A combination of poetry, music and magic enchant the scene at Garsington Opera. During an annual six-week period, the Garsington Opera programme transports an exclusive grouping of guests to international lands, magical dreamlands, great landscapes and back in time. Mozart, Rossini and Strauss become close acquaintances as conversations are had with the world’s highest regarded Soprano’s and Bass’s. The dress code at Garsington Opera is not short of sophistication as guests enter Wormsley Estate in a blur of long, floating dresses and dinner jackets.

With enlightened excitement, a current of anticipation runs through the opera enthusiasts and novice goers alike. Bordered by English countryside that spreads further than the naked eye can see, Garsington Opera House stands. Nestled in forested, green Buckinghamshire, Wormsley Estate is a haven, exceeding anyone who steps onto the land’s expectations. Where adults return to childish fantasies and travelling is permitted without a passport, Garsington Opera Festival sits.

Taking place each English summer, a variety of performances are held during a six-week-period between the months of May and July. The crème de la crème of classical conductors, opera singers and directors congregate to show their ingenious interpretations of the classics of the opera archive. No season is repeated, making Garsington Opera Festival only so more exclusive.

Garsington Opera Festival first showcased in a place named, perhaps too easy a guess, Garsington in Oxfordshire. It was founded in 1989 by a banker, Leonard Ingram, and his violinist wife, Rosalind. The opera festival metamorphosed within the confines of this handsome, English garden to the globally renowned, Garsington Opera Festival. It then moved homes in 2011, approximately 25 minutes away, to Wormsley Park; the former residence of philanthropist billionaire, Sir Paul Getty, which remains within the family. Such affluency of the owner is reflected in the grand estate as annually, prim, and proper guests assemble.

The Opera

There is an array of alluring motives behind why the attendance of a performance at Garsington Opera Festival has become an cemented activity in many individuals summer social calendar.

From the breath-taking English countryside to the delectable cuisine, why wouldn’t it be? Nonetheless, the prominent driving force to this luxurious event is, of course, the Opera. Performing here is regarded as the ‘ne plus ultra’ of careers within the industry, and the architecture reflects this.

Garsington Opera boasts a 600 seat-auditorium. None of these 600 seats have a restricted view, permitting every guest to have an equally mesmerising operatic moment. Unlike other Opera Houses, Garsington Opera Pavilion is a unique architectural structure. Designed by Robert Snell and based off the Japanese kabuki theatre, the open Pavilion camouflages into the beautiful backdrop of Wormsley Estate. The audience have constant visual access to the Estate, even from their seats. The orchestra and performers flood the space, with the help of birdsong, pulling the guests further and further into this idiosyncratic experience.

Wormsely Estate

Guests are carried in awe from the performance to the Wormsley Estates grounds, as breaths remain taken away. English Estates are not short of beautiful, and Wormsley Estate is not an exception. Wormsley Estate is made up of 2500 acres of old woodland, a deer park, an organic farm with a lake situated in front of the sprawling lawns that lay before the Opera Pavilion. Fancy a game of cricket? The Estate even enjoys its own cricket ground, with Sir Paul Getty manufacturing a replica of The Oval on the grounds; this cricket pitch has since been regarded as one of the most beautiful cricket pitches in England, even being inaugurated by the former Queen Mother. Wormsley opens its doors at 3:30pm on performance days, permitting for many an hour spent adventuring.

As part of this adventure, guests are able to take the Wormsley vintage bus to the two-acre Walled Garden. With the original design by Richard Woods in mid-1700s, the gardens have been refreshed by Penelope Hobhouse in 1991. Enter into Alice’s Wonderland by venturing into the rose garden, or play a game of croquet or even find the mini outdoor theatre.

The Dining Experience

With an 85-minute-long dinner interval, dinner is a central component to the experience had at Garsington Opera Festival. One can indulge in pre-performance canapés from the Champagne Bar, or rather choose Afternoon Tea, served in the Boundary Room Restaurant that overlooks the acclaimed Wormsley cricket grounds.

The Boundary Room Restaurant transforms into a haven for guests with tantalising tastebuds. With a three-course-dinner menu that has been handcrafted by Ollie Dabous, the chef patron of Michelin-starred ‘Hide’ restaurant in London, the emotion of disappointment will not be a guest. Undoubtedly, this experience is in the highest of popularity thus making booking beforehand imperative.

Guests may also opt for a more rustic experience, with the choice of either a Gourmet or Traditional Picnic. Served in traditional wicker baskets, a selection of al fresco favourites is uncovered which are served with a complimentary table that overlooks the Cricket Grounds. The possibility to rather enjoy this picnic with deer’s as fellow guests is also available in the Deer Park.

Guests may equally bring their own picnic, with spots next to the elegant lake, on the Champagne Lawn or in a shared tent.

The Garsington Opera Festival is unequivocally the place where the most talented of the arts meet luxury. Join Lewis Carroll in his imagination, experience an unprecedented operatic experience and ignite the passion for opera.