Chiltern U3A

This group meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month from 10am - 12:15pm in the Amersham Free Church.

Our Group of about 65 people enjoy many aspects of Opera in a relaxed and friendly way, through an ongoing series of DVD presentations introduced by members. Good audio and video facilities enable the Group to show excerpts from worldwide performances captured on DVDs.

In addition, on an ad hoc basis, we alert our members during the monthly meetings about live opera in the area, and/or via email of opera performances that are being streamed online and/or via the broadcast media. 

We also have an ‘Opera Box’ of DVDs available for our members to borrow. There are still spaces for new members and new presenters are always welcome!

Our meeting dates for 2025 and scheduled programme listings thus far:
> 22 Jan 2025: 'The Mikado', by W. S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan, Presenter: Trevor Coe
> 26 Feb 2025: Quiz: 'Who is the Singer?', Presenter: Brian Withington
> 26 March 2025: 'Gianni Schicchi' by Giacomo Puccini, Presenter: Peter Hyatt
> 23 April 2025: 'Eugene Onegin', by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Presenter: Martin Shaw
> 28 May 2025: 'Manon', by Jules Massenet, Presenter: Janice Foster
> 25 June 2025: 'Tosca', by Giacomo Puccini, Presenter: Peter Wakefield
> 23 July 2025: 'Lucia di Lammermoor', by Gaetano Donizetti, Presenter: Colin Sully
> 27 Aug 2025: 'Un Ballo in Maschera' ('A Masked Ball'), by Giuseppe Verdi, Presenter: Wallace Wormley
> 24 Sep 2025: 'La Fille du Régiment ('The Daughter of the Regiment'), by Gaetano Donizetti, Presenter: Peter Hyatt
> 22 Oct 2025: 'Queen of Spades,' by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Presenter: Jerry Goldbloom
> 26 Nov 2025: 'Aida', by Giuseppe Verdi, Presenter: Janice Foster
> 24 Dec 2025: No meeting; holiday break

Our meeting dates for 2026 and scheduled programme listings thus far:

> 28 Jan 2026:  'Les contes d'Hoffmann' ('Tales of Hoffmann'), by Jacques Offenbach, Presenter: Martin Shaw 

 > 25 Feb 2026: 'Don Pasquale', by Gaetano Donizetti, Presenter: Brian Withington

> 25 Mar 2026: 'Nina', by Giovanni Paisiello, Presenter: Colin Sully

> 22 Apr 2026: 'Ernani', by Giuseppe Verdi, Presenter: Wallace Wormley

Our recent past programmes in 2024 included:

> 24 Jan 2024: 'La Rondine', by Giacomo Puccini, Presenter: Martin Shaw

> 28 Feb 2024: 'La Cenerentola', by Gioachino Rossini, Presenter: Brian Withington

> 27 Mar 2024: 'L'incoronazione di Poppaea' ('The Coronation of Poppaea'), by Claudio Monteverdi, Presenter: Peter Hyatt

> 24 Apr 2024: 'Cherevichki' ('The Tsarina's Slippers'), by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Presenter: Jerry Goldbloom

> 22 May 2024: 'Duke Bluebeard's Castle', by Bela Bartok, and 'Le Rossignol/The Nightingale', by Igor Stravinsky, Presenter: Tim Bowers

> 26 June 2024: 'La Gioconda', by Amilcare Ponchielli, Presenter: Peter Hyatt

> 24 July 2024: 'Fedora', by Umberto Giordano, Presenter: Lydia Goldbloom

> 28 Aug 2024: 'La Fanciulla del West' ('The Girl of the West'), by Giacomo Puccini, Presenter: Wallace Wormley

> 25 Sept 2024: 'La Donna del Lago' ('The Lady of the Lake'), by Gioachino Rossini, Presenter: Colin Sully

> 23 Oct 2024: 'Les Troyens' ('The Trojans'), by Hector Berlioz, Presenter: Tim Bowers

> 27 Nov 2024: 'Lohengrin', by Richard Wagner, Presenter: Janice Foster

> 25 Dec 2024: No meeting; holiday break