Music in the Ballroom
The voice as the storyteller.
8th, 9th, 13th, 16th August 2026
Ballroom, Waterperry House
This intimate ballroom concert series shines a light on the richness of the human voice. Across four events, different voice types take centre stage, revealing how character, emotion, and storytelling live within the music.
"Music in the ballroom" celebrates the variety and personality of the singing voice through a sequence of contrasting recitals. It opens with a special performance from our new Artistic Director, John Savournin, in a characterful opening programme, bring the beauty on text in song to the foreground. Then, in collaboration with Opera Prelude, we present two thematic programmes to compliment our two opera productions. The first focuses on the Soprano voice, in an exploration of beauty, drama, and expressive storytelling linked to Puccini's La boheme. The second is a programme devoted to the Tenor voice, featuring arias and songs by Donizetti, the composer of The Elixir of Love, uncovering their brilliance and emotional range. The series closes with a special guest recital from world class baritone Roderick Williams OBE, bringing this remarkable journey through voice and song to a memorable conclusion.
Timings
Performance starts at 5pm. Approx finish 5:40pm.
Tickets
Tickets start at £20, with a small booking fee.
Under 35s Tickets start at £15, Benefit Holder/NHS Blue Light Tickets start at £18.
Words and Music
8th August, 5pm
John Savournin (Baritone) and Miloš Milivojević (Accordion)
Our Artistic Director, John Savournin, opens the festival with a distinctive text-led recital, weaving together Shakespeare's words with music inspired by his plays. Joined by acclaimed accordionist Miloš Milivojević, John brings characters from Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream to life through spoken monologues, songs by Finzi, Sullivan, Wolf and Britten, and virtuosic accordion interludes by Albéniz and Semionov.
A celebrated bass-baritone and director, John has performed with all the UK's national opera companies, as well as leading festivals and concert venues. Recent highlights include Captain Corcoran in HMS Pinafore for English National Opera, alongside appearances with Garsington Opera, Opera Holland Park and the Three Choirs Festival.
Miloš Milivojević is one of Europe's leading accordionists, acclaimed for his solo performances, chamber music and orchestral collaborations. A prize-winning graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, he has performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera North and many other leading ensembles.
Programme
Programme inspired by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream, featuring works by Finzi, Sullivan, Wolf and Britten, alongside accordion solos by Albéniz and Semionov. Spoken Shakespeare monologues are interwoven throughout the recital.
Finzi – Come Away, Death
Sullivan – O Mistress Mine
Albéniz – Asturias (accordion solo)
Wolf – Lied des transferierten Zettel
Semionov – Don Rhapsodie (accordion solo)
Britten – When my cue comes, call me
Britten – Oliver Cromwell
Bohème and Beyond: Beauty, Drama and the Art of Storytelling
9th August, 5pm
Olivia Rose Tringham (Soprano) and Ashley Beauchamp (Piano)
Soprano Olivia Rose Tringham, accompanied by pianist Ashley Beauchamp, introduces the soprano voice in the operatic repertoire, taking us on a journey through some of opera’s most beloved heroines. This beautiful programme features arias by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini and Dvořák, and offers the perfect companion concert for our main stage production.
Olivia Rose Tringham made her English National Opera debut in the 2025/26 season as Sister Catherine in the Olivier Award-winning production of Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, and is a current ENO Harewood Artist. Ashley Beauchamp is a conductor, pianist and educator working widely across the UK and in leading opera festivals, including Glyndebourne and Garsington Opera.
Presented in collaboration with Opera Prelude.
Programme
Mozart – Porgi, amor (Le nozze di Figaro)
(Mascagni) - Voi lo sapete o mamma (Cavalleria Rusticana)
Verdi - Ave Maria (Otello)
Puccini – Mi chiamano Mimì (La bohème)
Puccini – Quando m’en vo (La bohème)
Poncheilli - Suicidio (La Gioconda)
Dvořák – Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém (Song to the Moon (Rusalka)
Due to the indisposition of Erin Rossington, Olivia Rose Tringham will now perform this recital.
Donizetti Masterpieces in Opera and Song
13th August, 5pm
Simon Mascarenhas-Carter (Tenor) and Ashley Beauchamp (Piano)
Tenor Simon Mascarenhas Carter, accompanied by pianist Ashley Beauchamp, introduces the tenor voice in an enchanting programme devoted entirely to the music of Gaetano Donizetti. From lyrical arias to rare gems, the concert explores the full expressive range of Donizetti’s writing for tenor, offering a perfect companion to our Amphitheatre production.
Simon is a former festival Young Artist, previously appearing as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and returns following recent performances across the UK and Europe. From 2026, he joins the Opera Studio of the Vienna State Opera. Ashley Beauchamp is a conductor, pianist and educator working with leading UK opera companies and festivals including Glyndebourne and Garsington Opera.
Presented in collaboration with Opera Prelude.
Programme (all music by Gaetano Donizetti)
Com’è gentil (Don Pasquale – Ernesto)
Quanto è bella (L’elisir d’amore – Nemorino)
Me voglio fa’ ’na casa (Soirées d’automne à l’Infrascata)
Le crépuscule (Nuits d’été à Pausilippe)
La dernière nuit d’un novice (Sept arie)
L’amor funesto
Come uno spirito angelico (Roberto Devereux – Roberto)
Una furtiva lagrima (L’elisir d’amore – Nemorino).
Guest Recital: Roderick Williams OBE
16th August, 5pm
Roderick Williams (Baritone) and Susie Allan (Piano)
For our special closing recital in the series, we are delighted to welcome world-class baritone Roderick Williams OBE to Waterperry.
Entitled Love flows as the brook flows, this charming programme explores songs of water, love and nature by Schubert, Vaughan Williams, Britten and others. A fitting and atmospheric finale to the festival, it promises an unmissable conclusion to the series.
Roderick Williams is one of today’s leading baritones, renowned for his versatility across opera, concert and recital repertoire. He appears regularly at major venues including the Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw and Musikverein, and at festivals such as the BBC Proms, Edinburgh, Cheltenham and Aldeburgh. Alongside his performing career, he is also an accomplished composer.
He is joined by pianist Susie Allan, an acclaimed collaborative pianist whose long-standing partnership with Williams has taken them to major festivals and venues across the UK and internationally, including the Wigmore Hall, the Globe Theatre and the Park Avenue Armory.
Programme – Love flows as the brook flows
Franz Schubert
Das Wandern/Somewhere* Wilhelm Müller (tr. Sams)*
Joan Trimble
Green Rain Mary Webb
Franz Schubert
Wohin?/Where now? Wilhelm Müller
Gerald Finzi
Overlooking the river Thomas Hardy
Franz Schubert
Der Neugierige/Curiosity Wilhelm Müller
Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Water Mill Fredegond Shove
Franz Schubert
Ungeduld/Impatience Wilhelm Müller
Michael Head
Tewkesbury Road John Masefield
Franz Schubert
Mit dem grünen Lautenbande/The Green Ribbon Wilhelm Müller
Roger Quilter
Brown is my love anon
Franz Schubert
Der Jäger/The Huntsman Wilhelm Müller
Gerald Finzi
He abjures love Thomas Hardy
Franz Schubert
Die liebe Farbe/Her favourite colour Wilhelm Müller
Herbert Howells
The Sorrow of Love Seumas O’Sullivan
Franz Schubert
Des Baches Wiegenlied/The brook sings a lullaby Wilhelm Müller
FAQs
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Around 40 minutes, with no interval.
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In the Waterperry ballroom.
