Garsington revisited

I was previously twice invited – hard-hatted and luminescent with hi-vis – to look around the building site that was aspiring to be Garsington Studios. The trick was imagining just what this £14.5m facility was going to look like when completed. Well, what a wonder the finished article is, tucked away at the head of one of the most glorious stretches of landscape within 30 miles of London.

The story so far: After its years based in the Oxfordshire village whose name it borrowed, Garsington Opera relocated in 2011 to the fabled Getty family-owned Wormsley estate, close to the humming M40 but seeming for all the world like a remote, secluded paradise. The opera company’s arrival was embodied in an award-winning performance pavilion – but with somewhat less than award-winning accompanying amenities. What bravery then, to embark on a mammoth fundraising campaign to bring about the construction of a multi-million-pound centre of operations, situated higher up on the Wormsley estate. With Garsington Studios now operational, the 2025 opera season is the first to be fully rehearsed on-site.

The development meets just about every imaginable need – spaces for rehearsal, solo practice, office staff, the company music library, storage, eating, relaxing, conference facilities — even including shower cubicles, overnight accommodation and a converted barn for housing props.

Room to grow: Rehearsals for Garsington's production of Un giorno di regno ©Julian Guidera

I’m most eager to at last see one of the two main rehearsal spaces in use, both built to encompass the dimensions of the pavilion stage. Viewed from above on an extended walkway/balcony the sight is of the actual set (courtesy of designer Simon Higlett) for this year’s opening production, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. The benefits for singers of their now extended advance familiarity with the precise look of the stage? My tour guide, Garsington’s studios and communications coordinator, Hugo Millard, explains. ‘What we have now transforms the rehearsal experience. Cast and chorus members can fully own a set, inhabit the spaces, without needing to exercise imagination in the way they had to previously – it’s like rehearsing in the costume you’ll be wearing in performances.’

Next door, no full-scale set yet, but clearly this is where Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades will be rehearsed. We’ve moved here, though, to reference other kinds of use to which the space can be put, outside of the Garsington opera season. For one thing, several commercial recordings have already been made here – artists who have already taken advantage of the space include The English Concert and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor — able to take advantage of the custom-built wiring circuits. ‘The acoustics can be adjusted for both recordings and concerts in this space, by opening/closing curtains and adding/removing panels on the walls,’ Millard explains. ‘And there’s no danger of external sounds causing problems, that’s all been dealt with.’

The Benjamin Grosvenor recording sessions, for Decca, featured Chopin’s second and third piano sonatas with Alexander Van Ingen as executive producer. ‘It’s a lovely acoustic to work in,’ he says, ‘both for the performer and the recording team. The peaceful countryside setting, easily accessible, makes for a superb, focused and relaxed working environment. The result of that comes through in Benjamin’s exquisitely-shaped performances.’

Acoustic idyll: Albert Mamriev and The English Concert have used the Studios for their recording projects ©Matthew Johnson (left) and ©Ben Tomlin (right)

As to other uses, the opera company has been acutely aware that the area of ravishing countryside to the south has long been a magnet for movie and tv drama makers. Says Hugo Millard: ‘One thing we did very early on was host a highly successful meeting over breakfast for location managers. They of course need to film interiors in controlled environments, and already there have been examples of sets being created and filmed here. Whoever the potential customers are for the use of the Studios, the key thing is to bring them here to see all we have to offer.’

Businesses of various kinds have chosen to stage conferences at the Studios, not least local companies. Members of the surrounding community have the opportunity to use the venue: special charity or community rental rates are available. So far there’s been everything from a Buckinghamshire County Youth Orchestra workshop-concert and school project days to gatherings of local church members. Footsore ramblers through the surrounding countryside will soon be able to catch their breath over coffee, cake and more, dispensed in the large reception area.

Perfect pit-stop: The Studios' reception area will soon be home to a cafe for those walking in the local countryside ©Verity Milligan

Talking of community, we pass a storage room dedicated to gear required for Garsington’s famed education work and other local engagement, obviating the need to stow stuff in village halls and the like. On we go, past soundproof individual practice rooms, each acoustically tweaked via panels and off-square dimensions – small in size, but not cramped. The pianos in place benefit from the venue’s state-of-the-art air management system which maintains a constant temperature at any time of the year.

Baritone Richard Burkhard, who plays Dr Dulcamara in the upcoming L’elisir d’amore production, says the opening of the Studios has transformed the Garsington experience he’s known up to this point. ‘It’s more than just the rehearsal facilities. There’s so much about the Studios that’s elevated the whole feel of the company, down to details like the fact that yoga is on offer, and company drinks one evening a week. Any problem you have, the admin offices are upstairs. You meet so many more people – and know them all by name. It’s just a very happy vibe. This sense of identity and togetherness will carry over when we go down the hill for performances.’

Community chest: A Garsington Studios Open Day welcomes local young people through the doors of the new space © Julian Guidera

Sentiments shared by Garsington Opera executive director Nicola Creed as she steps down from her longstanding role after the 2025 season, having overseen the Studios project. ‘It’s been so wonderful to see how much of a difference the building makes. Experiencing the sense of community, and hearing from our artistic teams of the benefits of rehearsing with full sets, makes me feel proud of what we’ve been able to achieve. I’m so pleased to be leaving Garsington Opera with such a valuable legacy for the future.’

My circuit concludes in the sizeable café/dining area with a glass of wine as Garsington operagoers gather for an illustrated talk on Queen of Spades. This is held in the space that will function as both dance studio and chorus rehearsal room – alongside much else. Which once again emphasises how adaptable and welcoming this extraordinary facility will prove. With so much in the world to be gloomy about just now, here’s something to vigorously fan the embers of optimism.