Longborough Festival Opera

Longborough Festival Opera is a summer season of opera in a theatre at the edge of Longborough, a village between Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh. The 2027 season runs from 3 June to 7 August, with three operas.

The 2027 operas

• Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, a new production conducted by Anthony Negus and directed by Polly Graham: 3, 6, 12, 24 and 28 June and 3 July, starting at 2pm. Tickets £100 (restricted view) to £300.
• Nicolai, The Merry Wives of Windsor, a new production conducted by Christopher Ward and directed by Anna Morrissey: 26 and 30 June and 4, 6, 8 and 10 July, starting at 5pm (4pm on Sunday 4 July). Tickets £60 (restricted view) to £190.
• Puccini, La bohème, a revival of the 2024 production conducted by Alice Farnham and directed by Sarah Fahie: 23, 25, 27, 29 and 31 July and 3, 5 and 7 August, starting at 5pm (4pm on Sunday 25 July). Tickets £60 (restricted view) to £190.

Booking

Members in the Longborough Circle and higher tiers have had priority booking since 12 October 2026, with other membership tiers following in turn; general booking for members opens on 15 February 2027, and public booking opens at 10am on 1 March 2027, online and by phone.

The evening

Every performance has a 90-minute dining interval. You can book a table in the festival restaurant or bring a picnic and find a spot looking out over the fields, and the bars open 90 minutes before the curtain. There is no dress code: come smart or casual, and bring an extra layer, because the evenings turn cold. Dogs are not allowed, apart from guide dogs arranged in advance.

Getting there and parking

The theatre is at GL56 0QF, a few miles from Stow and Moreton, with plenty of parking on site, including disabled spaces. Moreton-in-Marsh station, on the line from London Paddington and Oxford, is a few miles away. The festival runs a return bus from the station on performance days with the Hedgehog community bus, a volunteer-run service; it leaves the station 90 minutes before the curtain and returns after the performance, and seats are booked for each performance on the festival’s website. The festival tries to match train times but says it cannot guarantee to. In the village, the Coach and Horses is the local pub.