Dorset Opera Festival returns
With two operatic masterpieces
Dorset Opera Festival, 21st – 25th July 2026
The Dorset Opera Festival takes place annually in late July, bringing together over 240 professional musicians and volunteers from around the world. Founded in 1974, the Festival has now been delighting audiences for more than five decades and continues to thrive at its home at Bryanston — the renowned school set in 400 beautiful acres near Blandford Forum.
This year, the Festival presents two contrasting operatic masterpieces: Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, featuring some of the most sumptuous music in the French operatic repertoire, including the famous Bacchanale; and Donizetti’s sparkling comedy L’elisir d’amore, a heartwarming tale of love, mistaken identities and a magical potion, featuring the beloved tenor aria Una furtiva lagrima.
PICTURED ABOVE: Le nozze di Figaro, Dorset Opera Festival 2023 – Thomas Humphreys, Jamie Groote and chorus |
© Julian Guidera
PICTURED ABOVE: Cavalleria Rusticana, Dorset Opera Festival 2025 | © Julian Guidera
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.
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.
PICTURED ABOVE: Picnicking at Dorset Opera Festival
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 23 and 25 July. Ample free parking is available for all visitors.
CONTACT
T. 07570 366186
