Sound-proofing screens were later erected around the theatre in response to complaints from a group of Garsington residents living near the Manor. In 1996, they won £1,000 compensation for noise disturbance caused by the operas. When the award was overturned on appeal, local resident Monica Waud led her neighbours in a civil disobedience campaign during the 1997 performance of Haydn's Le Pescatrici. The protesters simultaneously began cutting their lawns with electric lawnmowers and diesel tractors, trimming their hedges, and turning on their hoses. Car alarms were set off and as a grand finale a private plane piloted by Miss Waud's companion flew overhead.Sarah Lyall, From the Opera's Neighbors, a Reply (Fortissimo), The New York Times, 7 July 1997. Retrieved 2 June 2008. In 2001 the protesters tried unsuccessfully to use the Human Rights Act to block Garsington Opera performances, claiming that they denied them the right to the "peaceful enjoyment of their possessions".Chris Walker, Garsington Opera must move, The Oxford Mail, 2 May 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008. The South Oxfordshire environmental health service undertook in-house monitoring of opera performances in each season from 2000 through 2005, but on each occasion concluded that there was no statutory noise nuisance.Sally Coxell (Head of Environmental Health), Acoustic report for Garsington Opera (2005 season), South Oxfordshire District Council, 8 December 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
