When Opera Holland Park launched in 1996 there was no declared intention to strike out into uncharted artistic territory - but there was a very distinct desire to do something different. In our second year in existence, a conversation in the office led us to a CD of Mascagni's Iris, an oriental schlockhorror opera.

Placido Domingo, who has a history of performing rarities, had committed the opera to vinyl and within a short space of time, the opera, with its monumental opening chorus, gorgeous orchestration and quite mesmerising central duet, came to dominate our thinking. We simply had to produce it, to see it on stage - despite the fact that it had not been seen in a London house for, at that time, 93 years.

Everybody thought we were mad but we found a sponsor willing to back it and the piece was a huge sellout success that we revived the following season.

Tonight, we open another grande opera of the late Italian tradition, Ponchielli's epic four-acter, La Gioconda. It has the advantage of featuring one of the world's most famous tunes in the Dance of the Hours, but it is largely unknown among regular opera audiences. With it, we produce Tchaikovsky's final opera, the exquisite fairytale Iolanta. Why are we among the very few companies who attempt something different?

Producing six operas a season is no mean feat, but over 10 years you begin to run out of repertoire. We always feature on a cyclical basis the big favourites in new productions: Tosca, Rigoletto, Le Nozze di Figaro.

Rarities are not commonly found to be such masterpieces and indeed, some are rubbish. Some are brilliant in patches and occasionally, as we did recently with Montemezzi's L'Amore dei tre Re, you do genuinely unearth a work of genius. And suspicious as they are of oddities, the public do nevertheless respond to the enormously entertaining glut of musical works that sit gathering dust on shelves. We know they do - we have been selling-them out for years. Audience development - when a company takes the time to lead its patrons by the hand through the repertoire, to teach them that unfamiliarity is not always a barometer of quality - seems to be an uncommon principle.

By now, I will have no doubt been condemned as a populist (politer than the usual "opera yob"). But I know I am right. More importantly, so do the 8,000 people who will enjoy La Gioconda. Actually, come to think of it, maybe I should hope that none of the other opera companies cottons on.

Michael Volpe is general manager of Korn/Ferry Opera Holland Park