Impact

Over the years, CYO has touched the lives of hundreds of children and young people. We have built up evidence of the impact that our work has on their:

  • Self confidence and self belief
  • Social relationships and sense of belonging
  • Sense of ownership of the arts
  • Development as artists for those with an interest in a career in the arts
  • Acquisition of transferrable skills
  • Growth of interest in opera

For our audiences too, we open up a new world, showing that opera can be enjoyable, moving and exciting for all ages and that young people are capable of the highest quality performance and production.

Testimonials

Participants

CYO has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Thank you so much for putting in so much effort into our digital workshops. I always looked forward to them and was sad to see them go. The mentor sessions were wonderful, managing to encourage friendships with a lot of people I had never met and give me a sense of real achievement at the culmination of our opera. I can’t wait to write another opera!

The digital workshops were so informative and taught me many fascinating things about opera! I wouldn’t have missed them for anything!

I don’t want the show to be over. CYO feels like home.

Singing with CYO has given me so much more confidence, not just in performing but in everything!

I loved the style of singing and the friendships and close bonds formed. I can’t believe the expertise of the CYO staff and all that they have taught me.

Thank you for trusting my child and putting in so much effort to her to help her work through her dyslexia and ADHD. CYO has become far more than an arts group for her. It has been a place where she was accepted for herself, where she felt safe. The relationships and friendships she has formed have meant at least as much to her as the development of her performance ability.

I received singing lessons and training through CYO which helped me to get a place on a highly competitive young singers’ training scheme, and introduced me to the idea of pursuing a professional career in singing – something I had never considered previously.  The time I spent singing with CYO taught me not just about professionalism and rehearsal technique: skills which have been invaluable as I begin to develop my singing career. Through CYO I met people who would become friends and colleagues, many of whom I have gone on to develop musical projects with.

I enjoyed making props and then seeing what I had made in the performance, it was satisfying seeing how what I did added to it.

I never thought about opera at all till one of my friends persuaded me to join the CYO production team. I ended up stage managing two shows. This has been an important part of what gave me the confidence to apply to Oxford and do things which nobody in my family had done before.

I would just like to feed back that for a person with autism, the Youth Opera experience has provided my child with many building blocks for their other activities. It has been brilliant and the conductor of the para-orchestra who has been with them in rehearsals this week said it is evident how much it has helped them.

I wanted to tell you that I’ve gone on to do professional opera directing, which very much started from the Magic Flute all those years ago, so thank you so much for that!! Really ignited the bug in me.

I will never forget singing in Tosca – never ever!

Audience

I never knew opera could be such fun!

Daphnis and Chloe is great. The first time at the opera for us, and hopefully not the last.

I arrived at the performance after work and admit to being a reluctant member of the audience – but not for long. I was soon wide awake and enjoying every minute of it!

What a surprising evening! Truly superb and a delight to watch!

I went prepared to make patronising excuses: “not too bad for kids” and the like. In fact, this double bill from the Cambridge Youth Opera turned out to be positively good. Positively good full stop.

I’ve just seen the Cambridge Youth Opera perform The Magic Flute and was blown away by the standard of the performance. How thrilling to see such talent. I am looking forward to their next performance. I had a wonderful evening.

Amahl was so beautiful. The whole evening was a delight. I am not ashamed to say I cried!

May I congratulate you and all participants to this impressive performance of Brundibár! What an artistic and convincing concept – and how well the children performed. Gaby Flatow, Hans Krása Stiftung

Congratulations and well done to everyone involved in Brundibár !!! Such amazing dedication, enthusiasm and energy shown by all front and backstage.

The acting and singing was wonderful, every word, every note was clearly heard. I wouldn’t have believed it possible with NO MICROPHONES!

What a triumph, we loved it . It’s wonderful to see the children shine on stage. They all, so obviously loved performing, and as a group they are so very encouraging and supportive of one another. Credit to you & your team.

I just wanted to say again what a great job you all did on Magic Flute. We were all hugely impressed by the singing, acting, staging–everything really. The beauty and the humour both came through so strongly. Quite amazing.

Amahl was just beautiful. So much depth from such young performers.