Winslow Hall shows you don’t need fancy sets to make opera enjoyable

Winslow Hall is a large and handsome country house in Buckinghamshire, built in 1700 by Sir Christopher Wren, which Tony Blair nearly bought in 2007 when he was looking for an imposing residence appropriate to his station in life as a retired prime minister. The people of Winslow, the small town near Buckingham in which it stands, were understandably alarmed by the prospect of having the Blair family in their midst; but fortunately for them, Tony eventually decided not to buy the house, possibly because its unusual location on a street in the town would have made security a problem. Instead, it was bought four years ago by Christopher Gilmour, one of the five children of The Spectator’s former proprietor and editor Sir Ian Gilmour, the Conservative politician and cabinet minister who subsequently became a life peer as Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar.

Ian’s reign at The Spectator was one of the most distinguished in its long history, but that is by the way. His sons have also achieved a lot. The eldest, Sir David Gilmour, is an excellent writer and historian; Andrew is a senior official of the United Nations; Oliver is a successful conductor of classical music; and Christopher has made his name as a restaurateur. I don’t think of him as particularly rich, but perhaps he is richer than I imagine; for he not only bought a house that looks very expensive to maintain, but also decided almost immediately to start an opera festival there. He loves opera, which is fine. But it is hard to think of a quicker way to lose money than to stage opera without an Arts Council grant.