Longborough Festival Opera
Leading Wagnerian Paul Carey Jones on role debuts
“Never do anything for the first time.” So the old saying goes in the opera business. This deliberate paradox contains a hard truth: making any sort of debut is a challenge. And in particular, performing a major operatic role for the first time is fraught with unforeseen dangers. So, for any young singer contemplating making…
A celebratory evening with Dido and Aeneas, Longborough Festival Opera
*** From the moment the audience entered the auditorium for the company’s Emerging Artists production this was clearly going to be a fun evening, even if the story is, of course, one of great tragedy. Musicians from the early music ensemble Barokksolistene walked up and down the side aisles, playing their instruments, and chatting with…
Grange Park Opera 5-year Ring Cycle partnership with Orchestra of English National Opera
Grange Park Opera (GPO) has announced its new Ring Cycle, starting in 2026, will be a partnership with the Orchestra of English National Opera. The five-year orchestral partnership will start with Das Rheingold, then Die Walküre (2027), Siegfried (2028) and Götterdämmerung (2029), before an entire Ring Cycle in 2030. The agreement will also see the…
A mesmerising new production of Pelléas et Mélisande at Longborough Festival Opera
**** Much of the anticipation of the new production of Pelléas et Mélisande was based on how Anthony Negus would take his rightly loyal Wagner audience into Debussy’s world. The theatrical side of the show was always going to be secondary and this indeed proved to be the case. The minimalist Max Johns set design,…
Crowd pleasing Barber delights Longborough audiences
*** If you want a crowd pleaser of a show for a summer afternoon, Longborough’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) hits the spot. From its daft contemporary Max Johns’ Spanish setting, raucous translation and slapstick humour, this is fun all the way. We just have the staircase, balcony and outside area of…
Wagner’s dynastic dystopia Wahnfried UK premier at Longborough
*** This is a no-holds barred nightmare of red velvet and megalomania. It is the story of what happens to a family after the death of its head, its Master, Richard Wagner, in attempting to maintain and fulfil his legacy against a backdrop of the darkest days in modern European history. At its core is…
A magestic Walküre as up close and personal as it could possibly get
Wagner at Longborough really needs to be experienced as it is almost impossible to describe. But I will try. It crossed my mind, sitting so close to the singers and orchestra in the small space with a correspondingly small stage, it felt a little like being in a village hall, not even as big as…
Longborough Festival Opera: the first 30 years
This generously illustrated book will appeal to those who have followed Martin and Lizzie Graham’s obsessive dream turned into reality in creating an opera house in the Cotswolds. But it will also appeal to anyone who enjoys a tale of dogged perseverance in the face of what at times seems the chains of bureaucracy and…
Jennifer Smith to stand down as Executive Director of Longborough Festival Opera
Jennifer Smith is standing down as Executive Director of Longborough Festival. She will be taking on the role of Domestic Bursar at Balliol College. Smith took up the post of Executive Director in 2014. Under her leadership, Longborough Festival Opera has undergone a period of significant expansion. Alongside operational changes, the charity’s turnover has grown…