About Us - Opera Holland Park

We are Opera Holland Park. An urban company in a leafy setting, blending tradition with the daring to redefine opera for a modern audience.

With a year-round commitment to excellence in opera, centred on an extraordinary three-month summer festival, Opera Holland Park is a breath of fresh air in the heart of London. Every summer we build a theatre and perform to audiences from across the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and beyond. Surrounded by the beautiful formal gardens, wilded woodlands and renowned Kyoto Garden of Holland Park, our canopied open-air auditorium is the perfect place to enjoy critically acclaimed opera welcoming over 30,000 audiences each summer.

With deep roots in civic heritage dating back to 1996, Opera Holland Park’s mission is to share the cultural, wellbeing and social benefits of opera with our local community. Guided by our vision for everyone in West London to have the opportunity to fall in love with exceptional opera, our core values shape all that we do.

CREATIVITY: Is woven into the fabric of how we do business. From planning to production, it is central to our work.

COMMUNITY: We are not just a company, but a community of creatives welcoming as many people as possible from the local community into the Opera Holland Park family.

INTEGRITY: Every one of us believes wholeheartedly in the importance of each project we work on, getting to the heart of the stories that make opera such a compelling art form.

RESPECT: Our respect for one another defines how we work together in the rehearsal room, offices, backstage and beyond. It also defines our relationship with the historic site and our approach to the environment and sustainability.

We have a singular voice in the arts world. Regularly covered by The Times, Telegraph and Financial Times alongside features in BBC Radio Four and Three, our reputation for dazzling work, discovery of talent, and inventive communication via film and other media gives us an identity that has made us among the most respected companies in the UK.

Outreach and education within the local community and beyond remains a core mission of the company, epitomised by our award-winning programme Inspire which is dedicated to breaking down barriers by working with the community, embracing and enriching the lives of all. As an independent charity, we serve the local community in care homes, hospices, shelters, schools and beyond, throughout the calendar year.

Great opera, great ambience, great values.

Our History

Opera Holland Park’s history can be traced to 1605, when Holland House, the backdrop of our beautiful canopied theatre, first came into existence. Since the company was founded in 1996, it has grown into a successful independent charity and internationally-renowned opera company.

Sir Walter Cope

1605

Opera Holland Park’s history began in 1605, when diplomat Sir Walter Cope built a Jacobean style house on a large piece of green land that later became known as Holland Park. Originally known as Cope Castle, Holland House was one of the first great houses built in Kensington. After being inherited by Cope’s son-in-law, Henry Rich, the house passed through various members of the family of the Earl of Holland and then to the Edwardes family in 1721. In 1874 the estate was transferred to the Earl of Ilchester.

Under the 3rd Lord Holland the house became noted as a glittering social, literary and political centre with many celebrated visitors such as Byron, Macaulay, Disraeli, Dickens and Sir Walter Scott. Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother and King George VI attended the last great ball held at the house a few weeks before the outbreak of the Second World War.

Second World War bombing

1940

In September 1940 Holland House was badly damaged during a ten hour incendiary bombing raid.

London County Council

1952

London County Council bought Holland Park and Holland House from the 6th Earl of Ilchester in 1952. The ruins and grounds became a community resource, managed first by the LCC, then the Greater London Council. In 1987, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea assumed control of Holland Park, purchasing a canopy to put over the space in which visiting theatre, opera and dance companies performed each summer.

Opera Holland Park first production staged

1996

Opera Holland Park was founded in 1996 by Former General Director Michael Volpe from within the local council’s Libraries and Arts Services. OHP’s inaugural production was Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera.

A history of Italian rarities

1997

In 1997 OHP produced two operas: Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Mascagni’s Iris, the first in a strand of Italian rarities that has become a hallmark of the company’s work. To this day our seasons balance fresh and insightful productions of established masterpieces by Mozart, Donizetti, Bizet, Verdi, Tchaikovsky or Puccini with rarities by Catalani, Cilea, Giordano, Mascagni, Montemezzi, Wolf-Ferrari and Zandonai.

James Clutton, Director of Opera joins the company

2000

James Clutton joined Opera Holland Park in 2000. Under the direction of Michael Volpe and James Clutton, the company’s work expanded, delivering up to 48 performances in a single season in 2001, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the pit.

Meet the team

City of London Sinfonia

2003

City of London Sinfonia joined OHP as our resident orchestra in 2003, playing repertoire from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.

Find out more

A new canopy and auditorium is built

2007

In 2007, OHP built a new 1600 sqm high tensile fabric canopy, designed by Architen Landrell, and a bespoke 1,000 seat auditorium, providing improved comfort, acoustics and technical facilities.

A history of nurturing young talent

2012

2012 marked the launch our Young Artists Scheme to develop, nurture and showcase emerging talents. With the ongoing financial and hands-on support of individual donors, trusts, foundations, local volunteers and the Friends of Opera Holland Park, our work has continued to grow.

Find out more

First commission

2013

Opera Holland Park commissioned our first family opera (Will Todd’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) in 2013, a show which has continued to go from success to success and which transferred to the Royal Opera House in 2015.

Find out more

Opera Holland Park becomes an independent charity

2015

In 2015, OHP became an independent charity, led by a board of Trustees chaired by Charles Mackay CBE.

2016 marked Opera Holland Park’s first co-production with another international opera company: Danish National Opera (La Cenerentola, 2016). Further collaborations include Scottish Opera (Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018), New York City Opera (Isabeau, 2018) and Charles Court Opera (The Pirates of Penzance, 2021).

In 2016, the Royal Ballet School also returned to OHP for their end-of-year summer performances.

Find out more

Inspire wins International Opera Award

2018

One of the company’s key aims is to break down barriers to opera through the Inspire programme of education and outreach initiatives for all ages. In 2018, Inspire was publically recognised at the International Opera Awards winning the Education and Outreach category. 2018 also marked our inaugural Schools’ Matinee at the theatre.

The auditorium is redesigned

2020

In 2020, the auditorium was completely redesigned with international performance designer takis. The reimagined auditorium and performance space reflects the natural beauty of the theatre’s setting in Holland Park. Constructed from reclaimed and sustainable materials it was described as ‘London’s greenest theatre’ by the Evening Standard.

James Clutton becomes CEO and Director of Opera

2020

After 31 years at Opera Holland Park, General Director Michael Volpe decided to take early retirement from his role at the company with James Clutton taking the position of CEO and Director of Opera.

Opera Holland Park commissions Itch

2023

In a co-production with the Canadian Opera Company, Toronto, Opera Holland Park commissioned Itch. An explosive new opera from composer Jonathan Dove and librettist Alasdair Middleton. Adapted from Simon Mayo’s best-selling novels, Itch and Itch Rocks which received critical acclaim during the 2023 summer season.

Our History

Past seasons & events