The company, which usually stages four operas or musicals each summer, has an annual operating budget of around 4 million pounds, about $4.9 million, and a full-time staff of about 12 (with 300 to 400 part-time workers during the summer). Like most other country house operas, it is funded entirely by ticket sales and donations, receiving no government money. Mr. Gascoigne, the original host of the popular TV show “University Challenge,” died in February at 87. She lived alone for years in an almost Miss Havisham-like existence where few visitors went beyond the front rooms. “Every time there was a new drip, she thought: Get a new bucket,” Mr. Gascoigne was quoted as saying in 2018.

Source: International New York Times July 02, 2022 23:22 UTC