Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade was certainly in the race as a gold-medal contender with its tragic-comic moments and stand-out vocals.

As London gets ready to host the Games, Garsington Opera marked the grand occasion with this performance, which centred around a race to win a woman’s heart.

The show, which is set in Olympia, features Licida, the prince of Crete who persuades his best friend Megacle to take part in a scam.

Megacle, who is a talented athlete, is asked by Licida to enter a race on his behalf as he is desperate to win first prize – the hand of the beautiful Aristea, daughter of the King.

Megacle agrees as he owes Licida a debt for previously saving his life, however he signs up to this deceitful act before realising the very prize being offered is his lover.

Along the way the opera took in some melancholic moments, looking at death, misery, honour and lost love.

However this was also punctuated with light relief.

Laugh-out-loud moments included a slow-motion race around the entire venue, and a digital camera being used in Ancient Greece - all while the cast were wearing modern tracksuits.

The delightful Wormsley estate in Stokenchurch was once again the backdrop for Garsingston Opera.

The magnificent glass structure, which is set surrounded by the lush woodlands in the Chilterns, is the perfect venue to host such dramatic work with awesome acoustics – but unfortunately it was not quite so comfortable in such inclement weather.

The set designers couldn’t manage to import the Greek weather for the show, as the torrential rain and biting winds failed to stop.

Women in stunning evening wear were clomping around in wellies.

And instead of making the full use of the 85 minute dinner interval to sit by the glorious lake and watch the roaming deer, many scarpered back to sit in enclosed marquees for supper, or like us, dash to our car to blast the heating out and warm up.

This was despite wearing thermals and wrapping our posh clothing in blankets inside the airy pavilion.

It was hard to watch the leading ladies dressed in skimpy dresses on stage and not notice their frozen breath (and were they shaking with cold?) We wanted to offer them a rug.

However their performances were pitch-perfect and special mention must be made to Emily Fons as Megacle – who was rewarded with a rousing cheer and furious applause at the finale – and to Rosa Bove as Aristea.

They were professionals to the end. No, we weren’t just clapping frantically to warm up.

Garsington’s 2012 season runs until July 3, featuring rotating performances of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade and Offenbach’s La Perichole.

Tickets range from £95 to £170 and include a suggested but non-obligatory donation of £60. To book call 01865 361636 or go to www.garsingtonopera.org