Longborough Festival Opera, 20th June-1st July 2023

This was my first time working within the grand tradition of British country house opera.

Which made this production a particularly apt way to start: Max Hoehn's collage of archetypal British characters contemporary and old fashioned, from BT engineers to Biggles-style fighter pilots, mixed humour with a deft hand at giving each member of the chorus a vivid character to play.

It was genuinely entertaining, and I learnt a great deal. Not least, it had been my first time assisting for nearly a decade (this website insists on being bad at masking my weaknesses), and my first Donizetti.

Many firsts. But hopefully not all of them lasts.