“It’s not unheard for leading cultural practitioners to take their art form by the scruff of the neck and shake it into a modern context, but it’s rare. More often, groups of actors / singers / writers / dancers / musicians will gather in a pub, complain about their lot, vow to change, and in the cold light of day prefer to stick with job security. OperaGlass Works, however, is very likely to change the way we appreciate opera forever, with a philosophy that might well adapt to theatre and other performance. And it has been created not by a group of callow hopefuls, but a team of senior practitioners in the midst of successful careers.”
Arts Industry
The Turn of the Screw
Illustration by Georgina von Etzdorf
The Rake's Progress
Illustration by Georgina von Etzdorf
Our Story
Selina Cadell and Eliza Thompson are the founders of OperaGlass Works.
We first met on a production of The Way of the World at Wilton’s Music Hall. This production was entirely generated by actors, designers, musicians and friends. We had no money, it worked from the ground up, with everyone putting their hands back in the paint pot. Looking back, this collaborative project was the template for OGW.
Years later, Selina worked on scenes from The Rake’s Progress with Rob Murray in a workshop at the National Theatre Studio. Selina and Eliza then worked together on another play and discussed the idea of an opera. Could we create an environment to produce excellent opera for less money? Soon afterwards, we worked with Laurence Cummings who thought it sounded like a great idea and somehow one thing led to another.
The progress of OperaGlass Works had begun.
Selina Cadell and Eliza ThompsonPhotograph by Patrick Cadell
Selina Cadell
Acting credits include: TV: Doc Martin, Poirot, Midsomer Murders, Love Nina, Spooks, The Carer, The Lady Vanishes. Theatre: Humble Boy, A Monster Calls, The Dresser, People, The Habit of Art, Stanley, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Cherry Orchard and Twelfth Night. Directing credits include: Way of the World (Wilton’s), The Rivals (Arcola), Arianna in Creta (Britten Theatre), Love for Love (RSC), The Double Dealer (OT, Richmond). Selina was Head of Drama at the National Opera Studio for over 20 years and works regularly at the ROH and ENO. She works in the corporate sector teaching public speaking and communication skills. Selina is often employed in the film world as a coach.
Eliza Thompson
Works in various aspects of music for film, TV and theatre. For many years worked with George Fenton, and Music Supervisor credits included: The Madness of King George, The Crucible, Dangerous Liaisons, Shadowlands, The Woodlanders, Groundhog Day. TV included: 102 Boulevard Haussmann. Theatre included: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show (Euro Disney). As a freelance Music Consultant, film credits include: Othello, The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, Fade to Black, Dorian Gray and St Trinian's 1 and 2. Theatre: Anna Christie (Young Vic). As composer, Eliza has co-written music for TV and radio documentaries. She composed and arranged the music for Selina’s productions of Way of the World (Wilton’s), The Rivals (Arcola), Love for Love (RSC), The Double Dealer (OT, Richmond) and was Assistant Director on Arianna in Creta (Britten Theatre).