Opera evening and dinner – 15th October 2016
An exclusive opera dinner will be held in the stunning setting of Warren House, Kingston, London, on Saturday, 15th October 2016, commencing at 7 pm. All proceeds from the evening will support our campaign to establish Belgrade's first in-patient hospice, BELhospice.
A renowned Serbian baritone, Nikola Mijailovic, who has sung opposite world greats such as Pavarotti, will sing some of his favourite arias. Nikola, who began his voice studies with his mother, opera diva Radmila Smiljanic, in Belgrade, made his professional debut in 1996 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow as Schaunard in La Boheme. His career quickly took off and he has performed leading parts at La Scala and many other major world opera houses. Nikola will be joined at the evening by Serbian soprano, Silvia McQueen and actress Maja Barcot. Guests will also enjoy a drinks reception and a 3 course gourmet dinner with wine.
Warren House has been chosen as the venue because of a special connection to Serbia through its former owner Lady Paget. The first time she went to Serbia was in 1910 as wife of the British Ambassador to Belgrade, Ralph Paget. Her humanitarian work started during the first Balkan War, when she established a hospital in Belgrade and worked there as a nurse. The outbreak of World War One found Lady Paget in London, but she moved to Skopje, where she worked diligently to care for the wounded and the sick, so much so that she herself became ill with typhus. She stayed treating casualties up to 1916, when she was transferred back to the UK. After the World War Two ended, her home in London became a meeting place for the Serbian political refugees. She financially helped the setup of the Serbian church and the Serbian club in London.
Belgrade is one of the only capitals in Europe that currently has no specialist in-patient hospice facility, resulting in needless suffering for those affected by a terminal illness such as cancer. UK charity, Hospices of Hope, the leading hospice development charity in the region, is working with its Serbian partner BELhospice to change this situation. A property has been secured that will be transformed into a 12 bed hospice with associated day-care and home-care facilities.
There are limited places available at the event, and we urge you to book tickets as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment. To pay for tickets you can go to www.hospicesofhope.co.uk/opera-evening-dinner/ or email Vanessa Davis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you are unable to attend the event but would like to make a donation towards the BELhospice Appeal, you can make a donation on www.hospicesofhope.co.uk/Serbia or pay directly to the following bank account: Hospices of Hope Sort Code: 403106 Account No 62006472 Ref: BELhospice or send your donation to Hospices of Hope, 11 High Street, Otford, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN145PG.
