Our work
Our well-established national reputation is founded on a policy of
- breathing new life into little-known late 18th-century works
- lively and accessible productions of exceptional musical standards
- English translations
- providing performance opportunities to some of the finest young singers
News
We were beyond thrilled that our 2023 summer production, Salieri's At the Venice Fair, was shortlisted for the International Opera Awards 2023, in the Rediscovered Work category. We didn't win, but we were up against some stellar competition!
This was our second such nomination, after Storace's Bride & Gloom in 2020, and is a remarkable endorsement by the international opera world of our pioneering exploration of 18th-century rarities.
To celebrate 30 remarkable years of Bampton Classical Opera, Jeremy Gray has written a short book about our beginnings and development. Full of appealing anecdotes and illustrations, the book has been produced by Bampton Community Archive. This highly entertaining read can be purchased for £12 - contact Jenny Chaundy for details.
What people say
'Britain’s unchallenged champion of 18th-century opera. Witty, smart, fast-moving and admirably spiritedly sung by a vocally-satisfying cast, a laudably intelligent, sharp-witted team who were both vocally polished and dramatically rewarding' - OPERA NOW
'giddily exciting, propelled by wit, charm, and bags of joy' - THE SPECTATOR
'This delightful evening… conducted with panache, and a young cast was vigorous and fresh throughout' - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
'As delightful and diversely entertaining as eighteenth-century opera, in its more modest guise, was always intended to be' - TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
'The epitome of opera in a garden' - THE TIMES
Bampton exudes joy, revels in the unexpected, seizes every enterprising opportunity for teasing, captivating, invigorating - CLASSICAL MUSIC DAILY
'This company could seduce even the most resistant critic into the world of opera' - AUDIENCE MEMBER
Patrons
Bonaventura Bottone, Andrew Parrott, Sir David Pountney, Sir Curtis Price, Jean Rigby