The Pendle Witch Opera – A Story of Labour and Love to bring this infamous Lancashire story to life.
Outreach Opera are delighted to announce that they are commissioning a brand new Lancashire opera.
Audiences are invited to immerse themselves in the famous tale of the Pendle Witches through a remarkable opera crafted by the talented composer, Ben Crick. This haunting narrative unfolds during the tumultuous early 17th century when fear and suspicion ran rampant, resulting in the brutal persecution of an innocent group of individuals.
This new opera endeavours to vividly resurrect the stories of those who faced trial and execution. Outreach Opera will intricately weave together the narrative and the stunning landscape, in this heart-wrenching tale of a grave miscarriage of justice.
Throughout the 2023/24 season, Outreach Opera embarked on a mission to raise £15,000 to realise this production.
The fundraising efforts began in October 2023 when co-founders Georgina Rosanna Crowe and Helen Latham embarked on a 51 mile journey on foot, which mirrored that of the witches themselves in 1612. Named The Lancashire Witches Way, this walk stretches from Barrowford to Lancaster Castle traversing the villages of Pendle and the desolate yet breathtaking Forest of Bowland. As they journeyed, Outreach Opera connected with individuals who offered insights into the trials of witches, all while embracing the stark beauty of Lancashire’s moorlands.
With all of our efforts and from the generous donations from our supporters, we reached our £15,000 target in the Autumn of 2024 and so writing for the opera could begin.
A short retreat into the hills of Pendle in January 2025 brought about the bones of our opera story which we wanted to tell, and in the bitterly cold weather of February 2025, we ventured up to North Yorkshire to work with Ben Crick to begin writing our opera.
Act 1 of the opera was completed in the Spring of 2026. The opera is now in its Research and Development phase with a planned recording of Act 1 in January 2027.
This opera is a true Lancashire community effort, funded by the people who call Lancashire home and performed by our dedicated Lancashire-based opera company. We invite you to be a part of this epic chapter in the Outreach Opera story by contributing any donation you can.
Your support will play a vital role in bringing this compelling tale to life, and we are deeply grateful for any contributions that can help us achieve our artistic vision
Georgina and Helen would like to thank you all in advance for your help and support.
For more information:
Ben Crick – https://www.bencrickmusic.com/