Opera Scotland

Byre Opera

Byre Opera is the Music Centre's opera company, renamed in 2014 to reflect its new base in St Andrews' award-winning Byre Theatre. The company was formed by Michael Downes in 2008 as St Andrews Opera, to provide opportunities to gain experience of singing on stage and to offer high-quality operatic performances to St Andrews audiences. The company's singers are drawn mainly from the undergraduate and postgraduate student bodies, but casts have also included young professionals from throughout the UK, University staff, and singers from the local community. The company's singers have benefited from regular coaching from numerous distinguished international opera singers including the University's Honorary Professor of Singing, Brian Bannatyne-Scott.