Nick Hornby's FEVER PITCH Gets First-Ever Musical Staging with Highbury Opera Theatre

Marking 25 years since it was first published, Nick Hornby's iconic Fever Pitch is to receive its first-ever musical staging courtesy of Highbury Opera Theatre.

Hornby has given his blessing to the north London company to create and perform an original musical production based on the novel, which explores the author's obsession with Arsenal Football Club. Fever Pitch has been made into a play and two feature films, but has never before been staged in musical form; Fever Pitch the Opera will be staged in a limited run from 21-24 September at the Union Chapel, in the heart of north London where the book is set.

Hornby's book follows the ups and downs of life supporting Arsenal Football Club, intertwining stories of matches and the fortunes of the club with those of his own life as a writer. Composer Scott Stroman and librettist Tamsin Collison have re-imagined it as a comedy/drama featuring a cast of five professional actors and ten professional musicians (to be announced Summer 2017) with a large community chorus that includes 40 local school children. The musical style ranges from classical and jazz to terrace chants and folk-rock.

The Arsenal Foundation is supporting the production, which is funding workshops with local schools that will accompany the show.

Scott Stroman, the company's Artistic Director, is an eclectic composer, conductor and performer who directs the London Jazz Orchestra and regularly works with orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, opera companies including Opera de Lyon, and pop and world musicians including Phil Collins and Youssou N'Dour. Award-winning librettist Tamsin Collison has worked with the Royal Opera House and Tête á Tête among others. The core creative team will be completed by director Bernie Byrnes, who has directed work at Soho Theatre, the RSC, and for several touring shows.

Highbury Opera Theatre (HOT) was created in 2011 to bring professionals, amateurs and children together to create exciting performances of contemporary music theatre in Union Chapel and the area. The company's productions have included the fully staged London premier of Kurt Weill's final musical, Lost in the Stars, James MacMillan's opera Clemency, Jonathan Dove's opera Tobias and the Angel, and Stroman's Shakespeare musical As You Like It. The company works closely with local schools to offer in-school workshops and free performances; for its work with young people, the company was recently awarded the prestigious David Bedford Music Education Award from the PRS for Music Foundation.

Scott Stroman said: "This will be the opera for people who think that they don't like opera. Though much of it is closer to a 'musical' in style, the music never stops, and like all operas it is driven by the emotions of its main character. Opera is all about the turmoil of its characters, and football provides as much drama, turmoil and comedy as any subject."

Tickets for Fever Pitch the Opera will be available through TicketSource and at www.highburyoperatheatre.com from 1 June. Subscribe to the HOT mailing list for further announcements.

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