New College Opera 2023

A balmy July evening saw almost 200 New College Old Members and friends gather for one of the musical highlights of the year - the Opera in the Warden’s Garden.

The evening sun started to shine as guests gathered for a pre-performance glass of prosecco in the Cloisters, before taking their seats in the bucolic setting of the Warden’s Garden. This year’s opera, Paisiello’s La Frascatana - The Girl from Frascati - is a classic opera buffa of romantic entanglements, nefarious schemes, unrequited love, confused identities.

Performed by New College Chamber Opera under the direction of Michael Burden and conductor Steven Devine, it was as successful with a 2023 audience as it was at its premiere in 1774. During the long interval, guests enjoyed lavish picnics in the Cloisters, with the added entertainment of bats swooping over the lawn in the dusk. We look forward to welcoming more Old Members for the final performance of the opera this Friday.