Trustees' Annual Report for the period
Period start date Period end date Day Month Year Day Month Year From 01 04 2020 To 31 03 2021
Section A Reference and administration details
Charity name Barefoot Opera Other names charity is known by Registered charity number (if any) 1167730 Charity's principal address 6 The Uplands St. Leonards on Sea East Sussex Postcode TN38 0HL
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole **year ** |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olivia Shaw | Chairperson | Appointed January22 | Trustees of the Charity | |
| Barbara Browning |
Secretary | Resigned November 21 |
Trustees of the Charity | |
| Virginia Gilbert | Treasurer | Trustees of the Charity | ||
| Charles Neal | Trustees of the Charity | |||
| Joao Figueiredo | Appointed September 21 |
Trustees of the Charity | ||
| Glenys Jacques | Appointed March 22 | Trustees of the Charity | ||
| Diana Bickley | Chairperson | Resigned January22 | Trustees of the Charity | |
| Avril Crawford | Resigned January22 | Trustees of the Charity | ||
| Fenella McVey | Resigned February22 | Trustees of the Charity | ||
Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)
Name Dates acted if not for whole year
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Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
| Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) | Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) | Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) |
|---|---|---|
| Type of adviser Name Address |
||
| Independent Examiner | Keith Miller | Hastings Voluntary Action, Jackson Hall, Portland Place, |
| Hastings TN34 1QN | ||
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
Jenny Miller, Director
Section B Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Type of governing document Constitution dated 15 June 2015
- (eg. trust deed, constitution)
How the charity is constituted
- (eg. trust, association, company)
Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Trustee selection methods
-
Appointed by existing trustees
-
(eg. appointed by, elected by)
Additional governance issues (Optional information)
You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:
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policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
-
the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
-
relationship with any related parties;
Trustees have assessed potential risks arising from the expansion of our activities involving community groups and schools in the creation and performance of Bloom Britannia, a new opera we have commissioned. We have adopted a safeguarding policy to manage these risks when working with children. An additional statement specifically addressing work with vulnerable adults has been adopted.
Trustees have also identified the need for a general risk management policy and accompanying procedures to monitor all major risks inherent in our commitments to Bloom Britannia. A policy was drafted this year and a risk register is under discussion.
- trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
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Section C Objectives and activities
To advance education about, promote public appreciation of, and encourage participation in, the art of opera and singing for the public benefit by:
- a) Developing singing at all levels from amateur to professional standard;
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document
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b) Encouraging emerging professional singers to find new approaches to the rehearsal and performance of opera;
-
c) developing new audiences for opera, music recitals and concerts with innovative, inclusive and accessible performances
d)Promote singing for mental and physical health.
Trustees have read the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. The guidance has been considered at trustee meetings when planning the activities for the year.
The Charity’s activities are focused on assisting the development of operatic talent and exposing the general public to affordable and accessible operatic performances. The singers benefit from experience and exposure at an early stage of their careers. The public has an opportunity to experience opera in places that are local and familiar to them and at prices that are affordable, developing the audiences of the future.
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)
The public benefit is enhanced by opportunities for local students, musicians and other performers to participate in the development of events and in the final productions. This provides an introduction to opera for sections of the community previously unfamiliar with the genre, with the deliberate intention of demystifying the process and achieving a cohesion of purpose through involvement of schools, choirs or non-musical minority groups. This year for example we performed Red! a new jazz opera for children which we commissioned from composer Lucy Mulgan, with three primary schools from the most economically deprived areas of our locality. 180 children workshopped, rehearsed and performed to an audience of 300, most of whom had never seen a live opera before. Our advanced student productions experiment with new ways of staging so that audiences experience the music and singing in a different and more engaging way. We involve young local budding costume designers in our work, mentored by experienced professionals. Our ambitious “people’s opera”, Bloom Britannia, reached out to community groups who had never previously encountered opera, let alone performed in an operatic work. Audiences have included friends and family members of participants in the project, and we invite their feedback. Some of the community groups previously involved in “Bloom Britannia’ took part in our Young Artists Tour of Rossini’s Cenerentola in 2022.
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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)
You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:
-
policy on grantmaking;
-
policy programme related investment;
-
contribution made by volunteers.
The charity provides small grants to performers who require financial assistance with accommodation, travel expenses or other costs associated with participation in our productions. Students submit their applications for grant funding in the form of short essays to the Trustees which are evaluated with input from the Director. Decisions are recorded at Trustee meetings.
Volunteers provide invaluable help as front of house staff at events, serving at receptions, providing accommodation for singers on intensive courses and distributing flyers and other publicity.
The Charity relies on grants from Trusts to support our work. We have been supported by Sussex Community Giving, Garfield Weston Trust, the Arts Council, Magdalen and Lasher, the Foyle Foundation and Hastings Council. We also call on crowdfunding via the JustGiving platform on-line.
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Section D Achievements and erformance p Training Summary of the main achievements of the charity We held our first live training session since lockdown for young during the year artists in London at the end of January, and in the autumn we held a series of London-based workshops. We extended our core team of professionals to two new coaches. Young Artists’ Tour The Young Artists’ Tour has been a major feature of Barefoot’s activities for several years. Performances and ticket sales have increased steadily. The tour now visits London, Oxford and Cheltenham as well as the performances in our home base of Hastings. After a cancellation in 2020 under pandemic lockdown restrictions, performances resumed in summer 2021 with two one act operas, Orfeo ed Euridice and Zanetto, held at local venues. We performed and toured Rossini’s Cenerentola in 2022, and we involved members of the community in our local performance. This included Bexhill College drama students, the Seaview Centre for vulnerable adults, and Voiceworks, an ad hoc group of adults previously enrolled in ‘Bloom Britannia’. Bloom Britannia Barefoot Opera’s new ‘people’s opera’ started life in 2018, when hundreds of people in the towns of Hastings, St. Leonards and Bexhill took part in singing and discussion workshops. The creative team met people from all walks of life, gaining a rich perspective on what it means to live in a town on the South Coast today. People learned how to write songs, improvise, and sing together. The team took away all of these insights and developed our brand new opera – ‘Bloom Britannia’. It tells the story of a fictional regeneration competition on the South Coast, on the day the winning town is to be decided. With hen parties, dodgy dealings on the seafront, and scandalous secret affairs, mayhem is guaranteed!
In 2019, with funding from the Arts Council of England, we staged a 30-minute experimental segment at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-sea, with over a hundred performers, a live audience of nearly 400, and a live-streamed audience of over 3,000.
Our grand schedule for the full opera in 2020 was wiped out by the pandemic. With the Arts Council’s and Barefoot Opera Trustees’ support, our team created a new schedule for 2021. Music rehearsals were shifted to begin in late March 2021 and our full production took place in October 2021 over 3 days in St Mary in the Castle, Hastings. The production was filmed and edited into a lasting record of a magical event.
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Section D Achievements and erformance p
Community Engagement We continued to work with Arts on Prescription over August, working with adults suffering from mental health issues, and adults recuperating from a variety of other health issues.
We helped to organise a Seaview’s Got Talent event for Seaview Centre for vulnerable adults, and we co-organised their Christmas Carols fundraising event.
We performed Red! a new jazz opera for children which we commissioned from composer Lucy Mulgan, with three primary schools from the most economically deprived areas of our locality. 180 children workshopped, rehearsed and performed to 300 audience, of whom almost none had seen a live opera before.
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Section E Financial review
Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves
The charity’s trustees adopted a reserves policy during the 201718 financial year. The target level for the reserve was set at £5,000, to be built up from any profits generated from events. The reserve target has been met.
Details of any funds materially in deficit
None
Further financial review details (Optional information)
You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:
-
the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
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how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
-
The charity’s principal sources of funds are ticket sales, student fees, grants, and fundraising.
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Expenditure supports the charity’s objectives by funding performances and outreach workshops and by offering financial assistance to students.
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The charity does not have an investment policy as its funds are entirely devoted to the support of students, performances, and outreach events.
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investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.
Section F Other optional information
Section G Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s)
Full name(s) Virginia Gilbert
Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Treasurer
Date 06 January 2023
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| PreviusYear | CwreilYear | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiots | Restiided turds |
Urrestuictedfunds | Totalfurds | ||
| 62,581- | Grants Sponsorship/Fund raising |
89,877 | - 3,(X)0 |
89,877 3,000 |
|
| Ticket sales | 1E,159 | 19,159 | |||
| 2,742 | Student fees | 2,430 | 2,430 | ||
| Prognammesales | 4€ | 46 | |||
| - 3,750 320 |
Bar/Raf[e Donations Festival Fees |
4,460 72,4# |
4,460 72,O& |
||
| 2,399 | Miscellaneous lncorne | 21,550 | 21,550 | ||
| 495 72,286 |
FriendsMernbershiP GiftAidReclaimed |
89,877 | 1,155 2260 65,105 |
1,155 2260 1il,982 |
|
| Exoendlture | |||||
| 19,495 | Direc{ior/Managefitent | 23,527 | 23,527 | ||
| 595 | Goaching | 4,353 | 4,353 | ||
| 5,570 | Musicians | 53,613 | 11,975 | 65,588 | |
| ,: | Travel expenses Venue hire |
13,532 | 1,317 | 1,317 13,532 |
|
| Costune&set | 13,438 | 13,438 | |||
| 3,010 : |
Technicale)genses Transportcosils Food costs andpreParation |
,,,,: | 7,769 942 2,214 |
19,387 942 2,214 |
|
| 9,357 570 |
Publicity Website |
13,638 1,075 |
13,638 1,075 |
||
| 62 | Stripe commission | 418 | 418 | ||
| 4,950 | Adn$n/Officeeryenses | 10,797 | 10,797 | ||
| 6,388 1,206 51,443 |
Fundraising costs OtherlMisc |
. 106,il2 |
11,273 748 75,601 |
11,273 748 182,24 |
|
| 20,u3 | Net su4Cus(deficit) | (16,765) | (10,496) | (27,261) | |
| 23,524 | Fund balancesb/f | il4n1 | 32"165 | 12,201 | 44,366 |
| _11399- | Fund balancesclf | 31t?122 | 15.400 | 1,705 | 17,105 |
| RestrictedFunds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BloomBritannia b/fud |
32,!65.26 | lncome Spent | Left | |
| Grantsreceived | ||||
| Arts CouncilEngland FoyleFoundation Magdalen&Lasher GarfieldWeston Expenses Amountcarriedfonrard |
4980.00 10,0fi).00 10,000.00 10,000.00 67,745.26 |
C | - |
|
| CuhuralRecoverv FundFundbfwd | 0 | |||
| Grantsreceived | ||||
| ArtsCouncilEngland Expenses Contributiontores€yves Amountcarriedfonrard |
37,397.OO 23,167.85 L4,229.ts |
C | - |
|
| ACEContlnultvRED b/fwd |
0 | |||
| Grantsreceived | ||||
| ArtsCouncil England | 5,000.00 | |||
| Expenses | 2,100.00 | |||
| Arnount carriedforward | €2,900.00 | |||
| ACEContinuitvOther bfwd |
||||
| Grantsreceived | ||||
| ArtsCouncil England | 12,500.00 | |||
| Expenses | ||||
| Arnount carriedforward | f12,5m.o0 | |||
| TotalRestrlctedFundb/furd | 32,165.26 | |||
| Totallncome | 8lt877.@ | |||
| TotalSpent | 106.,ili2.26 | |||
| TotalRestrictedFundsHeld | f15,{6p.go |