HENNY PENNY: A CHILDREN’S OPERA

Claire Booth, Ensemble 360 & Children of Sheffield

Crucible Playhouse, Sheffield
Saturday 23 May 2026, 11.00am

Tickets:
£13
£7 UC, PIP & DLA
£5 Under 16s

 

Book Tickets
Home› What's on› HENNY PENNY: A CHILDREN’S OPERA

PHILIPS Henny Penny – world premiere (20’)
MUNDELLA SCHOOL, MEYNELL SCHOOL & ELLEN SARGEN Rumours – world premiere (20’)

A world-first live staging of new opera and song made for – and by – curious young minds.  

‘Henny Penny’ is a charming operatic adaptation of the folk tale about a young chicken who believes the sky is falling when an acorn lands on its head.  

This children’s opera by the acclaimed composer Julian Philips (Glyndebourne Opera’s first ever Composer-in-Residence) will be performed live for the very first time, featuring a cast including a choir of Sheffield primary children.  

‘Rumours’ a song cycle created as part of a new Music in the Round composition project with children in Sheffield schools will also be given its public premiere.  

“Music can serve not only as a powerful vehicle for storytelling but also as a tool for learning, as demonstrated in Henny Penny. By reworking this familiar tale, Julian Philips creates an engaging framework through which children can encounter and absorb phrases in multiple languages. Because the narrative is already widely understood, young listeners are free to focus on the sounds and patterns of language, allowing meaning to emerge naturally through repetition and musical phrasing. Informed by extensive research into language acquisition, the work highlights how music can reinforce learning while remaining playful and accessible. I first encountered this piece when I was asked to step in and sight read the music for a recording. It’s wonderful to revisit this, with a slightly longer lead time!” Claire Booth, 2026

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Image: © Positive Note Productions

“It was incredible to see professionals and children perform together… To experience opera in such an accessible way [was] really amazing, innovative and inspiring. I found it incredibly moving.”

Audience feedback from ‘The Monster in the Maze’

About the Artists

Claire Booth

“An actor-singer who can raise the dramatic heat as soon as she enters the stage” (Opera Now), “that most questing, resourceful and intelligent of sopranos” (Daily Telegraph), British soprano Claire Booth has been widely acclaimed for her “radiant, rapturous, wonderfully nuanced performances” and voice of “piercing purity [and] luscious richness” (The Scotsman). She is renowned for her breadth of repertoire, and for the vitality and musicianship that she brings to the operatic stage and concert platform, with a versatility that encompasses repertoire spanning from Monteverdi and Handel, through Rossini, Berg and Britten, to a fearless commitment to the music of the present day. Booth has won the 2025 RPS Singer Award with the jury celebrating an artistry that “knows no bounds.” Read more.

Ensemble 360 musicians

Ensemble 360

Ensemble 360 has gained an enviable reputation across the UK for the quality and integrity of their performances. Formed in 2005, eleven musicians of international standing came together to take up residency in South Yorkshire with Music in the Round, establishing a versatile group comprising five string players, five wind players and a pianist.  Get a glimpse of them in performance here.

The Ensemble 360 musicians share a passion for the music which radiates through each performance. Their enthusiasm, drive and musicality captivate audiences both through the quality of their playing and their engaging spoken introductions. Due to the flexible nature of the group’s line-up the repertoire possibilities are enormous; anything from baroque duos, through classical quartets to new commissions for all eleven players.