What's On
Dramatised Messiah
December 2025
Smith Square Hall
Layer Marney Tower (sold out)
Chichester Cathedral
Chelmsford Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral
New Theatre Peterborough
Semi-staged by director Tom Morris (War Horse), with singers performing from memory, accompanied by a chamber orchestra of period instruments.
2026
Das Lied von der Erde
31 March 2026 Smith Square Hall, London
April 2026 World Premier recording of Iain Farrington's orchestration
Marta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo
Xavier Hetherington tenor
The Wild Arts Ensemble
Eleanor Corr leader
Orlando Jopling conductor
The Marriage of Figaro
SUMMER 2026
Layer Marney Tower Opera Festival | Kelvedon Hall Opera Festival | Owlpen Manor | Forde Abbey | Malvern Festival Theatre | Norwich Theatre Royal | The Birmingham Rep | The Minack Theatre | The Royal and Derngate | Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford | Cambridge Summer Music Festival | Deal Festival | Northern Aldborough Festival | Thaxted Festival
James Hurley director
Orlando Jopling conductor
Cast announced February 2026
Image: Minack Theatre
Opera Evening 2026
May - August 2026
A semi-staged evening of opera woven into a narrative, with four exceptional singers and a world-class string quintet. Music by Handel, Puccini, Cole Porter, Mozart, Britten, Stravinsky and many more.
London | Sudeley Castle | Forde Abbey | Eastnor Castle | Layer Marney Tower | Hall Barn | Oxshott | Great Ruffins, Essex | Oxfordshire | Doddington Hall | Penshurst | Treberfydd | Berkeley Castle | Taynton | Barn Drift, Norfolk | Winchester College | Bowood Estate | Arundells | Dunster Castle | Hall, Devon
Elgar cello concerto & Mahler 4
October 2026 Saffron Hall and other venues
Wild Arts Ensemble
Orlando Jopling conductor
Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor
Mahler Symphony No. 4
Layer Marney Tower
Layer Marney Tower
Layer Marney Tower
Friday 5 June – Sunday 7 June 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
Our 5th season at the magnificent Tudor red-brick mansion Layer Marney Tower, overlooking the Blackwater River in Essex
Picnic in the gardens and grounds and enjoy the opera in the beautifully renovated Opera Barn.
BOX OFFICE
Patrons booking opens autumn 2025
Friends booking opens 1 January
Public booking opens 16 February
Elveden Hall
Layer Marney Tower
Layer Marney Tower
June 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
A return to this iconic Suffolk estate and its grand marble hall – built by Maharajah Duleep Singh and designer John Norton in ornate Italian style.
Kelvedon Hall
Layer Marney Tower
Falconhurst, Kent
Sunday 14 June 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
Our third year at this beautiful house near Kelvedon Hatch (CM14 5TN) where Henry 'Chips' Channon wrote his famous diaries.
You will be seated under cover in the beautiful Rose Garden amphitheatre, an intimate space with grass embankments and perfect acoustics for live music.
Set up your picnics in the beautiful gardens.
Kelvedon Hall, Kelvedon Hatch CM14 5TN
Falconhurst, Kent
Forde Abbey, Dorset
Falconhurst, Kent
Thursday 10 July 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
Our fifth year at this 19th-century haven of beautiful architecture, wow-factor gardens and incredible views over the valley in the Kent countryside.
All previous shows have sold out. Please do book early and even better support us to gain priority booking. We rely on the generosity of our supporters to make everything we do possible
Forde Abbey, Dorset
Forde Abbey, Dorset
Forde Abbey, Dorset
Thurs 23 July 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
Forde Abbey is a truly amazing house in Dorset with extensive, magnificent gardens and grounds, and we're delighted to return for a fourth year.
Picnic in the beautiful grounds and enjoy the performance in the Great Hall.
Wolterton Hall, Norfolk
Wolterton Hall, Norfolk
Wolterton Hall, Norfolk
We hope to return to this incredible house in North Norfolk, beautifully renovated in 2026.
You can come to the opera, have dinner and even stay the night in King Charles I bedroom, or Nelson's bedroom.
A house steeped in incredible history and a hidden and unknown gem in peaceful Norfolk countryside.
Thaxted Festival, Essex
Wolterton Hall, Norfolk
Wolterton Hall, Norfolk
Sunday 5 July 2026 The Marriage of FIgaro
This will be our fourth appearance at the Thaxted Festival. Long interval for picnics in the Conservation Garden over the road.
Deal Festival, Kent
Wolterton Hall, Norfolk
Deal Festival, Kent
Saturday 11 July 2026 The Marriage of Figaro
This will be our third visit to Sandwich as part of the wonderful Deal Festival.
Thorington Theatre, Suffolk
Thorington Theatre, Suffolk
Thorington Theatre, Suffolk
Friday 14 August 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
Our fifth year at this beautiful wooden auditorium created in the middle of a Suffolk wood, this year with our full opera.
Barn Drift, Norfolk
Thorington Theatre, Suffolk
Thorington Theatre, Suffolk
Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 August
Love, Actually
Our second performance at this amazing venue on the beautiful North Norfolk coast.
Boconnoc Estate, Cornwall
Boconnoc Estate, Cornwall
Boconnoc Estate, Cornwall
Tuesday 30 June 2026
Love, Actually
Hall, North Devon
Boconnoc Estate, Cornwall
Boconnoc Estate, Cornwall
Wednesday 1 July 2026
Opera Evening
The magnificent Great Hall in the 3,000 acre Hall Estate, on a beautiful hill overlooking the river Taw in Devon.
Penshurst, Kent
Boconnoc Estate, Cornwall
Norwich Theatre Royal
July 2026 Opera Evening
Norwich Theatre Royal
The Minack Theatre, Cornwall
Norwich Theatre Royal
September 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
Heronsgate, Hertfordshire
The Minack Theatre, Cornwall
The Minack Theatre, Cornwall
Saturday 28 June 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
Our fifth visit to this beautiful garden in Heronsgate.
The Minack Theatre, Cornwall
The Minack Theatre, Cornwall
The Minack Theatre, Cornwall
September 2026 The Marriage of Figaro
Childerley Hall, Cambridgeshire
Childerley Hall, Cambridgeshire
Childerley Hall, Cambridgeshire
July 2026 The Marriage of Figaro
We're delighted to return for a fourth year to the beautiful barn in the grounds of Childerley Hall, as part of the Cambridge Summer Music Festival.
Dunster Castle, Somerset
Childerley Hall, Cambridgeshire
Childerley Hall, Cambridgeshire
July 2026 Opera Evening
Our third visit to this fairy-tale castle with far-reaching views over the water. A very popular venue - do book soon for this one.
Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire
Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire
Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire
July 2026 Opera Evening
We’re delighted to return to this incredible Elizabethan Hall for a fourth year, with two performances.
Great Ruffins, Essex
Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire
Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire
1 August 2026 Opera Evening
We're so happy to return to the beautiful gardens, carefully restored by the current owners to their former glory.
Owlpen Manor, Gloucestershire
Painswick Rococo Garden, Gloucestershire
Painswick Rococo Garden, Gloucestershire
July 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
Following our sold-out shows in 2024 and 205, we're delighted to return to the wonderful light-filled theatre barn with fantastic acoustics.
Seating strictly limited to 150 people.
Bring picnics and enjoy the formal gardens and parkland set in a beautiful peaceful valley in Gloucestershire.
Painswick Rococo Garden, Gloucestershire
Painswick Rococo Garden, Gloucestershire
Painswick Rococo Garden, Gloucestershire
Friday 19 July 2026
The Marriage of Figaro
Our fourth visit to this wonderful garden, where a sunken grassy hollow ringed by magnificent trees makes the perfect backdrop to the show.
Malvern Festival Theatre
Malvern Festival Theatre
Malvern Festival Theatre
July 2026
Tha Marriage of Figaro
Taynton, Oxfordshire
Malvern Festival Theatre
Malvern Festival Theatre
Sunday 2 August 2026
Love, Actually
Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire
Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
July 2026 Opera Evening
Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
June / July 2026 Opera Evening