If Opera is celebrating its 30th anniversary – this year returning to the bucolic idyll of Church Farm in Wingfield, Artistic Director Oliver Gooch chooses his favourite moments from the productions that have graced the company’s journey – from its first home-grown opera in 2005 to recent, critically-acclaimed performances. Image above: The Fiesta Family Fun day
Oliver Gooch joined If Opera as Music Director in 2005 before becoming Artistic Director in 2017, helping to shape the company into one of the UK’s most quintessentially-English summer opera festivals. A conductor, pianist and artistic leader, he trained at Cambridge, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and National Opera Studio before becoming Associate Conductor (Vilar) at the Royal Opera House in a position created for him by Sir Antonio Pappano. He has since worked across opera houses, festivals and touring companies in the UK and internationally.
Through his work with If Opera, Gooch has collaborated with leading singers, directors and ensembles to bring imaginative productions of the highest musical standard to audiences in the intimate cloisters of Iford Manor, Belcombe Court in Bradford on Avon, and more recently Church Farm in Wingfield, just outside of Bath. In the following selection, he reflects on some of the most memorable production highlights from his two decades with the company.
Image below: Banners for this year’s Season at Church Farm
Rusalka (2005) – following years of receiving guest opera companies, Iford Arts produced their first ‘home grown’ production of Dvorak’s Rusalka, receiving high critical praise from the national press. This was my first opera with Iford Arts and I can’t believe I am still here more than 20 years later!
The Rake’s Progress (2007) – in a co-production with my then-touring opera company Opera East, The Rake’s Progress stays in the memory for many reasons – not only the ‘roaring boys’ of Hogarth’s London and the extraordinary Bearded Lady, but it was also where my wife-to-be took the role of Anne Trulove – very apt!
Rodelinda (2011) – Baroque-supremo Christian Curnyn and his Early Opera Company produced a magical production of Rodelinda with stunning vocal artistry from Gillian Ramm and James Laing in the principal roles. The show was vibrantly alive to the nuance of the score and an immediacy to the action in the intimate cloister that was wholly involving.
Daughter of the Regiment (2014) – Jeff Clarke brought the Opera della Luna magic with an hilarious ‘hairy biker’ production of this great Donizetti comedy. Harley Davidsons and a Hells Angel chorus in the idyllic Wiltshire countryside was a sight to behold!
Below: Candide, performed at Iford Manor in 2018
Candide (2018) – with over 200 costume changes and a cast of over 20, this was a Herculean effort to bring Bernstein’s score to life. With a mixture of actors, classically trained opera singers and music theatre singers, alongside an extraordinary production, this production got 5* in the national press and was acclaimed as the best opera title to be received by the Cheltenham International Festival later in the year.
Fedora (2023) – ‘you wait ages for a bus and then three come along at once’ – Fedora is similar! Three powerhouses of opera, the Metropolitan, La Scala and… If Opera… mounted Fedora in the same year. Verismo at its finest with intoxicating performances from Sky Ingram and Charne Rochford, our performances garnered high praise (including Opera Magazine), all set in the stunning surrounding of the idyll that is Belcombe Court in Bradford on Avon.
Following the success of If Opera’s 2025 season, this year, the company returns to the rural idyll of Church Farm, the home of long-standing Patrons, David and Fiona Robinson, for its 2026 season. Set against the backdrop of the Westbury White Horse, the picturesque, bucolic gardens will host the Saddlespan auditorium, pop-up bar and plenty of picnic spots as well as the restaurant, The Cowshed by Homewood, following its hugely successful debut last year, and the Taittinger Bar.
6, 8, 12 & 15 August: Carmen. The story of opera’s archetypal femme fatale reimagined for the turn of the twentieth century.
11, 13, 14 August: The Chocolate Soldier presented by Opera Della Luna. Sparkling Viennese comedy full of comic capers and romantic entanglements.
7 August: Baroque Drinking Songs with Vache Baroque. A soul-warming tipple of alehouse songs, jigs and shanties.
9 August: An immersive Carmen Family Fiesta Day – learn the Toreador Chorus in our singing workshop, make a Carmen inspired prop, and perform alongside professional singers at Church Farm.
13 August: The Art of Baroque: Masterclass and Concert. Baroque maestro Christian Curnyn leads an open masterclass.
16 August: Picnic Prom with the fabulous Syd Lawrence Orchestra and Marvin Muoneké.
If Opera, 6 –16 August. Church Farm, Wingfield, BA14 9LE
To find out more about the 2026 season visit: ifopera.com
In celebration of If Opera’s 30th anniversary, a series of exciting fundraising events will also be taking place throughout 2026:
31 May: Music, Celebration and Magical Gardens at Belcombe Court.
9 June: If Opera Annual Fundraising Gala Dinner at Homewood.