DISCOVER the story behind Mozart’s finest operas at West Green House, Hartley Wintney, next month.

The stunning property is to present Mozart’s Phoenix on Wednesday, July 29 at 8pm as part of its 2015 season of music and opera.

In the spring of 1783 two young men were introduced at a party. Over just four years, they would create three of the world's most popular and enduring operas, after which one of them would be dead and the other exiled.

The first of those men was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The other was the man he called his ‘phoenix', Lorenzo da Ponte and the operas the created together, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte, remain some of the most popular operas ever written.

Mozart’s Phoenix reveals this fascinating story through a combination of specially written words and some of Mozart’s finest music.

Five singers from the Garsington Opera Alvarez Emerging Artists’ Programme are joined by West Green Opera's new artistic director, William Relton, playing Lorenzo da Ponte and a wind quintet conducted by Susanna Stranders, written and directed by Tess Gibbs.

The perfect introduction to the operas of Mozart, this production will be semi-staged featuring simple props and costumes. It runs for 85 minutes without an interval.

The gardens at West Green will be open for picnics from 6pm.

For full details, log on to westgreenhouseopera.co.uk or call the box office on 01252 848676.

*See The Gazette on July 2 for your chance to win a pair of tickets to this performance.