The Little Sweep

The Chorister School, Durham, and The Miranda Wright Singers present 'The Little Sweep - Let’s Make an Opera' by Benjamin Britten.

Benjamin Britten’s The Little Sweep – Let’s Make an Opera was written to involve young people in opera. It tells the story of Sammy, a chimney sweep’s boy, who has never been up a chimney; he is terrified. The nursery maid, Rowan, and the children of Iken Hall rescue Sammy and hide him from his cruel master. They hatch a plot to send him home to his parents…

The first performance of The Little Sweep was in June 1949 at the Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh (Suffolk). Britten wrote this opera for solo children and adult opera singers. Our performance will be presented by pupils from The Chorister School at Durham Cathedral, who are joined in the adult roles by members of the Miranda Wright Singers, a group of talented young singers from the North East who are training towards careers in classical singing.

The Miranda Wright Singers staged Tell Me the Truth about Love at The Witham in 2014, a cabaret style performance with art song and poetry. The programme was The Guardian’s “cultural pick of the week” for the North.

Miranda Wright, who directed Tell Me the Truth about Love and will direct The Little Sweep, is the singing teacher at The Chorister School where she teaches the Cathedral Choristers, along with members of the Galilee Choir and other day pupils, as well as students at Durham and Newcastle Universities and local young singers.

The Little Sweep will be a fully staged production, accompanied by David Ratnanayagam, Assistant Director of Music at The Chorister School, and musically coordinated by James Randle, Director of Music at The Chorister School, and Miranda Wright.