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
The Long Christmas Dinner (opera) The Long Christmas Dinner (opera) The Long Christmas Dinner (German: "Das Lange Weihnachtsmahl") is an opera in one act by Paul Hindemith, with an English libretto by Thornton Wilder based on his play of the same name. Wilder collaborated with the composer in order to make the text work effectively with the music. It was arranged for chamber orchestra and used a harpsichord. It was first performed in the original English on 13 March 1963, at the Juilliard School of Music, New York under the direction of the composer. A digital recording of the work on the Wergo label was