From Rigoletto to Cavalleria Rusticana
Dorset Opera Festival, 22nd – 26th July 2025; the social highlight of Dorset’s summer!
The Dorset Opera Festival takes place annually at the end of July, bringing together over 240 professional musicians and volunteers from around the world. In 2024, the Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary. This year, it celebrates 20 years at its current home, Bryanston — the renowned school set in 400 beautiful acres near Blandford Forum.
For this special year, the Festival presents three beloved operas: Verdi’s Rigoletto featuring the famous aria La Donna è Mobile; Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana — listen out for the stirring Easter Hymn and Intermezzo; and Puccini’s poignant Suor Angelica, the story of a young woman forced into a monastery after bearing a child out of wedlock.
Over five decades, Dorset Opera has achieved remarkable milestones: a World Stage Première of a Donizetti opera, eight British Stage Premières, a World Première recording, and a full-scale opera commission for its 50th year. It has staged rare works too, including the British Stage Première of Puccini’s Turandot (with Luciano Berio’s completion) in 2007.
PICTURED ABOVE: Dorset Opera Festival 2023 Le nozze di Figaro | © Julian Guidera
ABOVE LEFT: Dorset Opera Festival 2023 Le nozze di Figaro – Jamie Groote | © Julian Guidera
ABOVE RIGHT: Under the Greenwood Tree (world premiere) at Dorset Opera Festival | © Julian Guidera
In 2023, the Festival was nominated at the International Opera Awards in Warsaw for its production of Massenet’s Le Roi de Lahore. Dorset Opera has been recognised as a Massenet specialist, with acclaimed productions of Hérodiade, Le Cid, and Le Roi de Lahore — all gems of French Grand Opera.
The Festival receives prestigious funding from the Laidlaw Opera Trust, one of the few UK opera companies to be awarded this honour, further recognising its
outstanding quality.
Young people under 26 can enjoy £10 tickets, and two matinee performances are scheduled. Book easily online at dorsetopera.com or call the Box Office on 07570 366186. Guests can pre-order picnics or bring their own; relax at the Marquee Bar, or enjoy formal dining on 24 and 26 July. Ample free parking is available for all visitors.
CONTACT
T. 07570 366186
