Cambridge Handel Opera Company (CHOC) mounts productions of Baroque operas that celebrate the fusion of music and the stage, with performances that trust the composer and are not just ‘historically informed’, but ‘historically inspired’. The vibrant synergy in CHOC’s performances between music and stage respects the integrity of the work and conveys its coherence and passion.

CHOC is an opera company that appeals to all ages and backgrounds without making artistic compromises, thriving on meaningful interplay between the stage and the orchestra pit, inspiring performers and exciting audiences through a fusion of scholarship and artistic excellence.

Shortlisted for the 2021 Gramophone Award in association with the Academy of Ancient Music, CHOC stages events which are ‘simply unmissable’ (Opera Now) and ‘impeccably stylish’ (The Stage). So far, its Talent Development Programme has enabled advanced period instrumentalists from nine institutions to rehearse and perform alongside expert professionals in staged productions, while its unique online discussions between musicians, directors and scholars, Handel’s Green Room, reach global audiences. Its concerts range from revivals of English music dramas to a chamber series showcasing neglected gems by Handel and his contemporaries.

From 1985 to 2013, Cambridge Handel Opera Group (CHOG) put on biennial staged productions of Handel’s operas. Directed by the leading Handel scholar Dr Andrew Jones, CHOG’s productions stood out for marrying historically informed performances with historically appropriate stagings. Cambridge Handel Opera Company (CHOC) was formally established, with charitable status, in 2016, under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director, Julian Perkins, aiming to build on CHOG’s distinctive legacy.

In 2019, CHOC joined forces with the Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) and Cambridge Early Music for the first time for a recording and concert performance of John Eccles' Semele. Directed by Julian Perkins, this is the first professional recording of this work. It was shortlisted for the 2021 Gramophone Award and featured as ‘Recording of the Month’ in BBC Music Magazine, ‘Disc of the Month’ in Opera, ‘Record of the Week’ on BBC Radio 3, and ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone.

In 2018 CHOC mounted its first fully staged production of Handel’s Rodelinda at The Great Hall, The Leys School in Cambridge to critical acclaim. Owing to the Covid 19 pandemic, CHOC’s staged production of Handel's Tamerlano was postponed to April 2022. This brought together an array of leading professionals and emerging artists for a run of performances and related educational events. Described as ‘a triumphant vindication of Handel the musical dramatist’ (Lark Reviews), the production featured on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show. CHOC looks forward to the release of their latest collaboration with AAM, John Weldon's The Judgment of Paris in Spring 2025.

Ruth Kiang was appointed as Associate Director in late 2024. The company are currently in the early stages of planning their next staged Handel opera in 2026, as CHOC moves into the next chapter in its history.