What are the opening hours?

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm

Clonter

Live music venue. Supporting emerging artists ♫
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Clonter Opera Theatre is set in the heart of the beautiful Cheshire countryside. With a 400 seat indoor auditorium where it performs opera, jazz, folk and gospel music on select evenings throughout the year. There is also indoor dining facilities for 400 people, as the majority of performances have a 70 minute supper interval.

30/08/2026

Meet the band 🤝

With The Easy Rollers returning to Clonter on the 3rd of October, we thought we’d share who make up this Jazz septet 🎺🎷🎙️

Fronted by the captivating Dani Sicari, whose time-machine of a voice is evocative of early greats like Helen Kane and Ruth Etting, we also have…

🎹 Alex Hill - Piano
🎺 Tom Sharp - Trumpet
🎷 Jamie Stockbridge - Clarinet / Saxophone
🎸 James Girling - Guitar
🎻 Sam Jackson - Double Bass
🥁 Matt Brown - Drums

“This seven-piece band swings, swaggers and bounces [...] its way into your heart and feet”
- Jazz Views

The Easy Rollers @ Clonter
Goosfest arts and music festival in Goostrey, Cheshire

Join us and get your tickets via the link in the comments 🔗

25/08/2026

TOSCA RETURNS... ON THE BIG SCREEN 🎞️

📆 Sun 13 September 2026
🕑 2:00pm
📍Clonter Opera Theatre (Cinema!)

Tosca returns on the big screen as Clonter proudly presents a special screening of its acclaimed 2025 production 📽️

Don’t miss your chance to experience once again, or discover for the first time, the magic of last year’s performance.

Grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy one of the most gripping operas ever written ✨

For more information, click the link in the comments 🔗

Cast
Flora Tosca – Emilie Cavallo
Mario Cavaradossi – Konstantinos Akriditis
Baron Scarpia – Robin Hughes
Cesare Angelotti – Fionn Ó hAlmhain
The Sacristan/Sciarrone – Sebastian Stride
Spoletta – Luke Horner

For the Production
Conductor – Philip Sunderland
Director – Steve Elias
Set & Costume Designer – Stewart J. Charlesworth
Lighting Designer – Tony Simpson
Audio Visual Designer – Steve Brookfield

22/08/2026

Just SIX WEEKS to go until The Easy Rollers return to Clonter 🎉

This is a clip of their arrangement of ‘When I get low I get high’ which was written by Marion Sunshine. You may recognise it from the famous Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb recording. The song was inspired by Irving Berlin’s 1929 hit ‘Puttin on the Ritz’ 🎶🎺

Get your tickets via the link in the comments 🔗🎟️

18/08/2026

Planning for the 2026 Clonter Fair is well underway ☀️🎉

📆 6 September 2026
🕙 10am-4pm
📍 Clonter Opera Theatre

A great day out for all the family, with car boots, handmade crafts, vintage stalls, fair games, the return of the Sports Day, and live music throughout the day, from Folk to Opera ✨

Dane Sound Radio will be keeping everyone informed and entertained, while The Congleton Bear Town Classic Car Club proudly showcases its treasured classic cars 🚗

If you’d like a stall, a car boot pitch, or would like to volunteer, please contact - [email protected]

This year’s proceeds will again be shared between Clonter and local charity Visyon, which supports the emotional health of children, young people and their families across Cheshire East.

Come down and join in the fun 🤩

Admission: £6 per adult (free for children under 16)
Fair Open: 10am–4pm
Car Boot: 10am–2pm

For more info, click the link in the comments 🔗

12/08/2026

Clonter Fair ☀️

There is just under a month to go until Clonter's annual Fair & Car Boot Sale 🎉

If you are doing any serious life laundry this year, could this be the moment to find your old friends a new home?

This well-established event in the Clonter calendar offers a great day out for all the family, from lucky finds amongst the car boots to handmade craft and vintage clothes stalls, with other attractions, from good old-fashioned fair games to live music through the day, from Folk to Opera!

Due to the positive feedback from the introduction of a Sports Day, this activity is planned to be repeated, including sack, egg and spoon, and wheelbarrow races. The adults can also join in. No reason why the children should have all the fun 😉

We are also delighted to welcome back Dane Sound Radio to help keep you informed on what is going on, and musically entertained throughout the day.

The Congleton Bear Town Classic Car Club are also all poised with their turtle wax to proudly present and share their treasured automobiles with you 🚘

If you would like to have a stall, a car boot, or to volunteer, please contact [email protected] ✨

This year the proceeds will again be split between Clonter and the local charity Visyon. Visyon is a charity that supports the emotional health of children, young people and their families in Cheshire East.

Admission - £6 per adult (free for children under 16)
Fair Open - 10am – 4pm
Car Boot - 10am – 2pm

See you there 🤩

11/08/2026

It is with immense sadness that Clonter would like to pay its own tribute to David Gowland.

This year was the first time in over 20 years that David was not on our Opera Prize panel, and he was greatly missed.

He played such a pivotal role in this competition’s history, giving the whole event prestige (to have a representative from the Royal Opera House), as well as heart.

Everyone who came into contact with David knew that he cared deeply for singers. He was incredibly generous in offering coaching sessions to many contestants from our competitions. During Covid he still helped us carry out this annual tradition, and even the Runner Up (2021) – Michael Gibson – benefitted from David’s attention, gaining a place on the Jette Parker Artists Programme, resulting in Michael singing alongside Sir Bryn Terfel on the main stage at Covent Garden. Others who preceded and followed him were Anush Hovhannisyan (2012), Simon Shibambu (2015), Alexandra Lowe (Winner 2019), Ossian Huskinson (2021), and Sam Hird ( 2024), to name but a few.

We are also hugely grateful to David for introducing new members to the panel. Always an approachable and supportive ear, which shall be sorely missed.

He had such a great sense of occasion. His outfit was always a source of anticipation especially for our 50th Anniversary when he dazzled us all in his legendary blue sequined tuxedo!

We shall miss him dearly.

Thank you David for all you did for Clonter and for so many young singers whose careers have benefitted so much from your generosity and encouragement.

09/08/2026

The 2026 Betty Bannerman Award for French Song 🎶🇫🇷

We’re delighted to announce the 2026 winner is…

✨ Sarah Rappoport ✨

Awarded annually to a student at the RNCM - Royal Northern College of Music, this prize was inaugurated by renowned mezzo-soprano Betty Bannerman, the mother of Clonter’s founder, Jeffery Lockett.

In 2025/26, Sarah has sung with National Opera Studio (NOS) Academy and Opera For Peace (OfP) Academy where she was a Fellowship Artist.

Praised for her “capering” (Opera Magazine) and “impressive” (Bachtrack) stagecraft, Sarah’s recent and upcoming roles include Olga in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Irene in Theodora, and Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina. Her previous operatic roles have included Lapák in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Sméraldine in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, and cover Koukouli in Chabrier’s L’Étoile at the RNCM.

Sarah has also performed in scenes as Bradamante Alcina, Annio La Clemenza Di Tito, and Dritte Dame Die Zauberflöte for NOS as well as Mercedes Carmen and Dryade Ariadne Auf Naxos with Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana for OfP.

An accomplished recitalist and chamber musician, Sarah is the winner of the 2026 Clonter Opera Betty Bannerman Prize for French Song, the RNCM Brodsky Prize, and a finalist in the RNCM Christopher Rowland Chamber Ensemble of the Year Prize. Sarah’s recent concert appearances have included Elgar’s Sea Pictures (Yerevan Youth Orchestra) and a concert with Hallè Orchestra in 2025.

A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Sarah gave a recital of Juliana Hall’s A World Turned Upside Down at the Lerici Music Festival in Italy in 2024. She has also appeared in two world-premiere operas, creating the role of Beth in Pearson’s Silverwood (2024) with RNCM Community Opera and performing in the small chorus of Khan’s Taj Mahal at Grange Park Opera (2025), where other engagements have also included chorus in Simon Boccanegra, Madama Butterfly, and Mazeppa.

When not singing, Sarah enjoys travelling and playing board and video games.

Congratulations Sarah 👏👏

Address

Swettenham Heath
Congleton
CW122LR

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+441260224514

Website

http://www.clonter.org/

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