London Youth Opera

London Youth Opera (LYO) is an independent opera company in London which produces operas performed by young people aged 9 to 18. Founded in 1971, and previously known as W11 Opera and W11 Children's Opera, it took its former name from its location in W11, a postal district in West London consisting largely of Notting Hill and parts of Holland Park. It changed to its current name in 2023.

Almost all of the productions are new works created by composers such as George Fenton, John Gardner, Richard Harvey, Colin Towns and Timothy Kraemer. Some of these works go on to be revived by schools and other opera companies.

Notable alumni of the company include Eve Best, Jonathan Antoine and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Works commissioned and premiered
W11/LYO has commissioned and produced almost 40 new operas, more than any other UK company, providing a repertoire of music theatre for its cast of 9- to 18-year-olds. Each has a running time of just over one hour. Most of the group's commissions are available for performance by schools and music theatre groups.


 * 1971	Noye's Fludde* 	Benjamin Britten, (Chester Mystery play)
 * 1972	The Pied Piper Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, Jeremy Hornsby
 * 1973 	Bel and the Dragon, John Gardner, Timothy Kraemer
 * 1974	The Winter Star*, Malcolm Williamson
 * 1975	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat *, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice
 * 1976	Like This, Like That, Timothy Kraemer, Peter Dickinson
 * 1977 	The Adventures of Jonah, Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer and Peter Dickinson
 * 1978	The Girl and the Unicorn, Stephen Oliver, Stephen Oliver
 * 1979	Dreamtime, Daryl Runswick, Daryl Runswick
 * 1980	Mak the Sheep Stealer*, Herbert Chappell, Don Taylor
 * 1981	Wenceslas, Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer
 * 1982 	Birthday (revived 1998), George Fenton, Timothy Kraemer
 * 1983	Rainbow Planet, Christopher Gunning, Timothy Rose Price
 * 1984 	The Adventures of Jonah, + 	Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer & Peter Dickinson
 * 1985	Bel and the Dragon, + John Gardner, Timothy Kraemer
 * 1986	The Tin Knight, Francis Shaw, Michael Finch
 * 1987 	Ulysses and the Wooden Horse, Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer
 * 1988	The Return of Odysseus, David Bedford, David Bedford
 * 1989	Koppelberg,	Steve Gray, Norman Brooke
 * 1990	Double Trouble, Louisa Lasdun, Adam Thorpe
 * 1991	A Time of Miracles, Richard Harvey, John Kane
 * 1992	Listen to the Earth, Steve Gray, Sarah Shuckburgh
 * 1993	Traveller's Tale, Michael Kamen, Michael Kamen
 * 1994	Antiphony, (revived 2005), Graham Preskett, John Kane
 * 1995	The Dancing Princesses, Bill Connor, Nick Renton
 * 1996	Ulysses and the Wooden Horse, + Timothy Kraemer, Timothy Kraemer
 * 1997	Eloise, Karl Jenkins, Carol Barratt
 * 1999	Rip, Colin Towns, Martin Newell
 * 2000	Deep Waters, Cecilia McDowall, Christie Dickason
 * 2001	Flying High, Graham Preskett, John Kane
 * 2002	Stormlight, David Knotts, Katharine Craik
 * 2003	Game Over, Guy Dagul, Jane Aspeling
 * 2004	All in the Mind, Edward Lambert, Edward Lambert
 * 2005	ANTiphony, + Graham Preskett, John Kane
 * 2006	Chincha-Chancha Cooroo, Bernard Hughes, William Radice
 * 2007	Shadowtracks, Julian Grant, Tina Jones
 * 2008	The Song of Rhiannon, Mark Bowden, Helen Cooper
 * 2009	The Whale Savers, Martin Ward, Phil Porter
 * 2010	Rain Dance, Stuart Hancock, Donald Sturrock
 * 2011	Original Features, Julian Grant, Christina Jones
 * 2012	Good Intentions, Julian Philips, Simon Christmas
 * 2013	The Fizz, Martin Ward, Phil Porter
 * 2014	Deep Waters, + Cecilia McDowall, Christie Dickason
 * 2015	Eliza and the Swans, John Barber, Hazel Gould
 * 2016	The Price, Russell Hepplewhite, Helen Eastman
 * 2017	The Cutlass Crew, Stuart Hancock, Donald Sturrock
 * 2018	Shadow Tracks, + Julian Grant, Christina Jones

Note: * not an LYO/W11 Opera commission; + denotes commission revivals