See what's on for full information on our productions.
The 2023 festival runs from 29 May to 3 August, and includes Wagner's Götterdämmerung, Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and Purcell's The Fairy Queen.
Cast and creative teams will be announced in the coming months. Public booking opens in early 2023.
(Twilight of the Gods)
29, 31 May, 2, 4, 6 June
Sung in German with English surtitles
Götterdämmerung marks the epic conclusion to our new Ring cycle, following acclaimed productions of Das Rheingold in 2019 (“both epic and intimate” – Opera magazine), Die Walküre in 2021 (“as fine Wagner as could be wished” – ★ ★ ★ ★ The Guardian) and Siegfried in 2022 ("the Bayreuth of the Cotswolds" – ★ ★ ★ ★ The Times).
Our 2022 Siegfried is available to stream for free on OperaVision >
All productions in the cycle are created especially for Longborough by Amy Lane, Artistic Director of Copenhagen Opera Festival, and Longborough Music Director and eminent Wagnerian Anthony Negus. The full cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen will be presented in 2024.
“Longborough’s reputation – and with it that of Negus – for honouring Wagner was once more underlined” ★ ★ ★ ★ The Guardian (Siegfried, 2022)
“a Longborough Festival Orchestra of unreasonably high quality” Opera magazine (Siegfried, 2022)
FULL STEAM AHEAD AGAIN AT THE BAYREUTH OF THE COTSWOLDS
The Times (Siegfried, 2022)
(The Elixir of Love)
20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29 June, 1 July
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
A travelling quack doctor offers a lovesick young man a cure for all his problems: the elixir of love. A hilarious satirical comedy – one of Donizetti’s most-loved works, and one of the most popular operas of all time.
L’elisir will be conducted by acclaimed conductor Alice Farnham, and directed by award-winning British-Swiss director Max Hoehn.
“Alice Farnham’s conducting, the driving force” The Guardian
“the orchestral playing is spinetingling”
The Times (Siegfried, 2022)
11, 13, 15, 16, 18 July
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Monteverdi’s poignant and revolutionary take on the Orpheus legend, often considered the first operatic masterpiece.
L’Orfeo will be performed on period instruments by Venetian Baroque specialists La Serenissima, conducted by Robert Howarth (The Return of Ulysses 2021) and directed by Olivia Fuchs, returning following our acclaimed Cunning Little Vixen in 2021.
“Conducting from the harpsichord, Robert Howarth draws seemingly endless variety from a small instrumental ensemble, reflecting the evolutions of the drama and Monteverdi’s prodigious invention”
★ ★ ★ ★ The Stage (The Return of Ulysses, 2021)
“Director Olivia Fuchs welded this large, diverse, and youthful company into a real ensemble”
★ ★ ★ ★ Plays to See (The Cunning Little Vixen, 2021)
PETER GIJSBERTSEN’S PORTRAYAL IS OF A TORTURED SOUL...SHOWING MOST EFFECTIVELY HIS MIX OF BARITONAL COLOUR ALONG WITH THE TENOR HIGHS
The Guardian (Carmen, 2022)
29, 30 July, 1, 3 August
Sung in English with English surtitles
The Fairy Queen was composed to fit between acts of Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, musically expressing the play's themes of nature, transformation, love and magic.
This new production will use the dramatic framework from Shakespeare's text, words and music combining to present Purcell's beautiful, life-affirming score. A newly commissioned genre-bending arrangement will blend Baroque with folk music, co-music directed by baroque violinist and composer Naomi Burrell, and composer and conductor Harry Sever, our Ring Cycle Conducting Fellow.
Longborough's Artistic Director Polly Graham will direct this joyful show for all the family, featuring our Emerging Artists and Youth Chorus.
“The Longborough Youth Chorus were full of verve and fun” The Arbuturian (Carmen, 2022)
A TRIBUTE TO THE FORTHRIGHT, IN-YOUR-FACE ACTING SKILLS OF THE YOUNG PERFORMERS
★★★★ The Times (Emerging Artist production La Calisto, 2019)
Following a successful 2022 tour, the return of a specially adapted performance of Bizet’s Carmen, for performances in local schools during the summer term.
Public booking opens in early 2023. Join the mailing list for the latest updates.