Art and Culture

Opera is enjoyed in a wide range of contexts - from the grandeur of La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera House - to the more modest beauty of an English country garden at midsummer.

The operatic calendar encompasses all the great traditions - from Opera Seria to Opera Buffa, Opera Verismo, Opéra Comique - as well as embracing the works of contemporary composers. Operatic events are a magnet for enthusiasts the world over, and festivals and opening nights buzz with the excitement and stimulus of a shared passion.

Suffused with drama and spectacle, opera is a highly visual art form, and its impact is reinforced by the variety of settings in which it flourishes. From the magnificent Roman amphitheatre at Verona to the gardens at Garsington or the Rothschild villa at Cap Ferrat, opera has found a home in an extraordinary array of places.

This ambitious, spectacular art form, with its grand sets, heightened emotions, and larger-than-life prima donnas, always radiates a sense of glamour and occasion.