OPERA IN THE COUNTRY
THE IDEA IS SIMPLE: as summer stretches across the English countryside, take the world’s great operas out of air-conditioned opera houses and stage them in rural estates, either in the grounds or the house itself. Audiences will follow. The atmosphere is festive. People arrive with picnic hampers – the long dinner interval is an essential element of country house opera – and they tend to dress up.
It all began at Glyndebourne before World War II, when John Christie opened up his Sussex mansion to fellow opera-lovers. The wealthy landowner never intended to establish an art form but that is what Country House Opera has become. As these festivals proliferate across England, there seems to be no diminishment of appetite for them. The season grows longer and festivals are getting more distinct identities. Each has its speciality.
As well as hearing great operas well sung, the Country House phenomenon offers the chance to stay overnight in some lovely hotels or
