SUMMER OF SONG
Every year, between May and August, the sound of birdsong blends with the melodies of love-torn tragedy as the country house opera season gets underway. A growing number of historic venues now host their own special festivals of classical music, in what has become a much-loved highlight of the summer cultural calendar.
“The graciousness of civilisation here surely touches a peak where the arts of music, architecture and gardening combine for the delight of man,” wrote Vita Sackville-West of Glyndebourne in 1953.
Set in the rolling South Downs, Britain’s original summer opera venue is a byword for sophistication, its reputation for musical excellence rivalling the
