Longborough Festival Opera - Longborough
26 April 2024

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Performance reviews

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The Fairy Queen

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 4

Longborough’s season ends with a ravishing interpretation of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen
5 Aug 23 / Seen and Heard
The young cast of singers give exacting accounts of Purcell’s music
3 Aug 23 / Classical Source
An uplifting celebration of hybridity
31 Jul 23 / Opera Today
Back to the Bard
31 Jul 23 / Bachtrack
L'Orfeo

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 5

La production d’Olivia Fuchs se singularise par une transposition cohérente et inventive
26 Jul 23 / Anaclase
Longborough’s successful season continues with a dissonant interpretation of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo
22 Jul 23 / Seen and Heard
This production is a vital demonstration that less is more in Monteverdi’s enduring masterpiece
21 Jul 23 / Classical Source
Ether, electric guitars and a deus ex machina
14 Jul 23 / The Guardian
Don't look back
13 Jul 23 / Bachtrack
L'elisir d'amore

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 3

Longborough’s L’elisir d’amore excitingly transfers from a Basque to a Cotswold village
24 Jun 23 / Seen and Heard
Country life
23 Jun 23 / Opera Today
Sunny and occasionally sentimental
23 Jun 23 / The Stage
Götterdämmerung

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 7

It avoids the trap of trying too hard and ending up with intellectual incoherence
15 Jun 23 / The Article
Großes Musiktheater auf höchstem musikalischem Niveau mit Picknick auf dem Lande
11 Jun 23 / Opera Online (German)
Valhalla or bust: Götterdämmerung at the LFO
6 Jun 23 / Great British Life
Excellent singers, conductor and orchestra makes Götterdämmerung Longborough’s best Wagner yet
3 Jun 23 / Seen and Heard
A magnificent Götterdämmerung at Longborough
1 Jun 23 / Opera Today
Conductor Anthony Negus is the lord of this Ring
31 May 23 / The Guardian
Fame and feuding on the Rhine: Longborough's new Götterdämmerung
31 May 23 / Bachtrack
Spell Book

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 3

Longborough Festival Opera’s investment in Emerging Artists pays dividends
6 Aug 22 / Seen and Heard
A rewarding, complementary preface to La liberazione di Ruggiero
5 Aug 22 / Classical Source
The pitfalls of diversity
1 Aug 22 / The Arts Desk
La liberazione

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 3

Longborough Festival Opera’s investment in Emerging Artists pays dividends
6 Aug 22 / Seen and Heard
Lauren Joyanne Morris as Alcina brings intensity and allure to the role
5 Aug 22 / Classical Source
The pitfalls of diversity
1 Aug 22 / The Arts Desk
Die Tote Stadt

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 5

A youthful masterpiece
30 Jul 22 / Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
The psychology of grief compellingly explored
30 Jun 22 / Bachtrack
Rachel Nicholls’s remarkable versatility in Die tote Stadt delivers another Longborough success
29 Jun 22 / Seen and Heard
Korngold’s ‘Die Tote Stadt’ revived in the Cotswolds
27 Jun 22 / The Article
As Paul, Peter Auty never flagged in this exhausting tenor role
23 Jun 22 / Opera Today
Carmen

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 2

‘Comrades in adversity’ pull together for a Longborough Carmen with a difference
12 Jul 22 / Seen and Heard
A triumph over adversity as cover singers save the day
11 Jul 22 / The Guardian
Siegfried

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 7

Directed by Amy Lane, this was a Siegfried to remember
16 Jun 22 / Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
A gripping Siegfried at Longborough Festival Opera
6 Jun 22 / Opera Today
Longborough’s Siegfried benefits from generally clear storytelling and solid musical values
3 Jun 22 / Seen and Heard
Siegfried is another triumph in Longborough Festival Opera’s Ring cycle
3 Jun 22 / Music OMH
Heft and heroics as Longborough again proves its Wagner chops
1 Jun 22 / The Guardian
Atmospheric and economical
1 Jun 22 / The Stage
Fearlessly heroic: Siegfried gets the Longborough Ring back on track
1 Jun 22 / Bachtrack
The Cunning Little Vixen

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 6

A magical offering of fun and fantasy in this wonderful outpouring of late Janáček
21 Aug 21 / Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
Longborough’s 2021 season concludes with a production representing a new direction for its Emerging Artist programme
6 Aug 21 / Music OMH
Vivid and potent musical performances, which convey the life-affirmative spirit of Janáček’s creation
4 Aug 21 / Classical Source
Longborough Festival Opera's new Vixen a cunning, charming success
3 Aug 21 / Bachtrack
Life, death and the menopause in the forest
2 Aug 21 / The Arts Desk
Longborough’s emerging artists and youth chorus fashion a Cunning spirits-lifting close to the season
1 Aug 21 / Seen and Heard
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 2

A taut new production
21 Jul 21 / iNews
Tenderness and thuggery plus a touch of the Pythons
15 Jul 21 / The Guardian
Così fan tutte

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 4

Così fan tutte is living proof of Longborough Festival Opera’s extraordinary inventiveness in the face of adversity
17 Jul 21 / Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
One of the best productions of Così I have seen
6 Jul 21 / Classical Source
As Longborough’s 2021 season moves beyond Wagner, a new venue takes centre-stage and the fun flows freely
6 Jul 21 / Music OMH
Longborough’s Big Top Così fan tutte just about survives the cuts and the re-orchestration
30 Jun 21 / Seen and Heard
Die Walküre

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 5

A socially distanced semi-staged Die Walküre with many musical highlights returns summer opera to Longborough
11 Jun 21 / Seen and Heard
A semi-successful semi-staging of Die Walküre at Longborough Festival Opera
9 Jun 21 / Bachtrack
This is a Wagner performance that stands out on its own highly creditable terms
8 Jun 21 / Classical Source
A powerful electricity runs through the evening
4 Jun 21 / Music OMH
Covid constraints achieve intimacy and intensity
3 Jun 21 / The Guardian
Don Giovanni

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 6

The singing for this production was of the highest order
20 Aug 19 / Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
The best singing of the evening comes from Paula Sides as Donna Anna
18 Jul 19 / Music OMH
Longborough’s female-centric Don Giovanni
15 Jul 19 / Seen and Heard
Characterisations are well-defined through strong, authoritative singing
13 Jul 19 / Classical Source
Longborough’s female-centric Don Giovanni
13 Jul 19 / Seen and Heard
“The Predator Punish'd”: Longborough's new Don Giovanni
13 Jul 19 / Bachtrack
La Calisto

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 3

Longborough Festival Opera’s 2019 Young Artist production is a highly dynamic telling of La Calisto
5 Aug 19 / Music OMH
The production winningly adapts much of the fun of Cavalli’s original
31 Jul 19 / Classical Source
In La Calisto, Longborough’s Young Artists Spectacularly Defy Human Frailty
31 Jul 19 / Seen and Heard
Anna Bolena

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 6

La distribution du jour fait bon effet
14 Jul 19 / Anaclase
Longborough’s Anna Bolena continues the 2019 season’s success
28 Jun 19 / Seen and Heard
Longborough has done it proud
27 Jun 19 / Classical Source
Masks and marriages
26 Jun 19 / Bachtrack
Tudor Queens in the Cotswolds — Italian style
26 Jun 19 / The Article
A highly memorable evening
24 Jun 19 / Music OMH
Das Rheingold

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 6

Anthony Negus conducts Das Rheingold at Longborough
14 Jun 19 / Opera Today
English Summer Opera gets underway
12 Jun 19 / The Article
With Das Rheingold Longborough sets off once again on the Ring road
11 Jun 19 / Seen and Heard
Mark Stone, with his powerful baritone, arguably produces the strongest singing of the evening as Alberich
9 Jun 19 / Music OMH
Longborough begins new Ring with assurance and clarity
7 Jun 19 / The Guardian
For Wagnerians, the next four years are sewn up
7 Jun 19 / Classical Source
The miracle of Longborough
Ring cycles have been known to break national opera companies. Longborough Festival Opera is about to embark upon their second. How do they do it?
L'incoronazione di Poppea

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 4

L’incoronazione di Poppea constitutes Longborough Festival Opera’s 2018 Young Artist production, and the cast is magnificent
4 Aug 18 / Music OMH
Young Artists show their talent in Longborough’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea
2 Aug 18 / Seen and Heard
Victims of love
31 Jul 18 / The Critics' Circle
The vitality of Monteverdi’s score remains more or less intact in Jeremy Silver’s reading
30 Jul 18 / Classical Source
Ariadne auf Naxos

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 8

Thrilling energy & humour from Longborough Festival Opera
26 Jul 18 / The Spectator
Captivating and glorious
25 Jul 18 / Seen and Heard
What really brings it all to life is the conducting by Anthony Negus
18 Jul 18 / Mark Ronan's Theatre Reviews
A game of two halves
18 Jul 18 / Bachtrack
Anthony Negus was the star of this show
17 Jul 18 / The Critics' Circle
Alan Privett’s production of Ariadne is another huge Longborough success
16 Jul 18 / Seen and Heard
Never less than a highly accomplished production that, in such an intimate setting, packs quite a punch
16 Jul 18 / Music OMH
Like the staging, the music jumps off the page
15 Jul 18 / Classical Source
La Traviata

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 3

Shame, camera, action
29 Jun 18 / Bachtrack
This interpretation of La traviata is as successful as it is innovative
28 Jun 18 / Music OMH
An emotionally-charged La Traviata
26 Jun 18 / Classical Source
Der Fliegende Holländer

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 10

Opera needs this kind of intrepid eccentricity
18 Jun 18 / The Observer
An exhilarating storm-tossed evening in the Cotswolds
16 Jun 18 / Bachtrack
Longborough continues to be a refuge for British Wagnerians fleeing idiotic productions
14 Jun 18 / The Spectator
A welcome addition to the festival’s exploration of Wagner's earlier creations
13 Jun 18 / Music OMH
Anthony Negus’s conducting allows Longborough’s Der Fliegende Holländer to conquer high seas
11 Jun 18 / Seen and Heard
Longborough’s track record with Wagner’s works is an astonishingly thrilling achievement
9 Jun 18 / Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
Negus sets up the story’s tensions in a passionate, spacious account of the overture
8 Jun 18 / Classical Source
Beautifully played but dramatically inert
8 Jun 18 / The Stage
A production that really flies
8 Jun 18 / Telegraph
The Flying Dutchman opens this year's Longborough Festival and a star is born
8 Jun 18 / What's on Stage
Orfeo ed Euridice

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 7

The cast reveals a wealth of talent
10 Aug 17 / Music OMH
Jagusz’s production certainly confirmed the artistic power of economy
7 Aug 17 / Opera Today
A Bollywood Orfeo ed Euridice showcases Longborough Festival Opera’s young artists
7 Aug 17 / Seen and Heard
Simplicity in Longborough's Orfeo ed Euridice
4 Aug 17 / Bachtrack
To hell and back
1 Aug 17 / The Critics' Circle
Music conquers all
1 Aug 17 / The Stage
The three vocal soloists emerge as musically distinctive, independent figures
31 Jul 17 / Classical Source
Die Zauberflöte

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 3

The audience at Longborough Festival Opera seemed to enjoy The Magic Flute far more than I did
20 Jul 17 / The Spectator
Who pulls the strings? Mozart's Magic Flute at Longborough
19 Jul 17 / Bachtrack
A mixed bag in which the musical dimension is more appealing than the production
15 Jul 17 / Classical Source
Fidelio

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 8

Une poignée de bons chanteurs engonce loyalement la production
17 Jul 17 / Anaclase
There is something slightly discomfiting in the tricksy production director Orpha Phelan offers here
8 Jul 17 / The Oxford Times
Among the singers, the soprano, Elizabeth Atherton, as Leonore/Fidelio emerged as the real star of the show
8 Jul 17 / Stratford-upon-Avon Herald
As Leonore, Elizabeth Atherton produces a very clean, pure and accurate sound
5 Jul 17 / Music OMH
That this Fidelio is merely frustrating counts as something of a success
29 Jun 17 / The Spectator
A challenging, provocative and highly rewarding evening
29 Jun 17 / Independent
Impressive singing in Longborough Fidelio
27 Jun 17 / Bachtrack
It’s a miracle that the music makes any headway
26 Jun 17 / Classical Source
Tristan und Isolde

Longborough Festival Opera


No. of reviews: 9

A world class Tristan und Isolde in a barn shed
11 Jul 17 / Opera Today
Lee Bisset as Isolde was glorious
29 Jun 17 / Seen and Heard
One of the most exalting operatic experience I have had
22 Jun 17 / The Spectator
Tristan und Isolde is so hot it sizzles
17 Jun 17 / The Observer
Anthony Negus and Carmen Jakobi’s Tristan und Isolde at Longborough excels musically and scenically
15 Jun 17 / Seen and Heard
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Performance schedule
Wagner
16 Jun to 4 Jul 2024
Wagner
18 Jun to 14 Jul 2024
Wagner
20 Jun to 7 Jul 2024
Wagner
22 Jun to 9 Jul 2024
Puccini
27 Jul to 6 Aug 2024

News & Articles

We're all going to the circus
Longborough Festival Opera's imaginative solution for Summer opera.
1 Mar 2021 / Planet Hugill
Longborough Festival Opera, 2020 reporté en 2021 grâce aux dons
Le Festival d'Opéra de Longborough a été contraint d'annuler son édition 2020 (en mars dernier) mais dans un Royaume culturel désuni et en ruines, il a pu en sauver une belle proportion ainsi que des engagements d'artistes pour 2021.
14 Nov 2020 / Olyrix
Longborough Festival Opera announces 2021 season
The U.K festival, which is scheduled to take place between June 4 and August 3 will showcase four productions.
24 Jul 2020 / OperaWire
Longborough Festival Opera audience members raise over £300,000
The Longborough Festival Opera has announced that 1,000 audience members have chosen to donate the value of their tickets, generating a fund of over £300,000.
25 Apr 2020 / OperaWire
The miracle of Longborough
Ring cycles have been known to break national opera companies. Longborough Festival Opera is about to embark upon their second. How do they do it?
7 Jun 2019 / The Spectator