Nevill Holt Opera Announces Outdoor Summer Concerts Featuring NHO Young Artists

Nevill Holt Opera has announced six concerts will take places in the gardens of the Nevill Holt Estate on the 29th August, 5th and 12th September, with two performances on each date. Reflecting NHO's commitment to nurturing the most talented up-and-coming young singers in the UK, each concert will feature at least five of NHO's Young Artists.

During each visit, which will last for two and a half hours, audience members will be able to enjoy the 45-minute outdoor performance, explore the sculptures in the beautiful gardens and purchase delicious locally-sourced food and drink.

NHO's Managing Director, Annie Lydford, said, Despite the immense challenges of the last four months, we have tried to approach this summer as creatively as possible. From welcoming our NHO Members to a socially distanced picnic in the Nevill Holt grounds serenaded by our fantastic Young Artists, through to filling our theatre with art and sculpture so that it can operate as a gallery from 4th July, we have tried to use what we have to bring art, music, culture and entertainment to people who have desperately missed it during lockdown.

It is exciting now for us to be able to present a proper concert series, enabling paid work for your Young Artists and bringing live music to those who are so desperate to hear it. It matters to us that we are producing work and able to funnel our financial support through to the artists and freelancers who are particularly affected by the pandemic. Understandably, many organisations have been focusing on broadcasting well-known and established singers during this period, but we believe it is crucial to be supporting and employing those at the very start of their careers, too.

We are so lucky to have access to the beautiful gardens at Nevill Holt and our Artistic Director, Nicholas Chalmers, has deliberately chosen programmes that will fit perfectly in those very special surroundings. We are grateful to have access to performance spaces outside, and offer our continued solidarity with every organisation and individual who is not yet able to perform.

An English Country Garden will be on Saturday 29th August. NHO Young Artists will entertain audiences with a selection of English Folksongs in arrangement by Grainger, Elgar, Parry and more.

Summer Shakespeare will be on Saturday 5th September. NHO Young Artists accompanied by double bass and piano will sing the Birthday Madrigals by John Rutter and Songs and Sonnets by George Shearing. These works are written in the jazz style using some of Shakespeare's most famous texts.

Choral Music from the Renaissance will be on Saturday 12th September. NHO Young Artists will sing a celebration of continental choral masterworks from the Renaissance period, featuring works from composers including Gabrielli, Palestrina and Monteverdi.

Each event will be carried out with strict social distancing and hygiene measures in place, and carefully following up-to-date and official advice and guidance. These measures will be shared with all attendees in advance, and NHO is grateful to their guests for carefully observing these guidelines during their time at Nevill Holt. If guidance changes and it becomes necessary to cancel these outdoor concerts, all ticket buyers will receive a full refund.

Tickets are £35 each and will go on sale to NHO Members at 9am on 20th July and open to general booking at 9am on 27th July, through NHO's website (www.nevillholtopera.co.uk). NHO is holding back 20 tickets for each concert to distribute to those it works with through its community and education programmes, and to those who may not otherwise be able to afford to come. Further details on this will be shared shortly.