The varying levels of support for our ‘Friends' are as follows:
‘Figaro’ friends who donate £75 will have a choice of advanced reserved seats, and a bottle of Champagne or Rosé from Provence waiting at the bar for yourself and your guests.
‘Carmen’ friends who donate £200 will in addition to the Figaro benefits, have a gazebo, table and chairs for your interval or pre-opera picnic. These will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, as there only a finite
number of gazebos for each performance.
‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ friends donating £500 will also be credited with providing a seat for a schoolchild or resident of a care home, the choice of which will be yours. Opera can be, I am very aware, a polarising art form, but having been such a fan of it since the age of 12 or 13, I would dearly love to introduce my passion to those either less fortunate or for whom such an experience could easily pass them by.
Consequently, this year we are trying this to expand upon our initiative of last year whereby children from neighbouring schools or residents of local nursing care homes are invited to performances with the help of our ‘Friends’.
‘La Traviata’ friends giving £1,000 will be, in addition to the above, invited
to a post opera champagne reception in Winslow Hall.
‘Don Giovanni’ friends donating £2,500 will also be able to drop in on as many of the rehearsal sessions in London and Winslow as you would like, to experience at first hand behind the scenes the trials and tribulations of putting on an opera. You will also be invited to a pre-performance reception
at Winslow Hall to meet the cast and hear a moderated talk between the artistic director / conductor and stage director on their collaborations and how they are bringing their combined interpretations of this opera to the stage.
‘Il Trovatore’ friends donating £5,000 will additionally be recognized as sponsoring one of our principal artists singing the roles of Leonora, Manrico, Count di Luna or Azucena. For more information on which singer you would like to choose, please contact me directly.
And finally, for our ‘Un Ballo in Maschera’ friends donating £15,000, I would be delighted to discuss the dynamics behind sponsoring one of the evening or afternoon performances in its entirety, with a reception in Winslow Hall or even having your own themed ‘Masked Ball’.
If you would like further details, please write to Christopher Gilmour at Winslow Hall, email me on operawinslowhall@gmail.com