Manx Operatic Society

The Manx Operatic Society (‘MOS’) is proud to be long standing and well established on the Isle of Man providing not only entertaining shows each year for our audiences but also an interesting and exciting hobby for all our members both on and off the stage.

The Society was formed in 1949 with the very first meeting of the MOS being held on Tuesday March 22nd of that year, and we are very proud of the loyalty and commitment of our members which we firmly believe is the reason for our success. Indeed, some of the founding members of MOS are still Life Members within the society today.

As a Society we have some very firm beliefs: that we stage productions to the very best of our ability, we give every member equal opportunities in the roles they play with open auditions and constant encouragement for talents to be expressed and expanded, and we choose shows which we feel will please both our audiences and our members. On top of all that we also try to achieve one of the most important aspects of what we do, and that is to make being a part of the MOS a fun and enjoyable hobby for all.

We certainly feel that we must be achieving these aims to some extent as we are able to boast 79 productions in 70 years, the first being The Vagabond King which took place at The Gaiety Theatre from 6th-11th February 1950. In addition to this we have also been honoured to receive over 45 awards for our production, cast and crew from The National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) since their inception in 1983.

Whilst we are, on average, a relatively young Society, we feel we have achieved a great mix of people in our membership. There are many who have been in the Society from their teenage years, appeared in many shows and have a lot of history and experience with the MOS. Our current Committee for example, has combined MOS Committee experience of almost 30 years!! (we daren’t count up their total number of years as members – that might give their ages away!!). However, along with these members, we are very lucky in that we keep attracting new members of all ages. These people help to keep our Society fresh and continually exploring new directions (and they keep the ‘older’ members on their toes!!).

We hope we can take the things we have learnt from our past MOS productions to make the Manx Operatic Society even bigger and better than before. Certainly, the backbone of the MOS has always been the spirit of its members and support they give to the Society – and with this continuing as it is now, how can we fail?

If you feel that you would like to become a part of the MOS, either as an onstage, offstage or social member please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.