“Are you coming back? Please come back! (maybe next year) noooooo! Not next year that is too long!”

“I liked watching the performance – it was funny but still opera. “

“I enjoyed that everyone sang together.”

“I liked performing to an audience.”

“Lots of different singers have different tones of voice.”

“We learnt the words aria, duet, trio and quartet.”

“You can sometimes tell what the singer is feeling through the song.”

“It made us want to make more music and to join theatre club after school.”

“We are going to go to more places to take part in different performances.”

“I really enjoyed doing the OperaPLUS project with Jackdaws, they had some talented singers. I think that my favourite part was when we sang, we all sounded brilliant and I liked Sam who played Tonio. He was amazing.”

“It was a really good and fun experience. It was cool to hear the professionals sing and how other schools took part. I would 100% recommend this project to others. My thoughts on classical music have definitely changed in a good way. I thought it was boring and now I like classical music.”

“I used to think opera was this really weird annoying high pitched singing but now I have a huge respect for it and I think it’s a very talented form of singing.”

“It was genuinely brilliant, our students had an amazing time and have developed a real interest in opera.  They have already asked if you are coming back!”

“They are really into opera now and want me to take them to see more.”

“They have already asked if you are coming back next year!”

“​​We loved taking part and joining you all so thank you to Jackdaws and the other schools- together we created a wonderful performance. The children loved it and it was such a great new experience!”

“What an incredible evening! Thank you Jackdaws for organising such an amazing experience. The children absolutely loved taking part and were completely engrossed in the performance, and so was the audience!”

“The staff and children involved in this project thoroughly enjoyed it – what an experience! “

“That was so inspiring. Thank you. It made me wish I could go back to school and be a part of it.”

“That was amazing, I’ve never been in the same room as opera before. I can’t even imagine how the children must feel about it”

I’ve never been to opera, never listened to it, I was so wowed that I’m going to try and go to some more!”

“Just wanted to tell you that we thought the opera was BRILLIANT! My husband and I attended separately on each day and I decided not to tell him what a treat he was in for and to let it be a surprise. I’m glad because he messaged me half way through to tell me how excellent he thought it was; he’s a heady mix of being a footy and opera fan! High quality, relevant, relatable and enriching. X learned a great deal and was delighted to have been invited. She was singing the songs throughout the evening last night.”

(via email)

“Dear Jackdaws

I have just registered as a friend of the trust and have arranged for a standing order to begin on 2nd April. I want you to know that this is the result of my attendance at a Jackdaws production in which my granddaughter was involved at The Blue School, Wells as part of your music educational outreach. I was impressed by the way that the libretto of a work by Donizetti was adapted to a theme that would be of interest to modern children. The professionals did a very good job of encouraging and supporting the children and I congratulate all involved in this production. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

With best wishes for future success”

(via email)