Opera Anywhere is living up to its name with its new production of The Mikado, which has so far been staged at Cumnor Church and in a cow shed in Marcham — where cows and sheep made some impromptu contributions! Now the company is set for the Sunningwell Festival, for their traditional appearance on The Pond at the Last Night of the Proms.

“It’s very exciting for us as it’s our first new staged production for two years, and we have the strongest team we have been able to pull together for a long while,” says Mike Woodward, who founded Opera Anywhere with wife Vanessa in 2000.

Mike is playing the hapless Lord High Executioner, Ko-Ko — complete with a fully updated ‘Little List’ song that takes a pop at “the hoodie who wears baggy jeans with undies hanging out”, among others — while Vanessa will be playing his bloodthirsty adversary, the fearsome Katisha.

The rest of the cast is a blend of experienced singers and emerging talent. At 18, Katie Blackwell is its youngest member, and is sharing the role of Peep-Bo with Nikki Bagshaw. The role of Pitti-Sing is shared by Sian Millet — recently seen as Carmen with Oxford Operatic Society — and Sarah-Ann Cromwell, while Yum-Yum is shared by Paloma Bruce and Myvanwy Bentall.

Lawrence Olsworth-Peter, a recent MA graduate from the Royal Academy of Music, is Nanki-Poo, while experienced singers Christopher Jacklin and Edwin Pitt Mansfield share the Mikado and Pish-Tush, and David Ireland, another experienced singer, is Pooh-Bah. Paula Chitty is making her Opera Anywhere debut as director, while Nia Williams returns as music director and piano accompanist.

The Mikado is at Sunningwell on June 8 and 9, and at Waterperry on July 19 as part of Art in Action. Tickets are available from ticketsource.co.uk/operaanywhere.

For more details and pictures, and to read Mike’s Mikado blog, visit www.operaanywhere.com.