When British television host Bamber Gascoigne unexpectedly inherited 350 acres of land from his 99-year-old grandaunt in 2014, he faced inheritance, not to mention the maintenance of the collapsing 50 rooms. I was amazed at the tax bill.House Once temporarily owned by Henry VIII..
His solution: Establish a registered charity or trust to turn everything, including the Summer Opera Festival in search of a new home, into an art center. Like the gods’ intervention in Wagner opera, tax bills have been significantly reduced, 700-seat theaters have been built in about 11 months, and West Horseley has been largely unplayed for decades. Energetic people can now play at the place. ..
Success Grange Park Opera (Current season is until July 17th), about 23 miles west of London, an old British country estate that will become a British charity and benefit from socializing away from the thirst and hustle and bustle of Highbrow art. This is an example of a symbiotic relationship between people. Summer capital.
This is one of several so-called country house operas around the UK.Other than that Garsington (With the temporary structure of the Getty Estate) and Grange Festival (A dilapidated Greek Revival mansion that was the first home of the Grange Park Opera that began in 1998).There is also GlyndebourneIn 1934, he began his all-day outing to domestic operas, strolling around the grounds, drinking champagne, having a picnic on the lawn, hiding in the corner of the garden, and dining in a dining room protected from the elements. I enjoyed it.
Wasfikani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Grange Park Opera, said: “But instead of just a few hours in the evening, you can spend half a day walking in the countryside and enjoying a supper at a leisurely pace.”
The pace, and the informal dress code of black ties and evening dresses, are reminiscent of old operas. For some, country house operas not only permeate the romantic history of upper England, but ironically, they also give a glimpse of how the opera survives.
“House like Grange Park is the future of opera because it’s small and has little overhead, which is suitable for a declining audience,” said Maltese tenor Joseph Kaleja, who will return to the festival this summer. I did. “La Gioconda” After opening the opera house in Tosca in 2017. “They built everything to the very end in less than a year. We were doing” Tosca “and the soprano was singing” Mario, Mario, Mario “with the sound of a drill. “
The company typically performs four operas and musicals each summer, with an annual operating budget of about £ 4 million, about $ 4.9 million, and about 12 full-time staff (300-400 during the summer). There are part-time workers). .. Like most other country house operas, it is fully funded by selling and donating tickets and does not receive government money.
Mr. Gascoin, a former host of a popular TV program “University Challenge” Died in February at the age of 87..But his vision is West Horsesley Trust Like the US nonprofit, the unscathed and another charity, the opera company, has a 99-year leasehold.
The core of the 50-room mansion dates back to the 15th century, when Gascoin’s grandaunt Mary Ines Carr, Duchess of Rocksburg, Was the last resident (her ashes are buried under the orchestra pit). She’s been almost like Miss Havisham for years, with few visitors going over her room in front of her. When she died in 2014, her home and grounds were devastated.
“Every time there was a new IV drip, she thought: get a new bucket,” Gascoigne was reportedly said in 2018.
Kani was looking for a new home for Grange Park Opera, as her old home was so far away from London’s central audience. She read about Mr. Gascoin and his house and debt. She was like a grabbing moment.
For Mr. Gascoin and his wife, Christina, turning this property into an art center with an opera house seemed like a great idea.Much of the home furniture and artwork is silver, crystals, servant costumes, and even Drawing of pencils and chalks that have been lost for a long time It excited Sotheby’s experts — they were auctioned to offset the remaining tax invoices and pay for home repairs. Gascoigne has abandoned about £ 20m of assets to build trust.
“Grange Park Opera approached Bamber and me at the perfect time,” said Gascoin, who had been married to Gascoin for 57 years. “The potential financial burden has been on most of Bamber’s community services in his last year.”
And his legacy unfolds in the opera house and winding gardens five years ago, when the European elite had little to do but listen to the opera and the fuss in formal attire on a particular day. We respect the laid-back origins.
“I’ve always said that one-third of them come because it’s a great place. One-third come to see the opera and one-third say they’ve been there,” Kani said. Said.
