Embark on a journey of musical enchantment with Longborough Festival Opera as we explore their extraordinary 2024-2025 season. From festive carol celebrations to momentous operatic premieres, this season is a testament to the power of music to inspire and transform. Highlights include the charming 'Christmas at Longborough,' the educational Youth Chorus initiatives, UK premieres like 'Wahnfried,' and timeless classics like 'Il Barbiere Di Siviglia,' 'Pelléas Et Mélisande,' and 'Dido And Aeneas.' Join us in delving into this kaleidoscope of artistic brilliance that promises to captivate audiences young and old alike.

A Year of Musical Marvels: Highlights from Longborough Festival Opera's 2024-2025 Season

Join us at St James’ Church in Longborough for a festive celebration. Traditional carols will be performed by the Longborough Youth Chorus, supported by singers from Longborough Festival Opera, players from the Longborough Orchestra and children from Longborough Primary School.

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Christmas at Longborough

St James Church Longborough

An Insight Evening focusing on Dido and Aeneas with leading baroque violinist and Music Director of Barokksolistene Bjarte Eike, in the European Art Gallery of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

In anticipation of our collaboration with Barokksolistene and internationally acclaimed fiddle player Bjarte Eike, we are delighted to invite you to an evening of words and music celebrating our new production of Henry Purcell’s masterpiece Dido and Aeneas, which will feature Longborough's Emerging Artists and Youth Chorus. 

Insights on Dido and Aeneas

Ashmolean Museum

Longborough Festival Opera’s Youth Chorus offers young people aged 7-18 the opportunity to develop their singing, creative skills and stage experience, coached by a team of vocal, drama and movement specialists.

Plans for 2024-2025 include a Christmas showcase in Longborough church on Sunday 8 December 2024, and participation in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas on the main stage at Longborough Festival Opera (26 July - 2 August 2025).

Youth Chorus 24-25 (instalment 1)

Longborough Festival Opera

Youth Chorus 24-25 (instalment 2)

An Insight Evening of words and music unpacking Wahnfried: The Birth of the Wagner Cult, with production director and festival Artistic Director Polly Graham, and conductor Justin Brown (Die tote Stadt 2022) who commissioned and gave the world premiere of the opera.  

Insights on Wahnfried

The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust

We welcome back Justin Brown (“magnificently done - and comes straight from the heart” Jessica Duchen, 5* i News) to conduct the UK premiere of Avner Dorman’s Wahnfried: The Birth of the Wagner Cult (“wide-ranging, appealing, breathtakingly virtuosic” - Washington Post). Dorman delves into the story of the Wagner family and the politicisation of Wagner’s music in 20th-century Germany. Wahnfried was first performed in Germany in 2017 and was nominated for Best New Opera at the 2018 International Opera Awards. Our production will feature a cast of leading British singers including Susan Bullock CBE, and Mark Le Brocq, fresh from his roles as Loge and Siegmund in Longborough’s Ring and Aschenbach in WNO’s Death in Venice. This UK premiere will be directed by our artistic director Polly Graham.

Wahnfried: The Birth Of The Wagner Cult

We present a new production of Gioachino Rossini’s beloved comic opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia. Conducted by the resident conductor of Irish National Opera Elaine Kelly and directed by Louise Bakker, this production promises to delight audiences of all ages.

Il Barbiere Di Siviglia

A fresh take on the enduring dramatic device of the love triangle: shimmering orchestral interludes and haunting vocal melodies unveil relationships in all their complexity and instability.

After the Ring, this opera is an ideal next step for the Longborough Festival Orchestra under the baton of our Music Director, Anthony Negus.

Pelléas Et Mélisande

Closing the 2025 season will be a new production of Purcell’s masterpiece Dido and Aeneas, featuring one of the world’s leading baroque ensembles, Barokksolistene, and offering fresh and vibrant arrangements of Purcell’s score. For the Longborough Emerging Artists and Youth Chorus, the opportunity to take part in this project will be inspirational, and for audiences, this promises to be a barnstorming end to a thrilling season. The project will be led by Bjarte Eike, one of the leading exponents in Baroque fiddle, and directed by Norwegian stage director and choreographer Erlend Samnøen.

Longborough Festival Opera

Dec 30, 2024

Youth Chorus 24-25 (instalment 1)

Feb 1, 2025

Youth Chorus 24-25 (instalment 2)

Feb 6, 2025

Insights on Wahnfried

May 27 - Jun 14, 2025

Wahnfried: The Birth Of The Wagner Cult

Jun 8 - Jul 13, 2025

Il Barbiere Di Siviglia

Dec 8, 2024

Christmas at Longborough

Nov 7, 2024

Insights on Dido and Aeneas

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Longborough Festival Opera