The Little Drummer Boy

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, a new children's opera The Drummer Boy of Waterloo by Meg Nicoll and David Stoll is being premiered in Aldeburgh at the Jubilee Hall on 7 November 2015 (3pm and 6pm) with a further performance on 8 November 2015 at 3pm. Performances are being given by Jubilee Opera, the Aldeburgh-based children's opera founded in 1987. Their 2014 production was Brundibar (see my review of the London version of this production)

The conductor is Lee Reynolds and the production is directed by Lucy Bradley, designed by Claire Lyth with lighting by Ian Scott.

Young drummer boys were employed at Waterloo to give signals to troops on the field and the opera picks tells the story of a young orphan forced to work in a northern textile mill and how he eventually finds himself on the battle field, the story being told from the children's point of view. Further information from the Jubilee Opera website.