Artiste: Michael Maniaci

Once upon a time an intrepid youth showing off his precocious skills as a cyclist boasted, “Look, Ma, no hands!” The 16 year-old Mozart could well have been exclaiming the same as he composed Lucio Silla in 1772.

Although I never had the pleasure of attending Garsington Opera in its original setting in Garsington Manor, I was very impressed by their new premises at Wormsley, Buckinghamshire, with their spectacular-looking and also comfortable opera pavilion.