Access all arias! CW sponsors ‘If Opera’

Christopher Ward has agreed to become the main sponsor of the ‘If Opera’ company in Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire. If Opera is seen as a ‘challenger brand’ in the typically stuffy world of opera – and so appeals to Christopher Ward CEO Mike France.

“Challenging conventions is in the DNA of Christopher Ward, so we’re always attracted to work with partners that do the same,” says Mike. “If Opera is taking one of the great art forms and making it accessible – not only to new audiences – but also to the next generation of opera singers by giving them a platform so rarely available in the traditional houses.”

The executive director of If Opera is Michael Volpe, former head of Opera Holland Park. He says the company is doing things differently – especially its refusal to fly in big names for highly-paid performances.

“We’re going back to an old model of producing opera,” he says. “We’ll have a fixed number of contract singers who’ll get a weekly wage. In the seasons, they’ll have roles in three operas. This creates a tight group and makes it financially secure and stable. It’s quite radical!”

The summer is gearing up to be big for If Opera, with a range of headline productions ready to roll. “It’s our second official season, and we’re opening with Fedora by Umberto Giordano,” says Michael Volpe. “It’s a late-19th century work, and it’s got suicide, murder and betrayal – what we call a ‘stab and sob’ opera. And then we’re doing Will Todd’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Mikado by Gilbert & Sullivan and finally, Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta.”

“If Opera is taking one of the great art forms and making it accessible”

The success of 2022’s C1 Bel Canto – a chiming watch named after a melodic operatic singing style – cemented the link between CW and opera. Michael Volpe thinks the two have common ground that goes beyond brand similarities.

“There’s a connection between real watchmaking and experiencing opera,” he says. “The part of your brain that reacts to beautiful watches is the same as when you experience something visual and musical on stage. And like If Opera, Christopher Ward gives people incredible experiences without asking them to spend a fortune.”

In the future, the worlds of If Opera and Christopher Ward may mesh further as Michael Volpe has plans to bring the CW team to a show and get the orchestra to play the note of the Bel Canto’s chime. “I’d also like to interview with Mike France,” he says. “Our punters will know his daughter, Jennifer France, one of the country’s most accomplished sopranos. So there’s lots we can talk about!”

For Mike France, it’s all adding up to a beautiful partnership. “It’s fresh, exciting, and we feel privileged to be part of their story.”