The 2026 Season marks the beginning of a new chapter for Garsington, as we welcome our new Executive Director Ben Weston to our team. Ben will take forward Nicky Creed’s vision, bringing his leadership, kindness and creativity as we chart a new chapter in our history. This is what makes our company so very special to our artists, audiences and members. I know that Ben will look forward to meeting you at Wormsley next summer.
Our 2026 Festival celebrates music and drama from the 17th to the 21st century and will hopefully transport you away from the troubles of our world to an idyllic environment, with some of the greatest music ever written. We also welcome back some of the incredible artists who have shaped the success of Garsington Opera over the last decade.
We open the season with Verdi’s masterpiece of love and heartbreak, La traviata. Not only do we welcome back the director/designer duo of Louisa Muller and Christopher Oram, but we are also thrilled that Madison Leonard and Oleksiy Palchykov reunite as tragic lovers Violetta and Alfredo, after capturing our hearts in L’elisir d’amore last summer. This production creates an opulent and luminous beauty, whilst Verdi’s radiant and passionate score will be brought to life by our wonderful cast and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Returning to the stage is our celebrated production of Der Rosenkavalier, alongside the Philharmonia Orchestra, who will realise Strauss’s incredible score of rich romanticism, Viennese waltzes, comedy and sublime tenderness. Last performed at Garsington in 2021, Bruno Ravella and Gary McCann’s seductive world has since travelled around the world, from Santa Fe Opera to Irish National Opera. This tale of young love and loss features some of the most breathtaking
2026 SEASON
moments in opera, conducted by Finnegan Downie Dear and performed by a brilliant cast, chorus and children’s chorus selected from the Garsington Youth Company.
Il ritorno d’Ulisse signals our return to the astonishing world of Monteverdi and Greek mythology, following Orfeo in 2022, which was praised as one of Garsington’s finest-ever productions. Ulisse will be presented by the
same creative team led by Director John Caird and conducted by Laurence Cummings, who will further develop the sublime aesthetic of Orfeo. Our Monteverdi exploration is only possible thanks to our partnership with The English Concert, the world-class period instrument orchestra.
The final opera this summer is a new production of Gerald Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest. As well as being one of the greatest operas of our time, it is also, perhaps unusually for contemporary music, uproariously hilarious. Highlights include daringly written, anarchic versions of “Auld Lang Syne” and “Ode to Joy”, as well as Lady Bracknell performed by a bass. Director Jack Furness and designer Francis O’Connor take inspiration from Oscar Wilde’s brilliant play for what promises to be an unforgettable evening.
There is so much to look forward to this summer and I can’t wait to welcome you to Wormsley. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing many of you over the coming months at our winter season of Garsington Studios concerts and community events, including our exciting recital series with extraordinary artists in partnership with the Wigmore Hall.
Douglas Boyd, Artistic Director
2026 FESTIVAL DIARY
LA TRAVIATA
Giuseppe Verdi
May 27 / 31
June 6 / 13 / 20 / 24 / 28
July 9 / 11 / 16 / 20 / 24
DER ROSENKAVALIER
Richard Strauss
May 28 / 30
June 5 / 14 / 16 / 19 / 25 / 27 / 29
IL RITORNO D’ULISSE
Claudio Monteverdi
June 12 / 18 / 21 / 23
July 4 / 17 / 19 / 25
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Gerald Barry
July 10 / 12 / 18 / 21 / 23
LA TRAVIATA
Giuseppe Verdi
One of opera’s most enduring masterpieces, with music of exquisite tenderness and lyricism, Verdi’s La traviata is a tragic story that is both powerful and deeply touching. Returning after their sparkling production of Platée (2024) and RPS award-winning The Turn of the Screw (2019/22) are director Louisa Muller and designer Christopher Oram. We also welcome back Madison Leonard and Oleksiy Palchycov as Violetta and Alfredo, whose partnership delighted us all in L’elisir d’amore last year. The Philharmonia Orchestra will perform under the baton of Douglas Boyd, and Tess Jackson will make her conducting debut with Garsington Opera for two performances.
In this heart-rending love story, the young and beautiful Violetta has the chance of true love, but forces beyond her control will tear them apart. This lavish new production, set in 1939 Paris, sees Violetta preparing herself with what little time she has left and wrestling with what freedom really means.
Co-production with Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Dallas Opera
Violetta Valéry Madison Leonard
Alfredo Germont Oleksiy Palchykov
Giorgio Germont Roland Wood
Gastone Sam Harris
Baron Douphol Chuma Sijeqa
Doctor Grenvil Henry Waddington
Conductor Douglas Boyd
Tess Jackson (24 June & 9 July)
Director Louisa Muller
Designer Christopher Oram
Lighting Designer Marcus Doshi
Movement Director Matthew Steffens
Philharmonia Orchestra
Garsington Opera Chorus
Performances
May 27 / 31
June 6 / 13 / 20 / 24 / 28
July 9 / 11 / 16 / 20 / 24
Start time: 6.10pm
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
DER ROSENKAVALIER
Richard Strauss
Der Rosenkavalier weaves opulent, bittersweet waltzes with lush late-Romantic orchestration, evoking both nostalgic elegance and the ache of time passing. Strauss’s co-creator, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, wrote of a world of ceremony and lavish ritual, in which the characters are helplessly entangled.
This is the much-anticipated return of Bruno Ravella and Gary McCann’s stylish and opulent 2021 production, which had to be performed to a limited audience after lockdown. Making their Garsington debuts are conductor Finnegan Downie Dear, Matilda Sterby, Andreas Bauer Kanabas and Niamh O’Sullivan, whose Octavian at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées received great acclaim. We are also delighted to welcome back Soraya Mafi as Sophie and Robert Murray as Valzacchi.
Set in Vienna, the story follows the Marschallin, her young lover Octavian, and romantic entanglements involving mistaken identity. Blending farce, romance and poignant wisdom, this cherished opera is a tribute to the beauty and power of the female voice.
Co-production with Santa Fe Opera and Irish National Opera
The Marschallin Matilda Sterby
Baron Ochs Andreas Bauer Kanabas
Martin Winkler (25, 27 & 29 June)
Octavian Niamh O’Sullivan
Sophie von Faninal Soraya Mafi
Herr von Faninal Ben McAteer
Marianne Leitmetzerin
Gweneth Ann Rand
Valzacchi Robert Murray
Annina Siân Griffiths
An Italian tenor Egor Zhuravskii
A commissar of police Simon Wilding
Conductor Finnegan Downie Dear
Director Bruno Ravella
Designer Gary McCann
Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth
Philharmonia Orchestra
Garsington Opera Chorus
Garsington Opera Children’s Chorus
Performances
May 28 / 30
June 5 / 14 / 16 / 19 / 25 / 27 / 29
Start time: 4.40pm
Sung in German with English supertitles
IL RITORNO D’ULISSE
Claudio Monteverdi
Following their acclaimed production of Orfeo in 2022, we welcome back the same creative team to perform the second of Monteverdi’s opera trilogy. John Caird will direct and Laurence Cummings will conduct The English Concert on the stage, with a stellar cast lead by Cecelia Hall and Ed Lyon.
In the last five fruitful years of his life, Monteverdi wrote this opera for the carnival season of 1640, a time for music, dance and masquerading. His musical style, so astonishingly bold and innovative when he wrote Orfeo more than thirty years earlier, has developed yet further, with arias and duets that give full life and humanity to his characters.
The dramatic tale of Ulisse (Odysseus) returning to Ithaca after the Trojan War is expressed through a rich blend of myth, emotion, and human struggle. At its centre is Penelope’s enduring failthfulness, with themes of loyalty, identity, and divine intervention described through Monteverdi’s intimate and deeply expressive score, marking a key transition between Renaissance and Baroque opera styles.
Penelope Cecelia Hall
Ulisse Ed Lyon
Telemaco Dafydd Jones
Ericlea Fiona Kimm
Eumete James Gilchrist
Iro Stuart Jackson
Melanto Rowan Pierce
Eurimaco Innocent Masuku
Minerva / Amore Claire Lees
Giunone / La Fortuna Jessica Cale
Pisandro / L’Humana fragilità
Alberto Miguelez Rouco
Giove / Anfinomo Benjamin Hulett
Nettuno / Antinoo James Creswell
Conductor Laurence Cummings
Director John Caird
Designer Robert Jones
Lighting Designer Paul Pyant
Choreographer Arielle Smith
The English Concert
Performances
June 12 / 18 / 21 / 23
July 4 / 17 / 19 / 25
Start time: 5.20pm
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Gerald Barry
Gerald Barry’s witty and highly original adaptation of this muchloved masterpiece will be conducted by Douglas Boyd and directed by Jack Furness, following his celebrated Garsington productions of The Queen of Spades and Rusalka. The visually striking, colourful and bombastic production features the return of Jennifer France, Henry Waddington and Seán Boylan, with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
If you have any preconceptions about an opera based on Oscar Wilde’s brilliant 1894 comedy of manners and misapprehensions, be prepared to abandon them. The composer Gerald Barry adores the play and has taken inspiration from Wilde’s statement “That we should treat all trivial things in life very seriously, and all serious things in life with a sincere and studied triviality”, turning the play inside out and upside down with reckless effrontery. As Barry has said, “The play’s bones are unshatterable. My version is an X-ray of it.” Any shattering that occurs during the course of the entertainment is more likely to be of plates than of dramatic structure.
John Worthing Zahid Saddiqui
Algernon Moncrieff Seán Boylan
Cecily Cardew Jennifer France
Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax Holly Brown
Miss Prism Susan Bickley
Lady Bracknell Henry Waddington
Conductor Douglas Boyd
Director Jack Furness
Set Designer Francis O’Connor
Costume Designer Hannah Wolfe
Movement Director Rebecca Meltzer
Philharmonia Orchestra
Performances
July 10 / 12 / 18 / 21 / 23
Start time: 6.45pm
Sung in English with English supertitles
YOUR VISIT TO GARSINGTON
Dress Code
A visit to Garsington is a special occasion, and we hope you will see it as a chance to dress up. Black tie is traditional, but feel free to find your own expression of elegant evening wear. Warm layers are strongly advised and, as the grass may be soft, stilettos are not recommended.
Under an hour from London by car and 25 minutes by train, with station transfers and taxis available. 30 minutes from Oxford by car.
Your Arrival
Wormsley is open from 3.30pm, when you will be warmly welcomed upon arrival by our stewards who will direct you into the site.
Complimentary Scout porters and chauffeured golf buggies are available to assist with carrying picnics from the free car parks.
Champagne Terrace
Our bar is situated in front of the opera house and is a perfect meeting point.
Overlooking the deer park, it serves Deutz Champagne and delicious pre-ordered canapés, and is open pre-performance and in the interval.
Tea & Coffee Kiosk
For a quick cuppa, drop in on our Kiosk at the foot of the auditorium steps. Open preperformance and in the interval, it is the place to go for an informal offering of savoury bites and freshly baked cakes, or that essential coffee to round off your picnic.
Afternoon Tea
Treat yourself to a full traditional afternoon tea in our restaurant overlooking the cricket ground, complete with freshly baked scones, sandwiches and cakes.
Walled Garden Open
Arrive in time to take a short journey on our vintage bus to Wormsley’s 18th century Walled Garden and enjoy the horticultural variety in its carefully curated quadrants.
Pre-show Recitals
Each Saturday, enjoy a free 15-minute informal recital by our Alvarez Emerging Artists, performed in the Walled Garden or on the Champagne Lawn.
Garsington Opera Shop
Drop in on our charming tented shop to browse our specially selected bespoke collections including ceramics, jewellery, picnicware, pashminas, opera jackets and waistcoats. This is also where you’ll find our Box Office team.
90-minute Dinner Interval
Pre-book your three-course gourmet dining in the Boundary Room restaurant, or a catered picnic to enjoy in our tents. Self-catered picnics are also welcome, with tents and tables available to pre-book.
Your departure
Performances are designed to finish around 10pm, as darkness falls, giving a magical end to your evening, with candles to light your way through the spectacular Chiltern landscape.
Performance Begins
Bells will sound from 15 minutes before the performance, ushering you to your seats.
DINING & HOSPITALITY
Pre-performance
We encourage you to arrive early to enjoy the full experience of a night out at the opera. Allow us to tempt you to afternoon tea, champagne and canapés, or to transport you to the two-acre Walled Garden, where you can meet one of Wormsley’s gardeners and explore the flowers, vegetables and tranquil spaces with champagne glass in hand.
The Long Interval
Dine in the Boundary Room Restaurant
Treat yourself to the complete fine-dining experience in our glass-fronted restaurant, with menus devised by award-winning chef Will Devlin and delivered by Payne & Gunter. Overlooking the timeless Wormsley Cricket Ground and the Chilterns beyond, the Boundary Room boasts one of the most stunning dining room views in Britain.
Order a Picnic
Let Payne & Gunter take the strain and choose from their range of pre-order picnics, offering a delicious selection of al fresco favourites, served in tents beside the Cricket Ground. If you would prefer to enjoy your picnic in the Deer Park, tents and tables can be reserved for a small additional charge.
Reserve a Tent or Table
If you would like to reserve a picnic space, bookings are offered on the Upper Terrace or in our shared tents, accommodating both catered and selfcatered picnics. For larger parties, private tents seating either 8 or 12 are also available.
Deer Park Tents and Tables
Outdoor Picnicking Spaces
Free of charge, unreserved
Dining options: Self-catered picnic
Table in a Shared Tent
£5 per person, reserved Free of charge, unreserved
A table to fit your party in one of our shared tents (capacity 25). Groups larger than 10 may be split across multiple tables or tents.
This unique venue steeped in history is the ideal venue for a small party looking to enhance their evening with fine dining and an unparalleled vista over the Cricket Ground.
Dining options: Restaurant interval dining (additional service charge applies), Catered picnic (additional service charge applies), self-catered dining/picnic
The Granary
Up to 12 people
Nestled in the beauty of the Opera Garden, the Granary is a unique private space bursting with character.
Dining options: Catered picnic (additional service charge applies), self-catered picnic
Island Pavilion
Up to 28 seated
Suitable for dinner for up to 28 guests, the Island Pavilion is the perfect private dining space for larger groups looking to enjoy dining in the seclusion and beauty of the lake overlooking the Opera Pavilion.
Dining options: Restaurant interval dining (additional service charge applies), Catered picnic (additional service charge applies)
Chilterns Tent
Up to 60 seated
For larger parties wishing to dine in a private tent overlooking the glorious Wormsley cricket ground.
Dining options: Catered picnic (additional service charge applies), self-catered dining/picnic
Find out more about our catering options on our website garsingtonopera.org/dining
We are always delighted to welcome tour groups to Garsington Opera at Wormsley. Each summer we host many groups of opera lovers who visit us from both the UK and abroad.
BOOKING INFORMATION
Seating Plan & Tickets
For a more detailed seating plan visit garsingtonopera.org/seating-plan
Priority Tour Group Booking
Priority tour group bookings open in late-October, alongside our members’ priority booking period, and run until public booking opens on Tuesday 31 March 2026.
Priority tour group bookings are at the brochure rates opposite, in addition to a £60 surcharge per ticket for bookings made during this period.
Priority tour group bookers take advantage of
• the best choice of seating areas and dates
• extended reservation periods with flexibility to adjust numbers
• assistance in making catering arrangements
• a package of promotional images and text
• coach drop-off/parking and advice in planning travel to Wormsley
• a dedicated contact for any pre-event queries or requests.
Tour groups may hold tickets during the priority period and make any changes to their reserved numbers as required. Reserved orders must be confirmed no later than Tuesday 3 March and paid in full by Tuesday 31 March.
General Tour Group Booking
After Public booking opens on Tuesday 31 March, tour group bookings are accepted without additional charge at the brochure rates opposite.
Middle Stalls, Rear Stalls and Boxes are reached by external stairs. There is no step-free access.
Front Stalls – seats in Row D have step-free access. Subsequent rows are reached by two steps per row, handholds are provided.
Orchestra Stalls – seating accessed by no more than five steps
Stage Platform – wheelchair spaces and step-free seating
