An Unusual Opera

Rimsky-Korsakov's 'May Night' at Garsington Opera,
reviewed by RODERIC DUNNETT

Garsington: summer opera in the manorial garden of one of the most idyllic 1600s houses in Britain. What could be better?

Well, thanks to the British skies, we didn't get the weather. This was the day of the June downpours; the lightning, happily, restrained itself to the early morning. By the evening, all was cool and sultry, but benign. Nor did a 50-minute hold-up on the A46 which tipped me into Garsington at 6.25 -- ten minutes after the 6.15 curtain-up, help.

But then wonderful, al fresco Garsington doesn't have a curtain. It all happens on Garsington Manor's glorious terrace, where on a good day the acoustic is to die for. (This night, projected by Jamie Vartan's rather domineering, not always appropriate, but reflective submarine set, it was terrific.)

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