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ROYAL OPERA HOUSE WINE GALA

It was a great honour when the Royal Opera House asked The Wine Conversation to partner them in organising the 2023 Royal Opera House Wine Gala Dinner and Auction, in aid of the Royal Opera House Foundation.

On June 11, guests were treated to a recital from world-renowned tenor Jonas Kaufmann, the new star of the opera world, Aigul Akhmetshina, and the charismatic bass-baritone Gordon Bintner, followed by a splendid dinner with fabulous wines, and an auction that delivered further servings of drama.

To begin, Edouard Cossy flew in from France to introduce the delicious Grand Siècle Iteration 25 by Laurent-Perrier, which was served on the Royal Opera House’s balcony overlooking Covent Garden. Sarah Kemp, who was MC for the evening, thanked Edouard for donating the wine, especially as there is currently a world-wide shortage of Champagne. 

After the recital, there was a frisson of excitement as Edouard Labruyère introduced his Montrachet, Domaine Jacques Prieur 2014, and applause broke out when he revealed it was the largest number of bottles of Montrachet that had ever left their cellar. The Montrachet was matched with poached turbot and young leeks in a light fish velouté sauce with sea herbs. Then, in honour of the Music Director of the Royal Opera House, Sir Antonio Pappano, one of Italy’s most iconic wines was served, the exemplary Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1999. Giampiero Bertolini, CEO, introduced the wine, which was beautifully matched with loin of New Forest roe venison with stuffed morel mushrooms, in a light red-wine sauce.

Château Lafite is no stranger to the Royal Opera House, having supported four of the five previous Wine Galas. Christophe Salin introduced the 2007 vintage which was drinking superbly, definitely in its sweet spot. The wine was beautifully matched with a 24-month-aged Comté. Taylor’s 30-year Old Tawny Port rounded off the evening in fine style, eloquently introduced by Chris Forbes. The Company of Cooks, who had taken considerable care in matching the wines to the menu, chose “Mousse due cioccolate e nocciola” to accompany the chilled Tawny, the perfect wine to sip and savour on a summer’s evening. The auction was conducted energetically by Charlie Foley of Christie’s, and around £200,000 was raised for The Royal Opera Foundation, which supports the educational outreach of the Royal Opera House. Sarah Kemp thanked the producers for their enormous generosity in donating the wine, and providing superb auction lots, which included private visits to the estates and extraordinary double magnums.

If anyone wishes to donate to The Royal Opera House Foundation to help the Royal Opera House during these challenging times click here www.roh.org.uk/donate now. The proceeds will allow the Royal Opera House to present innovative, diverse, extraordinary performances on stage, to support the remarkable craftsmanship behind the scenes and through the learning programme continue to inspire audiences and artists of the future.

Photos ©liavittonephotography