Thinking big, thinking Wagnerian

LONGBOROUGH FESTIVAL OPERA was once almost a secret delight, cherished and supported by a select, regular audience. Back in 1991, it was known as Banks Fee Opera, named after the Cotswolds house owned by Martin and Lizzie Graham, who began their operatic adventures by inviting Travelling Opera to give two charity performances on a temporary stage in the courtyard of their stable block.

It was a great success and the relationship continued until 1998 when, having got a taste for it, the Grahams decided to launch their own company at their new house, New Banks Fee. Here, an existing barn struck them as having irresistible potential as a theatre that