Wild Arts (★★★★ The Guardian, ★★★★★ Opera Now) presents an evening of operatic and musical hits, in the stunning 11th-century Berkeley Castle.

ROH standard, choices excellent, the quality terrific and the staging exactly right.
Libby Purvis, The Times on our Opera Evening

Semi-staged by director James Hurley and woven into a new narrative full of dramatic intrigue, jealousy, comedy, idealism, and true love – follow our characters as they travel through 75 minutes of music. From arias and scenes by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, and Britten, to the songs of Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim.

Performed by four fabulous singers and a world-class string quintet. A sparkling and mischievous summer treat.

Spectacular doesn’t even begin to do it justice! Wow.
★★★★★ Review of our Opera Evening 2024

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You are welcome to arrive from 5pm to set up your picnic on the lawn and open the bubbly. Bring whatever you need to make yourselves comfortable – picnic rugs, tables, chairs and hampers are all welcome. The performance will start at 6pm and there will be an hour's picnic interval. The show will be finished at 8.30pm or very shortly thereafter.

Nearer the time, we will send an email with directions and information on where to park. In the mean time you are very welcome to get in touch with any questions.

The musicians were all superb. With perfect balance and tone they really brought the works alive. Clean and precise, every detail of the composers intentions was revealed anew; like having an intimate snapshot of their original sketches fleshed out.

We look forward to welcoming you to a beautiful evening of opera. Please book early as tickets will be strictly limited.

The Berkeley Castle and Wild Arts teams

What a triumph! The audience were truly enraptured from start to finish.
Lindy O’Hare, Thorington Theatre

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Timings
Gardens open - 5pm
Performance begins - 6pm
(1-hour picnic interval)
Performance ends - 8.30pm
Carriages - 9pm

Prices
A Ticket to the Opera - £35
Under 18s - £15

Featuring music from:

Bernstein Candide; West Side Story
Britten Billy Budd
Donizetti Don Pasquale; L'Elisir d'Amore
Handel Semele
Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin
Mozart Le Nozze di Figaro
Porter Kiss me Kate
Puccini La Bohème
Verdi Falstaff
Rodgers and Hammerstein Carousel
Rossini Il barbiere di Siviglia
Verdi Rigoletto

An unalloyed delight to hear such musical perfection in one short show. And the string quintet presentation was so brilliant I now want to hear all my favourite operas performed that way.

The performance is part of our summer programme which includes Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Donizetti's The Elixir of Love.