There's a tendency to think of opera as highbrow and appealing to a select few. It's not the type of music that springs to mind when you think of one of North Wales' more underprivileged housing estates, Ysgubor Goch in Caernarfon.
The idea behind 'Cofi Opera' is to create, produce and perform unique opera in Sgubor Goch, with young people on the estate performing alongside professional opera singers. The scheme is part of the Cofis Bach project and based in the Noddfa centre. Those behind the idea hope that creating enthusiasm and co-operation will lead to a sense of pride reaching far beyond the on-stage experience.
“They have a huge battle on their hands,” says Manon Llwyd, Artistic Co-ordinator for Cofis Bach, talking about youngsters on the estate. “They're born into an environment of struggle... and that's awful, your future precedes you, simply because of where you live.”
Poet Meirion MacIntyre Hughes, himself from Caernarfon, works with the children to create lyrics for the opera.
“For two hours it was like putting a match to a box of fireworks and watching them go off non-stop,” he says talking about the first time he met the youngsters.
Composer Owain Llwyd is responsible for the music of the opera and he seeks inspiration in Caernarfon itself, recording seagulls, local characters speaking the Cofi dialect by the bar and watching the buildings going up in the new Victoria Dock.
Another key figure in the production is rapper Ed Holden, who makes a living out of 'beatboxing'. He inspired some of the young lads on the estate to perform as rappers in the opera.
“I'm paid to make a noise with my mouth,” he says. “At first the children were like 'No way.' But it opened their minds and made them think, 'hang on a minute, we don't have to wear a suit and sit at a table writing...'”
The opening night arrives and everyone is keen to make a success of it. To add to the nerves, Jason '84' as he's known, one of the key rappers in the performance, is arrested the night before. Will 'Cofi Opera' be alright on the night?
© 2008 S4C
O Gymru / Made in Wales