LGBTQ+ Walsall bar’s history inspires Birmingham Opera

The Fountain Inn pub, also known as “Aunty’s bar”, was a safe haven for LGBTQIA+ people in Walsall, and those travelling in from the wider West Midlands region, during a time when homosexuality was still illegal. It closed its doors following Alice Cronin’s (the much-loved Aunty that gave the venue its name) retirement. Now almost sixty years later, the bar has inspired Birmingham Opera’s upcoming mini opera.

The Fountain Inn, Bott Lane, Walsall (A.H. Price, Walsall Archives)

The opera which according to Birmingham Opera aims to “blend the story of an amazing "Aunty" and football fans” tells the story of 18-year-old Sam, who is a passionate supporter of West Bromwich Albion Football Club but feels excluded by the open homophobia of fellow fans. After attending an evening match, Sam catches the bus to nearby Walsall.

At first, he is hesitant as he steps through the door of Aunty’s but Sam soon finds a space where he doesn’t need to hide who he is, “you’re in the right place” he hears sung to him in welcome.

Sebastian Lovell-Huckle of Birmingham Opera said: “We felt that the borough of Sandwell was really underrepresented in our work and that mini opera was a way of involving Sandwell people, We had the idea of an opera on LGBTQIA+ safe spaces and, after deciding to tell the story of Aunty’s and linking to a football match, we found out about the Proud Baggies (the West Bromwich Albion LGBT supporters’ group) and approached them about working with us.”

Piero Zizzi, Sports Marketing & Sponsorship Director and founder of Proud Baggies added: “We had an initial meeting with Birmingham Opera, who were impressed with the work we have done to help LGBTQIA+ supporters reconnect with their club. We later held workshops with them at which our members talked about their experiences. Some of the actual words of Proud Baggies have ended up in the libretto.”

This “genre hopping production” is being co-created with the people of Sandwell “with young people and hearing what opera sounds like in languages that opera has never been sung in before,” explains Birmingham Opera.

The libretto was written by mezzo-soprano Joanna Harries who told DIVA Magazine: “This is the first time I’ve co-created a work like this from the very beginning, and I also knew very little about football. I have learned a lot. The Proud Baggies were open and engaged and helped make the experience joyful.

“Opera is not just words but also music. There’s something deeply raw about the human voice that I think can reveal the inner world of the characters,”

Casting for the mini opera is currently underway, and the first performance is reportedly due to take place later in the summer with no concrete date set as of the time of writing.

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Find our more about Aunty's Bar in 'Uncovering Our History'.