The Longborough podcast

A celebration of the upcoming 2026 season at Longborough, featuring performances from singers from our 2026 programme in a compelling collage of words and music, with our Music Director Anthony Negus and Artistic Director Polly Graham. We also look ahead to our exciting plans for 2027, including Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. From Handel to Humperdinck, with Verdi and Wagner in between, this is a great opportunity to enjoy all the sound worlds of the upcoming summer season, and meet the artists.This was recorded live at our Season Launch in Kirtlington Park in Oxfordshire.Find out more at https://lfo.org.uk/

Discover the fascinating story and creative journey behindVerdi’s first adaptation of a Shakespeare work. Compered by Hannah Griffiths from Opera Europa, this episode offers an illuminating discussion on this masterpiece of Italian opera. Featuring a curated selection of musical performances from Longborough Festival Opera’s forthcoming 2026 production of Macbeth, performed at this event by Sam Young and accompanied by Longborough’s Music Director, Anthony Negus.Listeners can also enjoy a special theatrical performance byacclaimed RSC actor Jamie Ballard.Introduced by LFO's Artistic Director, Polly Graham and Executive Director, Emily Gottlieb, this event was recorded in front of a live audience in the home of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon.Find out more about becoming a member of LongboroughFestival Opera and joining the audience for future events like this one.

Unpack Wagner's Tristan und Isolde through words and music, ahead of the 2026 revival of our acclaimed 2015/2017 production.Join world experts on the works of Richard Wagner, John Deathridge, LFO's Music Director, Anthony Negus and stage director Carmen Jakobi to discuss this opera. Plus, enjoy musical illustrations from Anthony Negus and dramatic soprano Catharine Woodward.Introduced by Longborough’s Artistic Director, PollyGraham.Recorded live at a special event for LFO members in London.

Ahead of Longborough Festival Opera's 2026 production of Orlando, directed by Sinéad O’Neill and conducted by Christopher Moulds, this episode unpacks the interconnecting love stories at the heart of Handel’s masterpiece. Dr Ruth Smith, author of Handel's Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought leads a fascinating exploration of this much-loved baroque piece. Enjoy excerpts from the opera sung by Irish soprano Anna Devin, accompanied by Christopher Moulds on the harpsichord. Introduced by Longborough’s Artistic Director, Polly Graham, and Alexandra Mackesy, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees. Recorded live at a special event for Longborough members at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Find out more about Longborough Festival Opera at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lfo.org.uk

Ahead of Longborough Festival Opera's 2025 production of Pelléas et Mélisande, directed by Jenny Ogilvie and conducted by our music director Anthony Negus, this episode unpacks Debussy's ground-breaking opera. Soprano Kateryna Kasper, who makes her Longborough debut in 2025 with the role of Mélisande, joins baritone Robert Hayward with excerpts from the opera and songs by Debussy; and with musical extracts and discussion from Longborough's Artistic Director Polly Graham, the production's director Jenny Ogilvie, and conductor Anthony Negus.This was recorded live at an event for Longborough members.Find out more about Longborough Festival Opera at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lfo.org.uk

Music extracts and discussion on Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, ahead of the new production at Longborough Festival Opera in 2025. Featuring Bjarte Eike and Tom Guthrie of Barokksolistene, Longborough's Artistic Director Polly Graham and Longborough Emerging Artists Frances Gregory and Sofia Kirwan-Baez. Accompanied by Satoko Doi-Luck at the harpsichord.This was recorded live at an event for Longborough members.Find out more about Longborough Festival Opera at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lfo.org.uk

Music extracts and discussion on Wahnfried: the birth of the Wagner cult, a major new opera with the UK premiere at Longborough Festival Opera in 2025. Featuring the opera's composer Avner Dorman, conductor Justin Brown and Polly Graham who will direct the 2025 production.This was recorded live at an event for Longborough members in February 2025. Find out more about Longborough Festival Opera at ⁠⁠⁠⁠lfo.org.uk

Musicologist, translator and lecturer John Deathridge discusses musical threads in the Ring cycle, and offers advice on how to navigate the story. With musical extracts featuring Longborough's Alberich, the internationally celebrated baritone Mark Stone. This was recorded live at the 2024 festival. Visit the Longborough website to see the presentation to enhance your listening experience! Find out more about Longborough Festival Opera at ⁠⁠⁠lfo.org.uk

Looking ahead to Longborough's 2025 season, which will include the UK premiere of Wahnfried - Avner Dorman's opera about the Wagner family - and a new production of Debussy's post-Wagnerian masterpiece Pelléas et Mélisande, Longborough's Artistic Director Polly Graham talks about these works, and their relationship with the oeuvre of Richard Wagner. Polly is joined by conductor Justin Brown, and Ring cycle conducting fellow Harry Sever, who offers illustrations of the exquisite orchestral interludes from Pelléas. Internationally acclaimed dramatic soprano Rachel Nicholls, who last appeared at Longborough in the celebrated 2022 production of Die tote Stadt, sings from Debussy's Proses lyriques, an excerpt from Dorman's opera Wahnfried, a song from Korngold's Abschiedslieder and the famous Mariettas Lautenlied from Die tote Stadt. This was recorded live at the 2024 festival. Find out more about Longborough Festival Opera at ⁠⁠lfo.org.uk

In this episode we explore Götterdämmerung from the perspective of its heroine, Brünnhilde, with thoughts and musical excerpts from Professor Peter Franklin, conductor and pianist Justin Brown, and Longborough's own Brünnhilde Lee Bisset. This was recorded at an event for Longborough members. Find out more about Longborough Festival Opera at ⁠lfo.org.uk