The Yorkshire aphorism, "There's nowt so queer as folks", might have been coined to describe the row. The alteration of a single word in a community opera wracked by furore over claimed homophobia has saved it from being banned. Opera North has announced that Beached, a project with children written by Lee Hall (writer of Billy Elliot), will go ahead next week after all.
As was reported on theartsdesk earlier this week, outrage blew up over a single rhyming couplet for a gay character in the opera. The replacement of the word "queer", after days of fuss involving campaigns over artistic freedom, homosexual rights, the protection of children, offensive language, the rightful spending of public money and the nature of the school curriculum, has brought resolution. "Of course I'm queer/ That's why I left here" now reads "Of course I'm gay/ That's why I went away" and all is well again.
Opera North, which has been piggy-in-the-middle between the freedom lobby and some of the more extreme parents and school officers of Yorkshire, yesterday stated: "Opera North today announces that the community opera, Beached, by Harvey Brough to a text by Lee Hall, is continuing as planned.
“We have been at pains to work closely with the writers at all times, and have supported their rights of artistic expression throughout. We have also worked equally hard to ensure that the schools and community groups involved in the project have positive feelings of ownership and identity within the production. Thankfully rehearsals have been taking place throughout the week.
"We have been able to keep this project on track thanks to intense negotiations behind the scenes with all parties.
"We are delighted that we can now move forward to perform the piece next week; over 400 participants from Bay Primary School and the community groups established as part of the residency have been working and rehearsing very hard and are extremely enthusiastic about the project.
"The result is a superb, inspirational and ground-breaking new community opera. We have enormous admiration for Harvey’s and Lee’s work, which we believe will prove a fitting culmination to Opera North’s Bridlington residency.”
Writer Lee Hall said it was "a victory for collective action", though he remains determined, it is reported, to get a public retraction of a statement by a Yorkshire council officer that the opera contained a paedophile as a character.
Now all that remains is to see if the actual opera is good enough to justify the astonishing volume of PR it has generated.
