University College Opera The brainchild of the conductor Anthony Addison, (UCL's then Director of Music), University College Opera gave its first performance in 1951 with an all-student production of Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas", followed by Mozart's "Bastien und Bastienne". Even in its earliest years, the company's annual repertoire concentrated on rarely performed operas including: Nicolai's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (1952), Bizet's "Don Procopio" (1955) and Lortzing's "Der Wildschütz" (1958). In 1961, the company staged its first UK premiere, Moniuszko's "Halka". During its first 17 years, UCOpera's performances took place in the old gymnasium at University College. With the opening of the college's
Act One (Beggars Opera album) Act One (Beggars Opera album) Act One is the debut album of the Scottish progressive band Beggars Opera. Variously classified as symphonic rock, progressive rock or proto-progressive rock, Beggars Opera's debut album has been compared to (and sometimes described as "derivative of") works by The Nice and Deep Purple MK I. It was published by Vertigo (which had at the time introduced its legendary "swirl" label) in 1970 and features cover art by the renowned surrealist photographer and artist Marcus Keef (the same that created the covers for Black Sabbath's first three albums). In the same year the band also