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The White Horse Festival
presents
The Festival Opera Gala Dinner 2026
The White Horse Festival, in partnership with Carvers Hill Estate and Chef James Graham, is proud to present this spectacular evening of fine dining, wonderful music and renowned wines.
With a black-tie dress code, drawing inspiration from the country’s well-loved summer opera festivals but with our signature autumnal twist, the evening features the return of exceptional White Horse Festival artists Hilary Cronin, soprano, and Michael Lafferty, baritone, delighting audiences with arias, duets and scenes from across the world of opera.
Hilary Cronin and Michael Lafferty are at the forefront of the British classical landscape, performing for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Opera Holland Park, Buxton International Festival and English National Opera. Performing together and separately across the full scope of the space, their captivating performances will transport and entertain.
Chef James Graham has drawn upon his experience at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons (Raymond Blanc, two Michelin stars), Ninety Park Lane (Nico Ladenis, three Michelin stars) and Allium (one Michelin star) to craft a bespoke, elegant, Italian-inspired menu to complement the opera and wines, featuring home-made Tortellini en Brodo, followed by his signature Chicken Scarpariello, ending with Tiramisu. Each course is punctuated by romantic and dramatic musical interludes, all set in the incomparable surroundings of Wiltshire’s most beautiful vineyard.
Carvers Hill’s award-winning wines are produced on site, giving them oversight of the full winemaking process. Set in the unspoilt conservation landscape of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and once farmed for wildflower seed, the Estate’s distinctive topography and terroir have since been carefully reimagined, becoming home to over 22,000 vines planted in 2021 and the foundation of a new generation of premium English wine.
Experience elegant dining, transportative music and the hidden gem that is this stunning vineyard – this memorable evening truly is one not to be missed.
Dress code: black tie is encouraged for this elegant evening, however it is not compulsory.
Doors open at 6.30pm
Menu
A vegetarian and vegan option is available, please specify when booking.
Menu items are subject to change if required
Hilary Cronin - soprano
Since winning both the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2021 London Handel International Singing Competition, Hilary Cronin has firmly established herself at the forefront of the new generation of British sopranos.
Hilary trained at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and at Royal Holloway University of London where she was awarded the Dame Felicity Lott Bursary and the Driver Prize for Excellence in Performance.
Praised by Opera Now for her “golden tone,” by Classical Voice North America for her “shining, rounded timbre,” and singled out by The Times as “sensational,” Hilary has appeared with leading ensembles including Academy of Ancient Music, English Baroque Soloists, Florilegium, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, London Handel Orchestra, La Nuova Musica and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, as well as with BBC Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, and the London Mozart Players.
Her 2026 engagements include Mendelssohn Lobgesang with the Constellation Choir & Orchestra, Brahms Requiem with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and for Newbury Festival, Bach St Matthew Passion with Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bach Easter Oratorio and BWV 21 at Tilford Bach Festival with the London Handel Players, Handel Chandos Anthems with Arcangelo, and Handel Messiah with Handel & Haydn Society, The Sixteen, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and Polyphony.
This summer, Hilary performed the role of sorceress Melissa in Handel’s Amadigi with The English Concert for Buxton International Festival.
This autumn, Hilary will create the role of The Angel Gabriel in Errollyn Wallen’s A Christmas Miracle with Mahogany Opera and Britten Pears Arts.
https://www.hilarycronin-soprano.co.uk/
Michael Lafferty - baritone
British baritone, Michael Lafferty, is a dynamic artist, praised for the “melting warmth” of his voice, and “demonstrable affection and involvement” of his performances. (Opera Today). Michael studied on the Opera School at Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he was generously supported by The Behrens Foundation, The Drake Calleja Trust and Countess of Munster Musical Trust.
Michael made his operatic debut in 2023 playing the role of Officer in Barrie Kosky’s production of Dialogue des Carmélites for Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Since then, Michael has sung Janek (The Makropulos Affair) with Scottish Opera, Jupiter (Semele) for Waterperry Opera, and Pang (Turandot) for Royal Opera House, as an understudy. Michael looks forward to debuts with English National Opera and Blackheath Opera in the autumn.
Competition successes include First prize at the AESS English Song Competition, winner of the ‘Prix Andre-Bacand Prize’ at the CMIM Competition 2022 (Montreal), and finalist for the GSMD Gold Medal 2023. Concert highlights include Schumann’s ‘Requiem für Mignon’ under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner for Salzurger Festpiele, Handel’s Messiah for Academy of St.Martin in the Fields, and Mozart requiem with Royal Philarmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall.
https://michaellaffertybaritone.co.uk/
Carvers Hill Estate
Carvers Hill Estate was inspired by the renaissance of the historic Bordeaux vineyard - Domaine de Bellevue, near Cadillac. The Griffiths Family saw an advertisement in the International Herald Tribune. The owner of the Domaine de Bellevue, Jean Francois Boras, was seeking an investor to complete the replanting and rebuilding of his vineyard near the village of Langoran, Côtes de Bordeaux. Tim Griffiths arranged to visit and met Jean-Francois - together they set about resurrecting this historic estate. The success of this project led Tim to plant in 2021 six hectares of vines on Carvers Hill Estate in Shalbourne, Wiltshire, and the state of the art winery was built to ensure the team can craft the very best wines from this land. Our winemaker Patrick works closely with Jean-Francois and the two estates continue to collaborate.
https://carvershillestate.com/
Address: Carvers Hill Estate, Carvers Hill, Shalbourne, Wiltshire SN8 3PS
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Why not consider a Classical Pass or Foodie Pass? These include access to this event and a host of others across the Festival. Click on the individual links to find out more!