The Festival Opera Gala Dinner 2026

The White Horse Festival
presents

The Festival Opera Gala Dinner 2026

The White Horse Festival, in partnership with Carvers Hill Estate and Chef James Graham, is proud to present this spectacular evening of fine dining, wonderful music and renowned wines.

With a black-tie dress code, drawing inspiration from the country’s well-loved summer opera festivals but with our signature autumnal twist, the evening features the return of exceptional White Horse Festival artists Hilary Cronin, soprano, and Xavier Hetherington, tenor, delighting audiences with arias, duets and scenes from across the world of opera.

Hilary Cronin and Xavier Hetherington are at the forefront of the British classical landscape, performing for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Opera Holland Park, Buxton International Festival and English National Opera. Performing together and separately across the full scope of the space, their captivating performances will transport and entertain.

Upon arrival at the beautiful Carvers Hill, guests will be greeted with a welcome glass of Carvers Hill rosé before taking their seats for an elegant, bespoke, three-course dinner. Chef James Graham has drawn upon his experience at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons (Raymond Blanc, two Michelin stars), Ninety Park Lane (Nico Ladenis, three Michelin stars) and Allium (one Michelin star) to craft an understated, authentic, Italian-inspired menu to complement the opera and wines, featuring the last of this year's heritage tomatoes from the Isle of Wight, followed by his signature Chicken Scarpariello, ending with Tiramisu. Each course is punctuated by romantic and dramatic musical interludes, all set in the incomparable surroundings of Wiltshire’s most beautiful vineyard.

Carvers Hill’s award-winning wines are produced on site, giving them oversight of the full winemaking process. Set in the unspoilt conservation landscape of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and once farmed for wildflower seed, the Estate’s distinctive topography and terroir have since been carefully reimagined, becoming home to over 22,000 vines planted in 2021 and the foundation of a new generation of premium English wine. A range of Carvers Hill wines will be available to purchase throughout the evening, alongside other alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.

Experience elegant dining, transportative music and the hidden gem that is this stunning vineyard – this memorable evening truly is one not to be missed.

Dress code: black tie is encouraged for this elegant evening, however it is not compulsory.

Doors open at 6.30pm

Menu

A vegetarian and vegan option is available, please specify when booking.

Menu items are subject to change if required

Hilary Cronin - soprano

Since winning both the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2021 London Handel International Singing Competition, Hilary Cronin has firmly established herself at the forefront of the new generation of British sopranos.

Hilary trained at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and at Royal Holloway University of London where she was awarded the Dame Felicity Lott Bursary and the Driver Prize for Excellence in Performance.

Praised by Opera Now for her “golden tone,” by Classical Voice North America for her “shining, rounded timbre,” and singled out by The Times as “sensational,” Hilary has appeared with leading ensembles including Academy of Ancient Music, English Baroque Soloists, Florilegium, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, London Handel Orchestra, La Nuova Musica and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, as well as with BBC Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, and the London Mozart Players.

Her 2026 engagements include Mendelssohn Lobgesang with the Constellation Choir & Orchestra, Brahms Requiem with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and for Newbury Festival, Bach St Matthew Passion with Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bach Easter Oratorio and BWV 21 at Tilford Bach Festival with the London Handel Players, Handel Chandos Anthems with Arcangelo, and Handel Messiah with Handel & Haydn Society, The Sixteen, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and Polyphony.

This summer, Hilary performed the role of sorceress Melissa in Handel’s Amadigi with The English Concert for Buxton International Festival.

This autumn, Hilary will create the role of The Angel Gabriel in Errollyn Wallen’s A Christmas Miracle with Mahogany Opera and Britten Pears Arts.

https://www.hilarycronin-soprano.co.uk/

Xavier Hetherington - tenor

After reading Classics at St John’s College, Cambridge, British tenor Xavier Hetherington took his Master’s degree at the Royal College of Music as a Dr Prince Donatus and Princess Heidi Von Hohenzollern Scholar. He graduated in 2020 with Distinction and moved on to the Mascarade Opera Studio in Florence, and then the Centre de Perfeccionament at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia. Xavier was a semi finalist in the 2026 Viñas Competition.

Recent and future engagements include the title role in Jonathan Dove's Itch and Alfred Die Fledermaus (Opera Holland Park), Prologue/Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw (Deborah Warner Season at the Ustinov Studio, Bath), Brighella Ariadne auf Naxos (Nederlandse Reisopera), Nemorino The Elixir of Love (Wilton's Music Hall), Nemorino and Lensky Eugene Onegin (Wild Arts including performances at Opera Holland Park), Ruggero La Rondine (Fidelio Cafe, London), Don José Carmen (Paisley Opera and Waterperry Opera Festival); Philip Fork Pass the Spoon, Scrofulous/Toady/Seer/Saul in Purcell/Pountney's Masque of Might, Dick Dauntless Ruddigore, Shepherd and cover Orpheus (Opera North); 1st Tenor / Father Seven Deadly Sins (Opera Prelude at Opera Holland Park), Lieutenant Kotler in the World Premiere of A Child in Striped Pyjamas (Echo Ensemble); Shepherd La liberazione Di Ruggiero Dall’isola D’Alcina and cover Ferrando Cosí fan tutte (Longborough Festival); Lensky, Tebaldo I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Don Ramiro La Cenerentola in scenes at La Fenice; and the trio from Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti at the Palau de les Arts, Valencia.

Recent concert performances include Pilade Ermione (The Monteverdi Choir), Ahasuerus in Handel's Esther with The English Concert (West London Synagogue, London and a Recording) and with Solomon's Knot (Wigmore Hall, Halle Händel-Festspiele and Musikfestspiele Saar); Mozart's Requiem (Wurzburg Mozart Festival); Tenor solo Singalong Messiah (Reisopera); Soldato 1/Valletto/Mercurio/Famiglari 3/Littore/Consoli L'Incoronazione di Poppea with Harry Bicket and The English Concert Orchestra (Auditorio Nacional, Madrid and Palau de la Musica, Barcelona); Verdi’s Requiem (Royal Albert Hall); concerts with Opera Prelude and the Royal Philharmonic Society, an opera gala at the 20th anniversary of the Encuentro de la Música in the Palacio de Festivales, Santander.

Xavier has benefited from the generous support of the King-Farlow Trust, Jeremy Young and Kate Olver and is an Opera Prelude Young Artist.

https://www.musichall.uk.com/artists/tenors/xavier-hetherington

Alex Aitken - piano

Alex maintains an extensive, slightly-too-busy, and impressively-varied schedule working with some of the UK’s most eminent musicians, ensembles and organisations, as well as with choral groups and schools. He is the Music Associate at Cameron Mackintosh Ltd, and works across Les Misérables, Oliver! and Mary Poppins, having been Children’s Musical Director and Cover Conductor on the West End production of Mary Poppins for three years. Alex also played on Jamie Lloyd and Nicole Scherzinger's acclaimed production of Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre in London, and was the Musical Director and pianist for William Hanson's Solitary Refinement tour.

He is also a Musical Director with the National Youth Music Theatre, the Assistant Musical Director at MK Chorale, and a coach with The Oxford and Cambridge Singing School. He regularly works with The National Children’s Choir of Great Britain, National Opera Studio, Gabrieli Roar, Oxford Pro Musica, CBSO Chorus and Youth Chorus, Sing for Pleasure, and the Military Wives Choirs.

Alex was recently invited to become a member of The Royal Society of Musicians in recognition of his education work.

https://www.alexaitken.co.uk

Carvers Hill Estate

Carvers Hill Estate was inspired by the renaissance of the historic Bordeaux vineyard - Domaine de Bellevue, near Cadillac. The Griffiths Family saw an advertisement in the International Herald Tribune. The owner of the Domaine de Bellevue, Jean Francois Boras, was seeking an investor to complete the replanting and rebuilding of his vineyard near the village of Langoran, Côtes de Bordeaux. Tim Griffiths arranged to visit and met Jean-Francois - together they set about resurrecting this historic estate. The success of this project led Tim to plant in 2021 six hectares of vines on Carvers Hill Estate in Shalbourne, Wiltshire, and the state of the art winery was built to ensure the team can craft the very best wines from this land. Our winemaker Patrick works closely with Jean-Francois and the two estates continue to collaborate.

https://carvershillestate.com/

Address: Carvers Hill Estate, Carvers Hill, Shalbourne, Wiltshire SN8 3PS
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