The Company

Bampton Classical Opera was founded in 1993 by its artistic directors, Gilly French and Jeremy Gray.

Our well-established national reputation is founded on a policy of breathing new life into little-known works of the classical period, in lively and accessible productions of exceptional musical standards, with some of the best of the country’s young singers.

Our staged operas are always sung in English, often in our own lively new translations.

We are committed to relaxed, accessible opera at affordable prices.  To complete your evening, enjoy a convivial pre-performance or interval picnic at our country venues.  Make new friends through our Convivial Companion scheme.  We run a licensed bar and our associate caterers can provide picnics to order.

'Ploughing a jovial furrow of forgotten 18th-century repertoire, and in the process unearthing some real gems like Stephen Storace’s Comedy of Errors, Portugal’s Marriage of Figaro and Soler’s La capricciosa corretta, and performing them in an idyllic Oxfordshire deanery garden for some of the best ticket-prices available in England, Bampton has punched far above its weight in giving a first break to singers and conductors who now have world reputations.'
Opera Now

'The fact is – as Bampton Classical Opera’s lonely advocacy has demonstrated to open minds – that Mozart’s coevals wrote astonishingly good works, their (only relative) simplicity more to the taste of the time, and still fresh and hugely enjoyable today.'
Opera Now, 2014 (in a review of BYO’s Secret Marriage )

'Absolutely delightful, wonderful performances, great musicianship'
audience member