Longhope Opera is a recently established country house opera festival near Alton. At the start of July, as we emerge from the pandemic, Longhope Opera will present a production of Rossini’s comic masterpiece Il turco in Italia, in collaboration with Scherzo Ensemble, on the 3rd and 4th of July. Tickets are free – although donations are encouraged. Attendees are guests at Longhope for the day, which includes a woodland recital, drinks reception, the opera, and a picnic dinner during the interval overlooking the South Downs.
The day begins at 3pm with an orchestral recital by Scherzo Ensemble, before the main event, Il turco, beginning at 6pm.
Scherzo Ensemble is a professional development platform for young, talented singers at the start of their careers, dedicated to equipping them with the skills they need to make a success of their training and giving them performance opportunities. The cast of Il turco includes Galina Benevich, who has previously played leading roles in productions at Glyndebourne and Bayerische Staatsoper, and Brenton Spiteri, a rising star of the Australian opera scene and an Opera Lyon Young Artist Program alumnus. The performances will be conducted by Scherzo's artistic director, Matthew O’Keeffe, a graduate of King's College London and founder of the Brixton Chamber Orchestra and Lunchbreak Opera. The director is Charlotte McKechnie, a graduate of Harvard University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, who has credits at institutions including Opera America and the National Opera Center in New York and is a founder of New Voices Theatre.
Tickets are free, but reservations for tables of 6 need to be made via Longhope Opera's website