GARSINGTON Opera has been handed £750,000 by Arts Council England for a programme of free opera performances around Britain.

The South Oxfordshire company – famed for its outdoors performances – will hit the road next year for its Opera for All scheme.

The three-year programme is a first for the group, which will spend early next year putting together a programme to entice audiences.

It will focus on free shows in coastal regions and a home performance in Oxfordshire. No details have been confirmed.

It is hoped the project will forge links with theatre companies around the country for future performances.

Opera artistic director Douglas Boyd said: “We are thrilled that Arts Council England is supporting the Opera for All project.

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“It gives us the chance to be able to reach new audiences through extensive education work and free opera screenings in areas that have limited engagement with the arts. This is vital and will have an enormous impact in the various communities which will participate in the project, as well as for access to opera and the arts nationwide.”

Garsington Opera was founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams and wife Rosalind and performed each summer at Garsington Manor until 2011 and then at Wormsley Manor, Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

It aims to promote young British talent alongside well-known performers from around the world.

Mr Boyd said: “The funding comes at an exciting time in Garsington Opera’s development as we continue to strive for the very highest quality of production and performance. We’re passionate about sharing our work with the widest possible audience.

“Both this project and the work of our education team clearly demonstrates that what we do off the platform is as important as what we do on it.”

Garsington resident John Keown, founder of Oxford security company Executive, said: “I think it being free will engage more people like me to come.

“I am not someone who is a natural opera fan but when I went it was absolutely fantastic. It was a whole day out with a picnic, table and chairs and everything.

“We went with people who were really into opera and they were absolutely ecstatic with it.”

Arts Council England area director Peter Knott said: “The Opera for All tour will be a fantastic way for people across the country, particularly in areas of low engagement with the arts, to enjoy performances by Garsington Opera for free.”

Oxford Mail:

Another scene from The Cunning Little Vixen, by Janacek

Garsington guide

  • GARSINGTON Opera performs three operas each year in June and July, usually including a Mozart opera and at least one less-known work
  • The company has performed a series of British premieres including Haydn’s Orlando Paladino, Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade and Rossini’s Armida
  • Artistic director Douglas Boyd is chief conductor of the Musikkollegium in Winterthur, Switzerland, and was a founder member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe
  • Last June Garsington Opera released its first recording for sale to the public, a 3-CD set of Rossini’s Maometto
  • Young singers from across the UK are encouraged to join the Garsington Opera chorus and auditions are held each year to find new talent from the country’s leading opera schools

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