Wild Arts

What Wild Arts does

Wild Arts is a UK-registered charity (no. 1158366) founded in 2022 by conductor and cellist Orlando Jopling, operating a touring chamber-scale opera and classical music model across 70+ venues in the UK and Europe. Its core output is an annual summer fully-staged opera performed in English with a reduced orchestra (e.g., Marriage of Figaro 2026 with a 10-piece ensemble under director Danielle de Niese), the Dramatised Messiah (an innovative semi-staged Handel directed by Tom Morris, now in its fifth year), An Evening of Opera (a narrative semi-staged programme with a string quintet), and the Roman River Chamber Music Festival (26th season in 2026, coastal Essex). The company is built on the Wild Arts Ensemble — a curated collective of UK period-instrument specialists drawn from Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Solomon's Knot — whose re-orchestration of full symphonic opera scores for chamber forces underpins the entire touring proposition.

The business model is a hybrid of charitable and commercial revenue streams. Earned income comes from ticket sales (from approximately £25 per performance, processed through Ticketsolve), venue hosting arrangements, and corporate partnerships. Charitable income comes from a tiered membership programme (Wild Arts Friendship £100/year to Fellowship £10,000+/year, plus Production Principal Supporters at £50,000+), one-off and regular donations (Gift Aid eligible), designated 'focus-your-giving' support, and grants from foundations including FSJ Trust, Reed Foundation, Idlewild Trust, Three Monkies Trust and the Roger & Ingrid Pilkington Charitable Trust. The customer base spans individual opera and classical music enthusiasts, venue hosts (from major theatres to private manor houses), 20 state primary schools reached through the Primary School Summer Opera Programme, secondary schools attending open dress rehearsals, and 4–6 emerging artists annually in the Young Artists Programme.

The company is governed by a Board of Trustees (with a Chair appointed in April 2025) and led operationally by Lead Producer Max Parfitt alongside specialist producers for Messiah, Roman River and outreach. Growth has been rapid: from 12 performances and c.3,000 audience in 2023 to 70+ performances and 15,000+ audience in 2025, with the education programme scaled to 1,500+ pupils across 20 schools. Wild Arts is an Advanced Certificate Theatre Green Book company, embedding sustainability (renewable travel, minimal sets) as a stated differentiator.

Name

Wild Arts

Legal name

Wild Arts

Website

https://wildarts.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wild Arts is a UK-registered touring opera charity founded in 2022, performing chamber-scale opera and classical music at 70+ UK and European venues annually, with an associated education programme reaching 1,500+ state primary pupils and a 4–6-strong Young Artists cohort each year.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Opera

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Touring Theatre Productions (MPAGABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB), Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

Keywords

• Touring opera productions
• Chamber music festivals
• Classical music performances
• Music education outreach
• Arts charity programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Colchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket sales: Revenue from ticket sales across the annual tour (summer opera, Opera Evening, Messiah, Roman River Festival). Tickets are sold through Ticketsolve with pricing starting from approximately £25 per performance.
2. Memberships: Tiered membership programme from Wild Arts Friendship (£100/year) through to Wild Arts Fellowship (£10,000/year). Memberships include priority booking, newsletters, invitations to events, recognition in programmes, and optional benefits.
3. Donations: One-off and regular donations (from £10/month), plus legacies and bequests. Gift Aid is claimed on eligible donations. The Roman River Festival Zélie Jopling Memorial Fund accepts donations in memory of the late festival director.
4. Corporate partnerships: Corporate giving programme with benefits including priority booking, newsletters, invitations, special rate group tickets, dress rehearsal access, and recognition in marketing materials. Sponsorship of specific productions or individual artists is also offered.
5. Focus-your-giving (designated support): Donors can direct support to specific areas: the Essex Summer Opera Festival, young artists, orchestral players, Roman River Festival, or the apprenticeship scheme. Production Principal Supporter tier starts at £50,000+.
6. Venue hosting fees: Venues host performances (theatres, manor houses, gardens, private functions). While framed as hosting, venues effectively pay or provide in-kind support to host the company's touring productions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Wild Arts is a UK-registered charity that produces and tours chamber-scale opera productions and classical music performances to over 70 historic and non-traditional venues across the UK and Europe. Its annual portfolio includes a flagship fully staged summer opera (such as The Marriage of Figaro 2026 with a 10-piece orchestra), An Evening of Opera (semi-staged arias with string quintet), the dramatised Handel's Messiah in winter, and the Roman River Chamber Music Festival in autumn, complemented by primary and secondary school education programmes and a Young Artists development programme.

Product overview

Wild Arts is a UK-based performing arts charity offering a portfolio of live opera and classical music experiences, primarily through touring productions and festivals. The core portfolio consists of three main offerings: a major annual summer opera (a fully staged work such as The Marriage of Figaro 2026), the Dramatised Messiah tour (a semi-staged oratorio performed annually November–December), and An Evening of Opera (a semi-staged narrative programme of opera and musical theatre highlights). These are complemented by the Roman River Festival (a chamber music festival in Essex, entering its 26th season), The Wild Arts Ensemble (the in-house period instrument ensemble that underpins all performances), and a suite of education programmes including the Primary School Summer Opera Programme, a Young Artists Programme for emerging singers, and secondary school dress rehearsal access. Wild Arts also offers membership and donation products to support its charitable mission of bringing opera to underserved communities sustainably.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Roman River Festival: An annual classical music chamber festival held across venues in coastal Essex, operated by Wild Arts. Celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2025.

Products and services

• The Marriage of Figaro (Annual Summer Opera) A fully staged Mozart opera performed in English with a 10-player chamber orchestra, touring annually to UK and European venues; aimed at opera and classical music audiences seeking intimate, accessible performances.
• An Evening of Opera A semi-staged 75-minute evening of opera arias and musical theatre scenes woven into a narrative, performed by four singers and a string quintet; aimed at opera enthusiasts seeking a shorter, narrative-driven experience.
• Dramatised Messiah A semi-staged dramatisation of Handel's oratorio performed by eight singers from memory with period instrument ensemble directed from the harpsichord, with staging devised by Tom Morris; aimed at audiences seeking an immersive, theatrical classical music experience.
• Roman River Festival An annual chamber music festival held across churches and historic spaces in coastal Essex, presenting world-class classical musicians; aimed at chamber music audiences in the East of England and visitors seeking a festival weekend.
• Primary School Summer Opera Programme An education and outreach programme bringing six weeks of curriculum-linked creative music-making, interactive workshops, and a tailored 60-minute performance to state primary schools; aimed at primary school pupils (KS2, ages 7-11) and their teachers.
• Young Artists Programme A talent development programme giving 4-6 emerging opera singers annually paid main-role performance opportunities alongside professional coaching in vocals, languages, and acting; aimed at emerging classical singers seeking professional stage experience.
• Memberships and Patron Programmes Tiered annual membership and patron programmes (Wild Arts Friendship £100/year through Wild Arts Fellowship £10,000+/year) offering priority booking, recognition, dress rehearsal access, and exclusive event invitations; aimed at arts patrons and supporters.

Quantifiable outcome

• From 3,000 audience members in 2023 to over 15,000 in 2025 across 70+ performances
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TicketsolvecoreTechnology or IntegrationTicketsolve is the ticketing, customer relationship management (CRM), and payment processing partner for Wild Arts. All ticket sales are handled through the Ticketsolve platform, making it the primary technology infrastructure for audience transactions.
• MailchimpcoreTechnology or IntegrationMailchimp handles Wild Arts' email communications and marketing, including monthly newsletter updates to members and supporters about performances and events.
• XerocoreTechnology or IntegrationXero is used for financial management and record-keeping at Wild Arts, providing accounting and financial administration infrastructure.
• CharangacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWild Arts uses Charanga's music learning platform (used by approximately 2.5 million young people globally and ~13,000 schools in England — nearly one in five children in England) for its primary school education programme. Wild Arts gives opera a concrete place on the platform and helps schools be creative in how they use it, with lessons and exercises designed for use year after year.
• FSJ TrustcoreOthersFSJ Trust supports Wild Arts Outreach and Education programme.
• Reed FoundationcoreOthersThe Reed Foundation is the Big Give Champion for Wild Arts' Big Give Arts for Impact campaign 2026, and is one of two generous Wild Arts Champions supporting the outreach programme.
• Three Monkies TrustminorOthersThe Three Monkies Trust supports Wild Arts' work with secondary schools specifically.
• Idlewild TrustcoreOthersThe Idlewild Trust supports the Wild Arts Emerging Artists Programme.
• Roger & Ingrid Pilkington Charitable TrustcoreOthersThe Roger & Ingrid Pilkington Charitable Trust supports the Wild Arts Emerging Artists Programme.
• Cambridge Early MusicminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCambridge Early Music presents Wild Arts' Messiah at Trinity College, Cambridge on 17 December 2026.
• Theatre Green BookcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWild Arts has developed its sustainability strategies alongside the Theatre Green Book, aligning with their common standard for sustainable theatre-making. Wild Arts holds an Advanced Certificate from the Theatre Green Book.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Hampstead Garden Opera (HGO): Small-scale, English-language opera company producing intimate and often innovative stagings. Comparable to Wild Arts on the 'accessible English-language opera with innovative staging' axis, but London-centric rather than touring.

Direct peers

• Garsington Opera: Country-house summer opera festival at Wormsley Estate producing chamber-to-mid-scale opera with orchestra. Closely comparable to Wild Arts on the 'high-quality opera in non-traditional venues' positioning, with a similar English-language touring sensibility and shared talent pool (Orlando Jopling has guest-conducted there).
• Longborough Festival Opera: Country-house summer opera festival in the Cotswolds producing full-scale opera with orchestra. Comparable in the 'opera outside major opera houses' niche, though at a larger orchestral scale than Wild Arts' chamber productions.
• Iford Arts: Small-scale opera and classical music presented at the intimate Belcombe Court setting. Nearest comparable in scale and venue philosophy to Wild Arts' touring chamber-opera model in unusual heritage spaces.
• Buxton International Festival: Annual summer festival combining opera, music, and literary events in a regional spa-town setting. Comparable on the 'opera + classical + regional festival' combination that mirrors Wild Arts' summer opera plus Roman River Festival.
• Nevill Holt Opera: Small-scale opera festival in a historic country house setting with a strong emerging-artists strand. Highly comparable to Wild Arts on the 'opera at unusual venues + Young Artists Programme' axis.
• West Green House Opera: Small-scale summer opera in a historic Hampshire garden setting, formerly led by Wild Arts' Messiah Producer Kirsty Hopkins. Near-identical venue philosophy and scale to Wild Arts' intimate touring model.
• English Touring Opera: National touring opera company performing chamber-scale productions at regional venues across England. Comparable to Wild Arts on the touring-to-regional-venues model and repertoire, though at broader geographic scale.

Broad incumbents

• English National Opera: One of the UK's two flagship opera companies, producing opera in English at scale. Overlaps with Wild Arts on repertoire (Mozart, Donizetti, Tchaikovsky) and the English-language presentation philosophy, but at materially larger scale and via conventional venues.
• Glyndebourne: Major UK opera festival with extensive Learning & Engagement programming. Comparable in art form and education-strategy terms, with a much larger budget and longer history; Wild Arts' Lead Producer Max Parfitt previously worked in Glyndebourne's Learning department.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wild-arts-presents

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wild Arts