Opera premiered by 100 Shropshire schoolchildren nearly 30 years ago released on CD

The brainchild of Shropshire County Council’s Arts Education Department, ‘The Curse of Christopher Columbus’ started life in 1992 as an end of term works experience project for arts students in the county. Staged in just a fortnight, it was performed in Shrewsbury, Telford, Oswestry and Bridgnorth as part of the 500th anniversary commemorations of Columbus’s voyage to America.

The storyline follows Columbus across the Atlantic and features singing Frigate Birds, Arawak Dancers and an unrequited love story between the explorer and Queen Isabella.

After the final performance, it was presumed the opera would not see the light of day for another 500 years, but a twist of fate, and the intervention of a private benefactor, has led to the recording of the work by some of the best singers and musicians in the land.

The music was composed by the BBC’s Carlo Martelli, with a libretto written by Shrewsbury broadcaster and author Chris Eldon Lee.

“Carlo is in his 80s now and an old friend wanted to ensure all his works were recorded before it was too late”, said Chris.

“The recording of ‘The Curse of Christopher Columbus’ after all this time came as a complete surprise to me. I attended the recording session in Islington and was absolutely blown away by the performance.

"At a tea break, I asked one of the 30 musicians where they’d come from and he explained they usually played for the Royal Ballet but the dancers were currently in Japan and so they had a week off. Many of the 16 singers are based at Opera North in Leeds. It has been absolutely marvellous to hear the opera again after all these years, performed so professionally.”

The original performers came from senior schools all over Shropshire and included the future BBC Young Musician of the Year, Adrian Spillett. The CD has been released on the Carma Label.