Nevill Holt Opera has announced a change of direction, rebranding as the Nevill Holt Festival. The organisation, which cut last year’s operatic output down to one production following financial difficulties, will now exist as a multi-arts festival including opera, chamber concerts, jazz, contemporary music and comedy.

In a press release published by Nevill Holt Festival, it confirmed that the change is the result of ‘an extensive survey inviting audiences to share their thoughts on the organisation’s future’. Nevill Holt Opera was founded by conductor Nicholas Chalmers in 2013 to support young singers. Questions about its future were raised last year when Chalmer’s resigned unexpectedly in May and the organisation reported it was facing financial issues.

Set to run 1-26 June 2024 in the grounds of the Nevill Holt estate in Leicestershire, the new festival will open with a new production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute in partnership with Britten Sinfonia, and includes chamber concerts by Imogen Cooper, Sarah Connolly, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason and Benjamin Grosvenor and musical performances by Mary Bevan, Nicky Spence and Joseph Middleton.