We were very sad to hear today of the death at the age of 84 of Sir Charles Mackerras, one of the outstanding conductors of our time, renowned for his interpretations stretching from Handel to Mozart to Sullivan, and also for his expertise in Czech music, especially the operas of Janácek. He has been a Patron of Bampton Classical Opera for several years, and attended two of our productions at Bampton, Martin y Soler's La capricciosa corretta and Paer's Leonora, the latter creating great excitement for him as he spotted the likely influences on Beethoven's more famous version. We were especially honoured when his daughter invited us to perform Haydn's L'infedelta delusa as a surprise for Sir Charles and Lady Mackerras at their Diamond Wedding party in 2007. Our photographs show that charming occasion at Buscot House: Sir Charles is seen with our current repetiteur Kelvin Lim, and with the cast including our Figaro, Nicholas Merryweather.