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Gala Dinner at the Royal Hospital Chelsea

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London Festival Opera and The Chelsea Pensioners ChoirOpera Interludes Ld

London Festival Opera presented an opera entertainment at The Royal Hospital Chelsea as the entertainment at the end of the Annual Gala Dinner as thanks for supporters.  The event was hosted by the Governor, General Sir Adrian Bradshaw KCB OBE DL.  For the final three pieces the opera soloists were joined by the Chelsea Pensioners Choir which included singing the choruses of ‘Modern Major Genera’ and ‘Nessun Dorma’.

The Royal Hospital Chelsea was founded in 1682 by King Charles II as a retirement home for veteran soldiers and designed by Sir Christopher Wren inspired by the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris.  The Hospital is the historic home of the Chelsea Pensioners – there are approximately 300 retired military personnel living in the complex, including 30 female residents.  The choir added real vocal body to the ensemble and a stunning extra visual element in wearing their handsome scarlet uniforms.  The choir was a pleasure to work with and soloists joined musical forces with them with pride!

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Opera raises charity funds!

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An Opera Evening is an excellent way to raise funds for a charity, and London Festival Opera has a wealth of experience in creating programmes of opera, operetta and musicals to link perfectly with a dinner or reception. The company has been the vehicle to help charities raise many hundreds of thousands of pounds. These images are from a sell out dinner in a magnificent church raising funds for a hospice. The performance was accompanied by orchestral backing tracks.

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Christmas Celebration Charity Event

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Soprano sings in Victorian Opera Gala at Kirtlington parkOpera Interludes Ltd

We were honoured to perform for a very distinguished audience in the magnificent setting of Kirtlington Park, Oxfordshire on Saturday evening.  London Festival Opera presented ‘A Christmas Night at the Opera’ in the 18th Century Saloon of the house for a sell-out performance.  The audience joined in a Gilbert and Sullivan chorus which prepared them perfectly to sing an absolutely rousing rendition of ‘Good King Wenceslas’, proving joyfully that people do love to sing!

The evening was in aid of the wonderful charity, Medical Detection Dogs, which trains dogs to detect the odour of human disease.  The charity is at the forefront of the research into the fight against cancer and helping people with life-threatening diseases.  In addition to this extraordinary work the charity also trains Medical Alert Assistance Dogs to live with individuals who have complex health conditions.  Using their amazing sense of smell, the dogs are trained to identify the minute odour changes emitted prior to a medical emergency and then alert the person to take preventative action.  This can help to prevent 999 calls and hospital admissions, giving these people and their families greater confidence and independence. 

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall is Patron of the Charity and gave her blessing to the fundraising evening in a letter printed in the programme.  Her Royal Highness wrote: ‘As the proud Patron I would like to send you all my very best wishes for a wonderful evening of opera. …. By translating their research into reality, this charity could save many thousands of lives.’

It was an honour to be invited to help raise funds for such a worthy cause in the breath-taking setting of Kirtlington Park. 

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