As we approach the start of rehearsals for our 2025 Season, it’s a good moment to reflect on the past year, and on the hugely positive impact Garsington Studios has had for our artists, staff and the local community. Our artists and creatives were the first to benefit as production rehearsals filled the spaces last May, the atmosphere was buzzing.
Soon after, we brought together our community Youth Company, Adult Company, partner schools and professional singers in the beautiful Kia Ora Studio to rehearse A Trip to the Moon, our Community Opera. With the support of our Youth Company production team, working on lighting, sound and AV, design, costumes and stage management, nearly 200 amateur and professional artists worked side-by-side to create something quite magical.
As autumn arrived, we hosted our first Open Day, welcoming the local community to the Studios. The Garsington Opera team showcased a variety of activities, from costume and makeup workshops to Carmen-inspired singing and drama sessions. Over 450 local people of all ages took part. We are thrilled that this event led to, several new members joining our Adult Company.
With the aim of offering more opportunities for people to experience opera, and discover potential career paths, we launched a series of Discovery Workshops – free, one-day sessions designed to give participants a hands-on introduction to either production arts such as costume design, stage management and video design or performance.
Alongside our growing community engagement, we have been hiring out the spaces. We’ve hosted meetings, conferences, recordings and rehearsals and the Studios have even been used as a film location. These activities have generated new partnerships and networking opportunities, further raising the profile of this exceptional facility as a key development for Buckinghamshire and the surrounding regions.
Visitors to the Studios, will have seen that construction work continues. Phase 2, set to be completed in the coming months, will provide refurbished accommodation on site and, to the delight of our technical team, create a three-storey Prop Barn. We are thrilled that the Studios has already been shortlisted for The Stage’s Theatre Building of the Year.
We will shortly announce details of a new year-round programme of events and activities.
Looking ahead, we are developing ambitious new plans for our Garsington Opera Pathways Programme. It’s a strategic approach to engagement and workforce development with a long-term artistic vision at its core. Whether as an artist, creative, technician or participant, the Pathways programme offers a route to skills, knowledge and training that empowers individuals to develop their own creativity. With proven benefits for health, wellbeing and social cohesion, the programme will play an important role in shaping a positive future for both individuals and the opera sector as a whole.