Garsington Opera

"It's like looking at a painting and thinking what does it mean to you?" 🌝 Karen Gillingham, director of our community opera A Trip to the Moon, tells us all about this opera for all ages and the fantastic companies made up from our local communities who are performing in it. With tickets at just £15 (adult) and £5 (under 18), A Trip to the Moon is the perfect opera for all the family to experience, in the spectacular setting of Wormsley. Tickets and more information 👉 https://garsingtonopera.org/whats-on/a-trip-to-the-moon/

"Love can end only in contentment and joy" 👰‍♀️ The Count is forgiven and Susanna and Figaro are finally married. Congratulations to everyone involved in #GOFigaro with @philharmonia_orchestra, both on and off the stage. Conductor - Tabita Berglund Original Director - John Cox Revival Director - Bruno Ravella Designer - Robert Perdziola Lighting Designer - Malcolm Rippeth Original Choreographer - Kate Flatt Revival Choreographer - Alex Gotch Figaro - David Ireland Susanna - Claire Lees Doctor Bartolo - Neal Davies Marcellina - Susan Bickley Cherubino - Bethany Horak-Hallett Don Basilio - Paul Nilon Count Almaviva - Rafael Fingerlos Countess Almaviva - Samantha Clarke Antonio - Frazer Scott Don Curzio - Bradyn Debysingh Barbarina - Stephanie Hershaw Bridesmaids - Jessica Lawley and Hannah Bennett Garsington Opera Chorus: Hannah Bennett Jay Broadhurst Jessica Cale Joe Chalmers Patrick Dow Chloe Harris Stephanie Hershaw Justin Jacobs Annabel Kennedy Jessica Lawley Peter Lidbetter William Searle

Belfiore has masqueraded as the king for the last time 🤯 Congratulations to everyone involved with #GOGiorno on a fabulous run with Philharmonia Orchestra Conductor - Chris Hopkins Director - Christopher Alden Set Designer - Charles Edwards Costume Designer - Sue Willmington Lighting Designer - Ben Pickersgill Video Design - Illuminos Choreographer - Tim Claydon Il Barone di Kelbar - Henry Waddington La Rocca - Grant Doyle Delmonte - James Micklethwaite Il Cavaliere di Belfiore - Joshua Hopkins Edoardo di Sanval - Oliver Sewell La Marchesa del Poggio - Christine Rice Giulietta di Kelbar - Madison Leonard Servant - Daniel Vening Il Conte Ivrea - Robert Murray Garsington Opera Chorus: Céline Akçağ Holly Brown Christine Byrne Lisa Dafydd James Geidt Harry Grigg Sam Harris Nancy Holt Justin Jacobs Rhydian Jenkins Charlotte Jane Kennedy Siphe Kwani Katie Macdonald Jakob Mahase Rhys Meilyr Gabriella Noble Wonsick Oh Richard Pittsinger Hannah Poulsom George Robarts Victoria Songwei Li Holly Teague Audrey Tsang

"So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends." 🧚 Congratulations to everyone on a fantastic run of #GODream with @philharmonia, both on and off the stage. Conductor - Douglas Boyd Director & Designer - Netia Jones Lighting Designer - D. M. Wood Choreographer / Assistant Director - Rebecca Meltzer Fight Director - Christian Kelly-Sordelet Puck - Jerone Marsh-Reid Oberon - Iestyn Davies Tytania - Lucy Crowe Lysander - Caspar Singh Demetrius - James Newby Hermia - Stephanie Wake-Edwards Helena - Camilla Harris Quince - John Savournin Snug - Frazer Scott Starveling - Geoffrey Dolton Flute - James Way Snout - Adam Sullivan Bottom - Richard Burkhard Theseus - Nicholas Crawley Hippolyta - Christine Rice @philharmonia Garsington Opera Youth Company

#GODream in 60 Seconds ⏱️ Jerone Marsh-Reid takes on the challenge to tell the story of A Midsummer Night's Dream in under a minute, but will he do it?

#GOFigaro in 60 Seconds ⏱️ Our Don Curzio, played by Bradyn Debysingh, takes on the challenge to tell the story of Le nozze di Figaro in under a minute, but can it be done?

#GOGiorno in 60 Seconds ⏱️ Joshua Hopkins takes on the challenge to explain the plot of Un giorno di regno in under minute, but can he do it?

The gods have played their tricks for the last time 🦩 Congratulations to everyone involved with #GOPlatée on an outstanding run with The English Concert Conductor - Paul Agnew Director - Louisa Muller Designer - Christopher Oram Lighting Designer - Malcolm Rippeth Video Design - Illuminos Movement Director - Rebecca Howell Satyr and Chitheron - Henry Waddington Thespis & Mercury - Robert Murray Maenads - Audrey Tsang and Nancy Holt Thalie - Holly Brown Momus - Jonathan McGovern Amor - Victoria Songwei Li Platée - Samuel Boden Clarine - Holly Teague Jupiter - Ossian Huskinson La Folie - Mireille Asselin Juno - Annabel Kennedy Dancers: Zaynah Ahmed Vikki Clark Jay Jobarteh Malin Kvist Helen Parsons Jessica Saisang-Rowe Marco Venturini (Dance Captain) Leah Wallings Garsington Opera Chorus

"Tell me, my heart, have you well considered?" 💘 Ahead of Platée opening on Wednesday, Samuel Boden, singing the title role of Platée with us this summer, and Christopher Bucknall perform 'Que ce séjour est agréable' from Rameau's tragicomedy.

Orfeo: 'Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi'

Happy International Dance day! 💃 Today we're celebrating all of our fabulous dancers and choreographers who work across our many productions! We're taking a look back to our 2022 production of Orfeo, choreographed by Arielle Smith, where dance and movement were interwoven throughout the production. Orfeo - Ed Lyon Dancers - Amber Doyle, Maddy Brennan, Benjamin Derham, Annie Joy Edwards, Cameron Everitt, & Emily Gunn Conductor - Laurence Cummings Director - John Caird Designer - Robert Jones The English Concert Garsington Opera Chorus #GarsingtonOpera #Opera #GOOrfeo #InternationalDanceDay #Dance #Choreographer

"Platée has an exuberance in the music that is so exciting and so compelling" Not sure what to expect from Platée this summer 🤔 Director Louisa Muller gives us some insight into this lesser-known work, with some teasers of her interpretation, her key sources of inspiration, and a whistle-stop tour of the plot! Find out more 👉 www.garsingtonopera.org/whats-on/platee

It's Roxanna Panufnik's birthday 🎂🎈 To celebrate we're looking back at our 2022 world-premiere performance of Panufnik's Dalia, with Adrianna Forbes-Dorant performing 'Dalia's Song' as the title character with Douglas Boyd conducting the Philharmonia.

'Rose of heaven, life of the world' 💐 Orfeo and Euridice pour out their love for each other in two short, heartfelt arias. Orfeo is performed here by Ed Lyon and Euridice by Zoe Drummond with Laurence Cummings conducting The English Concert. Watch in full with Euridice's response here 👉 https://youtu.be/KSBInl3j67E

Happy Valentine's Day 💘 The world of opera is full of beautiful arias about love, both uplifting and heart-wrenching, but what could be better choice for today than Cherubino's confession of adolescent love! Cherubino is performed here by Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Susanna by Jennifer France, and the Countess by Kirsten MacKinnon, conducted by Douglas Boyd with the Garsington Opera Orchestra. Our production of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro is being revived this summer, so if you want to see Cherubino proclaim his love on stage, be sure to get yourself a ticket!

It's #ThrowbackThursday and we're remembering this heartbreaking but beautiful moment from Monteverdi's 'Orfeo'. Here, a messenger seeks out the recently married Orfeo, bringing the tragic news of Euridice's death. Orfeo - Ed Lyon Messenger - Diana Montague Conductor - Laurence Cummings Director - John Caird The English Concert

Finally in our series for National Storytelling Week, Bethany Horak-Hallett, who will be singing Cherubino for us this summer, tells us the story of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Adapted from the play of the same name by Beaumarchais, this is a story of many moving parts, subplots, and a whole host of memorable characters, and definitely not one to be missed!

Next up in our National Storytelling Week series, Andrew Norman, the composer of our community opera, tells us the story of 'A Trip to the Moon' which will be conducted by Douglas Boyd and directed by Karen Gillingham.

Celebrating stories through opera today is Madison Leonard, telling us the tale of Un giorno di regno. This comic opera of disguises and love triangles was the first of two comedies Verdi wrote, finishing with the more well-known Falstaff towards the end of his career.

Caspar Singh continues our celebration of opera as a form of storytelling by giving us a glimpse of A Midsummer Night's Dream's plot. Adapted into an opera by Benjamin Britten from Shakespeare's original play, A Midsummer Night's Dream combines musical storytelling and drama to create one complex but fabulous tale.

It's National Storytelling Week! To celebrate over the next few days we're going to be telling you the stories of the five operas coming to our stage this summer. Starting off with Rameau's tragicomic opera Platée, our conductor, Paul Agnew, gives us the tale of Platée's hubris and the cruelty of the Gods.