While the country remains locked down, Nevill Holt Opera (NHO) is looking ahead and has made the bold decision to move its opera festival outdoors and stage it later than usual this summer. With dates now throughout August, NHO will build an outdoor stage and seating that will enable each performance to play to a socially distanced audience of up to 650 people. At the same time, Nevill Holt Opera has worked to make its pricing more affordable, with tickets starting from just £35 and free for under-18s.
The summer festival will present the operas that had been scheduled for the cancelled 2020 season – Verdi’s La traviata and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. A giant, covered stage will feature a socially distanced orchestra for each performance, while a further stage in front ensures all audience members will feel close to the action. The stage set-up is being designed to frame the sensational valley views from Nevill Holt, and to celebrate NHO’s location in Leicestershire and the East Midlands. As part of the festival’s commitment to its home, NHO will be working with more local businesses to deliver its festival than ever before this year.
Three seating zones will enable audiences to choose whether they would prefer to relax and spread out on picnic blankets on the lawn, to watch the opera from a comfortable seat, or to ensure they beat the weather by choosing a premium spot in a tiered and covered grandstand. Nevill Holt Opera is housed within one of England’s most beautiful country house estates and the outdoor stage will highlight the breath-taking views and enable visitors to truly immerse themselves in the landscaped gardens adorned with outstanding British sculpture including works by Anthony Gormley, Marc Quinn and Conrad Shawcross.
Managing Director, Annie Lydford, says, We are all invigorated to be presenting our largest and most inclusive festival yet despite the challenges of the last year. We felt strongly, at this time when people crave brilliant live experiences perhaps more than ever, that reducing our capacity and raising our prices simply wasn’t an option. With fantastic artists and technicians, two creative, beautiful productions – not to mention the wonderful Nevill Holt grounds and gardens – we want to make sure our audiences have an unforgettable time with us this summer. Having received crucial support to aid our survival from government, from independent trusts and foundations, and from individuals, we recognise the responsibility we have to ensure that the communities we serve across the East Midlands can continue to enjoy fantastic performances with us this summer. Particularly, we are proud to offer hundreds of free tickets across the season completely free of charge to under-18s – a commitment which reflects the importance of the year-round education programme which has been at NHO’s core since the company began.
In addition to its festival in August, NHO is planning to present further performances and a mini festival in June, to include chamber music and solo recitals in its theatre, as well as additional performances in August. Full details of cast and creatives will be announced in due course.
La Traviata runs 4th – 10th August 2021
Don Giovanni runs 19th – 25th August 2021
