 2026 season alone, the company welcomed back 24 former Young Artists to work and perform across the season.
Many alumni have gone on to return to Opera Holland Park’s main stage as members of casts and creative teams, while also building successful careers on stages in the UK and internationally. They include Matthew Kofi Waldren, Charlotte Corderoy, Alison Langer, Cecilia Stinton, Blaise Malaba, Thomas Mole, Julien Van Mellaerts and Elizabeth Karani.
The success of the scheme has been recognised across the industry. Critics, agents and managers are invited to Young Artists performances, while productions of Eugene Onegin, Hansel and Gretel and The Barber of Seville sold out their ‘YA’ performances in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively, Throughout its 15-year history, the Young Artists Scheme has also been sustained by the generosity of Opera Holland Park’s individual supporters, whose donations have helped the company continue to invest in and create opportunities for emerging artists.
Opera Holland Park would like to express its sincere thanks to all those who have supported the scheme over the years, and to the Laidlaw Opera Trust for its generous support of this milestone year, helping us to create twice as many opportunities for the next generation of operatic talent.
James Clutton, CEO and Director of Opera said, “Our Young Artists scheme has long been the Gold Standard of YA programmes in this country. With unmatched support and opportunities, over the last 14 years, we have been able to invest and put trust in singers, directors, conductors and repetiteurs to theextent that in 2026, we had 24 alumni of the scheme in senior creative positions and principal cast roles.
With the amazing support of Laidlaw Opera Trust, this year we are able to run a second programme in the same season. To give these opportunities to twice the amount of young professionals at this critical point in their career is an incredible thing that we are very proud of and why we are so grateful to everyone at LOT”
