From Couch to Chorus: the Festive Edition

Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor

Visit now

From Couch to Chorus

11 November-14 December 2020

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

couch to chorus
Opera North
Book now

At a time where we might find it hard to feel connected and struggle to find that usually so abundant Christmas spirit, singing can be the fire that keeps our minds and souls warm. Over the next few weeks, Opera North are bringing singers of all voice types and levels together, to learn operatic festive classics in their latest edition of Couch to Chorus.

enjoy opera with a deeper connection to the music

Weekly workshops for each voice type will be taking place over Zoom, with help on hand if you’re not sure where your voice sits. At the end of the course, all the voice types will come together to perform in an online concert singing alongside the chorus of Opera North. Some of the seasonal repertoire that will be featured includes, excerpts from Puccini’s winter hit La Bohème, the heavenly Evening Prayer from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel and Sullivan’s jovial The Marquis de Mincepie.

Sessions take place on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, check out the website for specific times as these differ depending on voice type. For more experienced singers there are new fast track sessions. These take place two evenings a week where singers of all voice types come together to sing through the pieces. All sessions are pay as you feel, with proceeds going towards funding Opera North’s amazing work both on the stage and in the community.

This festive edition of Couch to Chorus, was launched off the back of the highly successful summer series, where over 2000 people took part. When singing from the comfort of your own home, you can let go of those insecurities and inhibitions and let yourself enjoy opera with a deeper connection to the music, all whilst feeling connected to a community of singers.

 

Where to go near From Couch to Chorus: the Festive Edition

Manchester
Food hall
Kargo MKT

Mighty food hall in Salford Quays, with around twenty street food vendors, serving a huge range of cuisines.

Asap Coffee Interior/ Counter
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
ASAP Coffee

If you’re looking for quality coffee and a decadent brunch in a setting that nails the Northern Quarter brief, you’d struggle to do better than ASAP Coffee.

Interior of George St Chapel
Manchester
Event venue
George Street Chapel

This beautifully restored former Independent Methodist Chapel in the heart of Oldham is as much a creative hub as a heritage landmark.

Chinatown
Restaurant
Pho Cue

Family-run Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. Prepare to queue for Pho Cue.

Come to Swithens Farm for a great family day out in Leeds. Our farm has plenty to offer whatever age you are!Swithens Farm is a working farm. For many years now Ian and his wife Angela have built a following that they welcome in all year around. We now have a farm shop, café, playbarn and petting farm. When we first opened we only had the usual farm animals – cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and it was free entry. We now have llamas, alpacas, meerkats, rabbits, guinea pigs, donkeys and a pony.On the working farm, we breed our own cows, pigs and sheep and we sell the meat through the farm shop and the café. If you buy a sausage sandwich from the café the sausage will be from the butcher who has made the sausage by hand using our own pork. We also produce our own free-range eggs.
Leeds
Swithens Farm

Swithens Farm is a working farm. For many years now Ian and his wife Angela have built a following that they welcome in all year around.

Peak District
Restaurant
The Chequers Inn

The Chequers Inn is a 16th century, family-run, traditional country inn with an impressive dining space. The Peak District at its best.

Testbed Main Space
Leeds
Event venue
TESTBED

TESTBED is a newly renovated 10,000 sq foot event venue in Leeds that offers endless possibilities for creating unique and inspiring experiences.

Manchester
Restaurant
Salt & Pepper

Chinese inspired British food in the centre of Manchester, backed up by plenty of well-deserved local hype.

Morning Glory - Coffee Cup
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Morning Glory

Morning Glory positions itself as a grab-and-go spot, with just 12 seats inside serving coffee, bagels and sweet treats.

What's on: Activity

Bradford on Foot
Until
ActivityBradford
Bradford on Foot

Bradford on Foot is a rich collection of 25 themed walks and tours around 2025’s UK City of Culture and the surrounding wild.

Free entry
Elizabeth Gaskell's House
TourManchester
The Manchester Literary Tour

On the eve of Elizabeth Gaskell’s birthday, join Jonathan Schofield Tours for a stroll around the sites (and sights) of Manchester’s literary past.

From £20.00
Temple Newsam
Activity
Leeds Halloween

Join the ghosts and ghouls of Leeds and prepare your coats, hats, scarves and gloves for some chilling events across the city.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Hofesh Shechter - Theatre of Dreams at Lowry
Theatre in the North

Picks this month include bold visual art, wondrous opera and cinematic dance - plus a touch of ghostly storytelling for the Halloween season.

A white mattress is burning in a black rocky landscape.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries in the North are far from spooky this October - instead you'll find tactile sculptures, plant magic and curatorial experiments.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

It's busy month across the cinemas of the north as Halloween programming leads into two of the region's biggest film festivals.

Poet Helen Mort.
Literature Events in the North

One to add to your TBR pile, our latest round-up is a bumper edition and features some amazing events in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and beyond...

Music in the North

From New York’s experimental underground to the most exciting sounds coming from local scenes, we're lining up a noisy autumn of gigs.