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Silver Jubilee of successful partnership with Opera North
| For a quarter of a century one of England’s premier opera companies has been working alongside Chamber International to successfully take its productions around the world. Leeds-based Opera North has been using the Chamber’s international 'passport for goods' service since the mid-1980s, ensuring that the company has been able to stage dozens of prestigious productions across the globe. Often productions involve the temporary export of thousands of separate pieces of set as well as props and costumes, requiring a full and accurate ATA Carnet listing each individual item. Chamber International recently worked on a Carnet covering the export of all 1,138 pieces required for the production of Verdi’s Macbeth which is being staged by New Zealand Opera in Auckland this autumn. The containers left the UK in early June for their six week journey to the South Pacific. Previous productions have featured up to two thousand separate items. Opera North’s veteran production manager Ray Hain says the relationship with Chamber International began around 25 years ago at a time when Opera North were taking productions to the still Communist countries of Eastern Europe – notorious sticklers for forms and bureaucracy. “Most of the time it works very well, although it’s often hard work when you start compiling the list,” explains Ray. “And sometimes there are problems. “Three or four years ago the Australian Opera Company rented one of our productions for the first time so we sent everything over there. But the Australian customs are very strict – especially about foodstuffs. They went through everything with a fine tooth-comb and found a couple of suspect items in the form of specimen jars. When they poured out the contents they found that we’d used real organic material such as stuffed lizards and snakes. “They threatened to burn the whole lot but the Australian Opera Company intervened and the customs agreed to burn just a few of them after the production.” Michelle Green, who joined Opera North in January to handle shipping and co-productions, says “The support I got from the Chamber International was fantastic, I called and emailed them quite a lot but they answered all my queries so it wasn’t the baptism of fire it could have been. I was quite nervous because it was a big responsibility but the Chamber staff were brilliant.” So whether it’s sending Figaro to the Philippines or Tosca to Texas here’s looking forward to another quarter of a century of a successful partnership. For more information on ATA Carnets click here. |
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