West London-based opera company Opera Holland Park (OHP) has announced the return of its Gala Dinner after a break of two years. The fundraising event will take place at 7pm on 22 February 2022 at London’s Draper’s Hall.
The Gala Dinner features arias, duets, choruses and semi-staged scenes from some of the greatest operatic repertoire performed by OHP’s principal artists and the Opera Holland Park Chorus.
The evening opens with a champagne reception. Guests will be seated at dinner alongside key artists and members of the company’s core team, offering a unique opportunity to meet and talk to some of opera’s star performers.
Diners will enjoy a beautifully curated and presented sequence of songs and arias throughout the evening. The event will also feature a silent auction, and will close with after-dinner drinks. All proceeds will go towards supporting OHP’s continued work on stage and in the community.
Individual tickets cost £350, including a non-obligatory donation of £150, and a full table of eight guests can be purchased for £2,800, including a non-obligatory donation of £1,500. Tickets can be booked via OHP’s website. To purchase tickets without the suggested donation, call Opera Holland Park on 020 3846 6222 or email the Development team.
As well as helping OHP to continue mounting its summer season, the funds will support the company’s Inspire scheme, an award-winning outreach and education programme that takes place all year round. The aim of the project is to create accessible routes into opera, working with businesses, charities, schools and community groups to engage and immerse all people into the world of opera.
Located in the heart of the City of London, Draper’s Hall is home to the Worshipful Company of Drapers, a trade fellowship set up in the 13th century by a group of woollen cloth merchants. Today the organisation is open to all and rather than a trade guild, is a philanthropic institution. The hall dates from the 1770s and boasts some of London’s most spectacular interiors.
A couple of excerpts from previous Gala evenings can be viewed for free below or via OHP’s YouTube channel. In the first, French soprano Anne Sophie Duprels sings ‘Vissi d’arte’ (‘I lived for art’) from Puccini’s Tosca (1900) at the 2018 event.
The second sees Australian tenor Samuel Sakker performing Federico’s lament, ‘È la solita storia del pastore’ (‘It’s the old tale of the shepherd’) from Cilea’s L’Arlesiana (1897) at the last Gala Dinner which took place in autumn 2019.
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Opera Holland Park’s Gala Dinner returns in 2022 after a break of more than two years. Enjoy an evening of music, fine wine and food.