# Intimate Opera Company

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{{Short description|English opera company}}
The '''Intimate Opera Company''' was an English [opera](/source/opera) company based in [London](/source/London) which specialized in performances of [chamber opera](/source/chamber_opera)s. Founded in 1930 by British baritone and [impresario](/source/impresario) [Frederick Woodhouse](/source/Frederick_Woodhouse), the company was established with the professed aim of reviving forgotten chamber operas of the past. Most of the company's productions were produced on a smaller scale, using only piano accompaniment, costumes, minimal sets, and no props.<ref name="State">{{cite book|title=State of Opera: An Intimate New History of the State Opera of South Australia|author=Elizabeth Silsbury|publisher=[Wakefield Press](/source/Wakefield_Press_(Australia))|page=8}}</ref>

The company staged its first opera in 1930, [Thomas Arne](/source/Thomas_Arne)'s ''[Thomas and Sally](/source/Thomas_and_Sally)'', at a small hall in [Tooting](/source/Tooting). The company later took that production, along with a dozen other operas, across the Atlantic to [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre)'s [Little Theatre](/source/Helen_Hayes_Theatre) in 1938.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=20508|title=The London Intimate Opera Company|work=IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information}}</ref> In 1936 the company staged the world premiere of [Ralph Vaughan Williams](/source/Ralph_Vaughan_Williams)' ''[The Poisoned Kiss](/source/The_Poisoned_Kiss)'' at the [Cambridge Arts Theatre](/source/Cambridge_Arts_Theatre), conducted by [Cyril Rootham](/source/Cyril_Rootham). In 1952 conductor and composer [Antony Hopkins](/source/Antony_Hopkins) succeeded Woodhouse as the company's Artistic Director.<ref name=haddon90/> Under his leadership, the company presented several more new operas, including performing the world premiere of Hopkins' opera ''Three's Company'' at the [Guildhall School of Music](/source/Guildhall_School_of_Music) on 21 November 1953.<ref name=haddon90>{{cite book|title=Making Music in Britain: Interviews with Those Behind the Notes|author= Elizabeth Haddon | year=2006|page=90|publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company}}</ref> In 1963 Stephen Manton replaced Hopkins as artistic director, though Hopkins remained as a director and music adviser of the company.<ref>{{cite journal| title=Coming Events at Home|journal=Opera|issue=November 1963|page=39| url =http://opera.archive.netcopy.co.uk/article/november-1963/39/coming-events-at-home| access-date = 29 June 2014 }}</ref>

==Recordings==
*[Henry Purcell](/source/Henry_Purcell) and [Thomas Arne](/source/Thomas_Arne): ''Masque from Timon of Athens'', [Decca Records](/source/Decca_Records), 1958<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFUfAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Intimate+Opera+Company%22+%22Frederick+Woodhouse%22|title=Masque from Timon of Athens| work=American Record Guide|year=1958|page=674}}</ref>

==References==
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Category:Defunct opera companies in London
Category:1930 establishments in England
Category:Performing groups established in 1930

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Intimate Opera Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimate_Opera_Company) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimate_Opera_Company?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.