Research and Development Phase
During a three-month research and development phase from January to March 2025, over 250 people participated in conversations and workshops in the space where opera and football chanting collide.
They shared their choral and sporting culture with each other and with opera singers, music facilitators and creative producers.
The choir showcased their work at a live home game at Bury Football Club in March 2025. The event featured football chanting and drumming alongside well-known operatic repertoire, sung from the stands with a halftime performance by ENO singers.
Fans from Bury, Manchester Laces and Wigan Football Clubs joined members of the Bridgewater Hall singers, Bury Fire Choir, Wigan Choral Society, West End Musical Choir and Pop Vox Choir Stockport and Warrington.
“At ENO, we’re passionate about breaking down barriers to opera and creating work that resonates with people. Perfect Pitch brings the energy of the football terraces together with the power of opera to create something truly unique and rooted in the communities of Greater Manchester.”Lauren Monaghan-Pisano, Director of Strategy and Partnerships at ENO
Performance at Manchester Day
In July 2025, Perfect Pitch took part in Manchester Day. Football fans and choir members took part in the Mini Parade alongside other community groups from across Greater Manchester.
Georgia Payton, Danni Bailey, Lily Metcalfe, Tish Reyes, and Kiera Lynchey, footballers from Bury FC’s Women’s team took part in a penalty shoot-out like no other. The shoot-out was accompanied by a pop-up performance at Cathedral Gardens, outside of the National Football Museum.
For the grand finale to Manchester Day in Cathedral Gardens, there was a performance with the choir of 100 participants formed of both local community choirs and football fans. Also performing was internationally acclaimed and BRIT nominated soprano Camilla Kerslake singing the ‘Queen of the Night’ aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and the award-winning baritone Marcus Farnsworth singing the ‘Toreador’ from Bizet’s Carmen. They were accompanied by members of the Chorus of ENO, who performed the ‘Anvil Chorus’ from Verdi’s Il trovatore, and eight student singers from Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). Lyrics for the ‘Anvil Chorus’ and ‘Toreador’ were rewritten to celebrate both football and opera, especially for this performance.
Manchester Day is commissioned by Manchester City Council, and created and produced by Walk the Plank, working with community groups, artists and volunteers from across the city region.
Finale at We Invented the Weekend
On Saturday 6 June, ENO and Walk the Plank brought the Perfect Pitch finale to We Invented the Weekend festival.
The event is a free multi-arts festival in Salford which throws open Media City and Salford Quays’ spaces and places, to celebrate the joy of free time.
It was an unmissable outdoor performance celebrating the unexpected links between football and opera, just one week ahead of the Men’s Fifa World Cup 2026.
“Perfect Pitch was totally perfect for We Invented The Weekend – such a spectacle, full of joy and so accessible (with just the right amount of bonkers) – it did exactly what it should - bring opera out of the concert hall to meet people where they are, playfully connecting and resonating with new audiences.”Darren Grice, Director of Culture for Salford City Council
18 months in the making, with workshops and performances across Greater Manchester, the Perfect Pitch finale was a grand spectacle.
Members of the ENO Chorus sailed down Salford Quays onboard the Princess Katherine. They were joined by massed local community choirs of more than 300 people and the Bury FC Women’s team. Also singing were ENO soloists international tenor Luis Gomes, soprano Alison Langer and baritone and ENO Harewood Artist Dan D’Souza.
‘Nessun Dorma’, the iconic Puccini aria famously associated with the 1990 Men’s World Cup, was at the heart of the performance, sung by Luis Gomes and the Chorus of ENO.
Other well-known operatic pieces were sung by singers with our 400-strong Perfect Pitch choir including The Anvil Chorus from Verdi‘s Il trovatore, Dido’s Lament (When I am laid in Earth) from Purcell‘s Dido and Aeneas and Brindisi (The Drinking Song) from Verdi’s La traviata.
ENO is a dual-centre opera company, presenting a season at the iconic London Coliseum every year alongside dynamic work in Greater Manchester as part of its pioneering partnership with the city-region.
Beyond the stage and across the country, ENO runs a wide-ranging programme of learning, participation, creative health and community engagement that opens opera up to people of all ages and backgrounds.
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